First Baptist Church was established in the Spring of 1955. During its inception, services were first conducted in individual homes, but soon moved