User:Pastorfbcofwarren/sandbox

The First Baptist Church of Warren Ohio is now in its 211th year of existence, serving God and community. Originally founded on September 03, 1803 as the Concord Baptist Church, later merged with another church that was failing. On December 20, 1893, Concord Baptist merged with the First Regular Baptist Society of Mecca, Ohio and together formed The First Baptist Church of Warren. Like many churches the rise of membership dictates the need to expand or build new buildings. Throughout its history, the First Baptist Church of Warren Ohio has built five different church buildings.

Origins - When Ephriam Quinby and others explored the western part of the Western Reserve in the fall of 1798, he found the site of our present city (Warren, Ohio) a dense forest with almost impassable underbrush, with occasional clearings, which had been left by the Indians. He returned to his home in Washington County, Pennsylvania, after having purchased over 400 acres on both sides of the river, upon which Warren is built. He returned to this settlement with his family on April 17, 1799 - the birth date of Warren.

In June, 1800 the first sermon was preached in Warren by a Baptist minister, Rev. Henry Spears of Washington County, Pennsylvania, who was visiting among some of the settlers who had come from that place. He preached to about fifty persons, who gathered together beneath the trees in a grove south of Main Street bridge on the west side of what is now Main Street, S.W. News of this meeting was spread by word of mouth, and much hard work clearing away the underbrush had to be done before it could be held.

In 1801, Rev. Thomas G. Jones, a Baptist preacher who resided in Shenango Valley, near the present city of Sharon, Pennsylvania was engaged to preach every other Sunday. These services were held in the homes of the settlers and in the groves round about.

Ephraim Quinby is credited with being the founder of Warren, and he also played a very important part in Baptist history, as he contributed much to the destiny of the First Baptist Church, the first organized church in Warren, Ohio.

On September 3, 1803 when the village of Warren was only four years and old and the United States was only twenty-seven years old, interested persons in the village of Warren Ohio met for the purpose of organizing a church. This was done under the leadership of Rev. Charles B. Smith.