Nashville First Baptist Church

As you learned on the last stop, Nashville First Baptist Church moved to the corner of Broadway and Seventh Avenue in the late nineteenth century. However, the church occupied two different buildings before moving to their current location. 

First Baptist Nashville was organized in 1820 at the County Courthouse. They built their first building that same year, but lost it when the church split over a disagreement on doctrine in the late 1820s. Those who remained with the congregation continued to worship in shared spaces and finally built a new building on Fifth Avenue in 1841. During the Civil War, the Union Army seized the building and used it as a hospital for nearly two years. The interior of the church was destroyed, and First Baptist would struggle financially through the Reconstruction Era into the 1870s. Though it was affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, First Baptist ministered to African-Americans in a separate congregation. They even ordained a black minister, Nelson Merry, in 1853. During this period, they expanded their ministry through new churches, a Sunday School, and a choir. 

After decades of growth and growing pains, First Baptist sold their Fifth Avenue building to the Lutheran church in 1880 and began building a new sanctuary here. Dedicated in 1886, the church provided a space for the ministry to grow significantly. Six mission churches were planted between 1909 and 1921, a radio ministry was launched in 1924, and new educational programs were developed. 

In the late 1960s, the decision was made to tear down most of the 1886 building. Luckily, the Gothic tower, you see here, was preserved. Edwin Keeble Associates designed the current sanctuary, which features stained glass windows designed by Goode Davis. It was dedicated and opened on Easter Sunday, 1970. The original building no longer stands, but the Gothic tower reminds us of the long history of the Baptist church in Nashville. A rendering of the 1886 building is on the back of the historical marker.

Over the past forty years First Baptist has continued to acquire adjacent property for a parking lot, ministry center, and educational facilities. They are constructing a new building between their current sanctuary and Bridgestone Arena that will offer contemporary meeting spaces, a new fellowship hall, and other amenities that will attract the many new residents living downtown. For more on First Baptist see our New South Nashville and Broadway Architecture tours.