Rev. Isaac McCoy, inspired by the work of Adoniram and Anne Judson in Burma, went west to the frontier to preach to the Indians. Indiana was considered the far West when he came to Fort Wayne in 1820 and started a school in the abandoned fort.
Rev. Isaac McCoy performed the first Protestant baptism here in 1821. He organized the First Baptist Church in 1822.
It was the first church of any faith or creed in Fort Wayne. This church started with eleven members that included Europeans, Blacks, and Native Americans, notably two granddaughters of Chief Little Turtle of the Miami, Pe-me-zah-quah and Ah-peh-zah-quah.
Fort Wayne was a wild place and Isaac recorded there were 42 murders and killings in a two-year period. Eventually Isaac moved on to Michigan and First Baptist Church died. First Baptist Church was revived in 1837 and has continued to this day.
First Baptist Church worshipped in the abandoned fort. Then they built a small framed building in 1841. That church did not have a baptistry, so the canal was used, breaking the ice in winter when necessary. Growth was slow but in 1868 a large Gothic church was built downtown and then later remodeled to a Romanesque church in 1889.
There was no land for parking or an education building, so the congregation moved out to 2323 Fairfield Avenue in 1950. The Cutshall mansion next door to the south was purchased in 1955. The education building was added in 1967. The Cutshall mansion was torn down in 1980 because it was very expensive to heat and needed a lot of repairs. The carriage house for their car, one of the first in Fort Wayne, can still be seen on the back of our lot. Over the years it has served as a coffee house for youth and the headquarters of the women’s ministry Dress for Success.
South Wayne Baptist Church was founded by members of First Baptist in 1911. First Baptist also started Memorial Baptist Church, Liberty Hills Baptist Church, Immanuel Church, and Faith Baptist Church. In 2009, South Wayne Baptist Church merged with First Baptist Church to become Fort Wayne Baptist Church.
Currently two congregations use the facilities: Fort Wayne Baptist Church and the Burmese Christian Fellowship. Until Fall 2019 the Living Streams Karen Baptist Church also had a home in the building. While transitioning to their new home in March 2019, the Fort Wayne Boys and Girls club used the facilities.
Pastors of First Baptist Church Fort Wayne
Issac McCoy 1820-1822
Willian Corbin 1837-1838
Robert Tisdale 1837 and 1839
Willian Cobb 1840
William Gildersleeve 1841
James H. Dunlap 1843
D.W. Burroughs 1845 and 1848
H.G. Mason 1846
S.B. Searl 1848
John D. Merson 1850
U.B. Miller 1853
Cyrus W. Resse 1856
Steven Wilkens 1858
William Ferry 1860
G.L. Stevens 1861
James R. Stone 1869
Stephen A. Northrop 1882
Llewellyn L. Henson 1895
N. Field 1901
J.F. Vichert 1906
H. Snashall 1912
John Gunn 1917
R. Berry 1928
L.E. Olson 1945
Leslie Lads 1952
Phillip Philbrook 1960
George Schgonmaker 1988
David F. Humphreys 1991
William A. Deans 1994
Charles B. Lyman 2006
Wungreiso Valui 2009
Scott Carter 2018