A Gothic Sanctuary in Downtown Dayton
First Baptist Church of Dayton stands at 111 West Monument Avenue, in the heart of downtown Dayton, Ohio. Its grand entrance faces the city's central business district while the back of the building abuts the Miami River. The structure is a magnificent Gothic edifice, opened on June 26, 1915 after a cornerstone ceremony on May 31, 1914. Construction began just three months before the devastating March 1913 flood that killed 360 Dayton residents and swamped the original church with nine feet of water. The church is known today for two striking features: its long and progressive witness as an American Baptist congregation, and its stained-glass windows, whose colored light pours across the sanctuary walls on sunny mornings. The present congregation is restoring those windows through a four-year Preservation of Light campaign with a goal of $450,000, an effort that runs alongside its observance of two hundred years of continuous ministry on Monument Avenue.
Two Centuries on Monument Avenue
First Baptist Church of Dayton was founded on May 29, 1824, only nineteen years after Dayton itself was incorporated, by a small band of Calvinist Baptists. Three supply pastors preceded the church's first regular minister, D. S. Burnet, hired at age nineteen in 1827. Within two years Burnet's preaching had grown the rolls from 13 to 84 members, making First Baptist the largest congregation in a town of fewer than three thousand people.
The first century established a pattern that continues to define the church: navigating between theological extremes. Burnet was persuaded by Alexander Campbell's 1829 visit to Cincinnati and began preaching against the Calvinist doctrine that redemption was only for the elect. Most members followed him into what became the Campbellite movement. Eight members refused to bend and were expelled, but they held onto the name First Baptist Church of Dayton. To this day a plaque in the foyer commemorates "the faithful 8."
The remaining Baptists soon abandoned strict Calvinism in turn, adopting Sunday School and missions work, which caused the Miami Valley Baptist Association to eject First Baptist in 1836. By the late nineteenth century the Sunday School had grown to over 700 members. Henry Francis Colby pastored from 1868 to 1902 while serving as president of the American Baptist Missionary Union, president of Denison University's Board of Trustees, and president of Miami Valley Hospital.
In 1912 the church hired J. C. Massee, an internationally known evangelist, who guided the construction of the present Gothic building. Massee attended the first meeting of the World's Christian Fundamentals Association in Philadelphia in May 1919. Twelve years after he left for Boston, First Baptist again turned toward a more progressive minister: Charles Seasholes, a member of the Roger Williams Fellowship who served as a delegate to the inaugural World Council of Churches gathering in 1948. Seasholes presided over Orville Wright's funeral in January 1948 and over First Baptist's "glory years" through his retirement in 1965.
Following decades of decline, the church was down to fifteen families by the early 2000s. In 2003 the congregation called Rodney Kennedy to be senior pastor. His preaching and lay leadership sparked a renewal that has continued under his successors. The bicentennial in 2024 coincided with the launch of the Preservation of Light stained-glass campaign and Founders Day on Pentecost Sunday, marking two hundred years of continuous worship on Monument Avenue.
Sunday Morning at First Baptist
Worship gathers at 10:00 AM each Sunday in the sanctuary and is also livestreamed. The morning has a settled rhythm. Pastors and worship leaders gather for prayer at 9:00, the Chancel Choir rehearses, the prelude begins at 9:45, and the sanctuary is open for prayer and meditation during the final fifteen minutes. The service runs to about 11:15, after which the whole congregation is invited to Fellowship Hall for coffee and refreshments.
Sunday School begins at 11:30 and concludes at 12:15. Children's Sunday School for prekindergarten through fifth grade actually starts a little earlier, right after the Children's Message in the morning service, with the children coming forward for the message and then being led to their classrooms by their teachers. A supervised Children's Music and Activities time at 11:30 gives elementary-age children their own program during the adult Sunday School hour.
The preaching alternates among the pastoral staff. Lead Pastor Kent Berghuis preaches most Sundays, with Associate Pastor Jason Alspaugh and Assistant Pastor for Pastoral Care David Coggins taking regular turns. The liturgical year shapes the calendar: the Advent and Lenten seasons reshape the schedule, with special services including a Maundy Thursday liturgy each year centered on the Lord's Supper and Footwashing. A bulletin for each Sunday's service is available, and the church keeps a long archive of past sermons.
Music that Spans the Classical and the Spiritual
The music program is led by Music Director William Caldwell, who brings a long career in professional choral direction to the church's worship planning. A lyric baritone, Caldwell retired as chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Central State University in Wilberforce, where he conducted the CSU Chorus for thirty-four years. He holds degrees from Stillman College and the University of Texas, with additional studies at Ohio State, in Cincinnati, and in Italy and Switzerland. He has served on boards for the Cincinnati May Festival, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the Bach Society of Dayton, and the Mariam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts.
Caldwell is known for bringing both high classical repertoire and African-American spirituals into the service. The Chancel Choir anchors the music each Sunday, with the Cherub Choir giving younger singers a place to take part. Two organists, R. Alan Kimbrough and Gregory Land, support the music from the console. The church's bulletins and announcements often include flyers for community musical events such as Bach Society of Dayton auditions and visiting choir concerts, a reminder of how tightly First Baptist is woven into Dayton's classical music life.
Children, Youth, and Sunday School
The Rev. Jason Alspaugh has served as Associate Pastor for Children and Youth since September 2007. He joined First Baptist with a focus on building ministries in which children and youth are not merely the recipients of teaching but participants and leaders in their own right. Children serve as acolytes, scripture readers, and lay leaders offering prayers during worship, and they gather for the Children's Message that begins the children's Sunday School hour each week. The Cherub Choir gives younger singers a place in the music of the church.
For older youth, the Baptist Youth Fellowship (BYF) meets on Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the church. Each evening includes a themed activity (sundaes, art, service, karaoke, improv), fellowship, food, and a short spiritual practice component. Sunday mornings at 11:30 give youth in grades 6 through 12 their own Sunday School hour alongside the adult classes.
Each summer brings Vacation Bible School. The 2026 program, "River's Edge Peace Camp," ran July 13 through 17 from 9:30 AM to noon for children in prekindergarten through fifth grade. It explored ideas of peace and peacemaking through Bible stories, songs, and the river and water imagery tied to the church's location along the Great Miami River.
The church operates a nursery for infants and toddlers up to age three, available on request. Parents are welcome to use the nursery room anytime for a quiet space. The nursery is located in Room 104 on the west side hallway, and a SmartCall paging system allows childcare staff to reach parents during the service.
Adult Discipleship and Small Groups
First Baptist's discipleship ministry reflects the conviction that the life of faith cannot be confined to a classroom. The church offers Bible study and conversation both inside the building and around the city.
The Wednesday Bible Study meets at 2:00 PM each week in the church and follows the lectionary readings. Building Bridges Bible Study convenes on Thursday mornings from 7:30 to 8:30 at Wholly Grounds Coffee Shop, 825 Wayne Avenue, where Pastor Jason leads spirited discussion of one of the upcoming Sunday's lectionary passages and connects it to current events. The Northern Fellowship Group, an open gathering on the first Tuesday of each month from September through June, rotates among homes (generally north of downtown) for fellowship and lively conversation on a variety of topics.
Through the year the adult program also takes on specific books of the Bible or themes. A recent fall series worked through the Letter to the Romans using J. R. Daniel Kirk's commentary Romans for Normal People, with class members invited to lead portions of the discussion. The Board of Christian Education, chaired by Janet Landis, supports the program alongside Pastor Jason.
The Welcoming and Affirming Covenant
First Baptist adopted its Welcoming and Affirming Statement on Sunday, November 12, 2017. The statement names, one after another, the people welcomed into the full life and leadership of the congregation: every sexual orientation, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic condition, refugees and immigrants, those of all physical and mental abilities, all household compositions, those of diverse political and theological backgrounds and beliefs. It closes: "Whoever you are, wherever you are on life's journey, as God's beloved, you are worthy and welcome!"
The church's broader covenant is recited at every new-member class. It begins with the confession that God is the Creator of all things and has given the church Jesus Christ, God's Son, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of life everlasting. Members promise to allow God to be the center of the community through study, prayer, and ethical discipline; to support the church through attendance and giving; to become a welcoming and inclusive community; to demonstrate Christian love and concern; and to call all people to Jesus Christ through sharing the gospel, demonstrating compassion, and working for unity, justice, and peace.
Membership comes through confession of faith and baptism, through a statement of faith, or by transfer of letter from another congregation. Persons joining from other Christian traditions are not required to be baptized by immersion; the church accepts the baptisms of all Christian churches.
Service in Dayton and Beyond
The church uses the image of Jesus among the disciples "as one who serves" for both Maundy Thursday and its ministry descriptions. "Some work in the garden, some lead Bible study, some visit the sick and lonely, some tend the garden, some feed the hungry, some house the homeless, some visit those in jail, some fix broken things in people's homes...whatever we do, we do it with the prayers and support of our church."
Three long-standing ministries bring the church into the city. The Urban Garden was created in 2010 from what had been a small playground outside the church. Today the congregation grows onions, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, and more on the church grounds, donating the harvest to the House of Bread, a local kitchen that serves free hot meals seven days a week. Each year on the last Saturday in April, the church joins Rebuilding Together Dayton to sponsor the renewal of a house, providing both sponsorship and volunteer labor. Members also visit the sick, the lonely, and those in jail.
Across the hemisphere, First Baptist has been in mission partnership since 2010 with Iglesia Bautista Dios Compasivo in Ahuachapan, El Salvador. Joining with First Baptist Church of Springfield, the Dayton congregation has helped establish a bakery cooperative that trains and employs young people, install well-ventilated stoves in community homes, build chicken coops with an agricultural cooperative, and provide scholarships for students. The church is also active in the Dayton Area Baptist Association, the ABC Ohio Region, and American Baptist Churches U.S.A., and supports the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Alliance of Baptists, and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
Weddings in the Gothic Sanctuary
First Baptist hosts weddings in the historic sanctuary. A Wedding Brochure describes the policies and pricing. Wedding inquiries go through the church office. Members of the public as well as members of the church may reserve the sanctuary for ceremonies.
Getting to First Baptist
First Baptist Church of Dayton sits at 111 West Monument Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45402. The church office can be reached at (937) 222-4691 or fbc@fbcdayton.org, and is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and on Sunday from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Free parking is available in the PMI lot next to the church.
The building is fully accessible. Accessible parking spaces are available, and the entryway has a ramp and push-button doors that lead directly into the sanctuary. There is an accessible bathroom on the lower level, elevators that reach the Christian education building, and accessible seating reserved inside the sanctuary. Visitors who need other accommodations are invited to call ahead so that the church can prepare for them.
Visitors are invited to come as they are. Worship services are livestreamed through the church's YouTube channel, and bulletins for recent services are available for download. The Courier newsletter is published monthly, and the church maintains an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, and X for ongoing announcements.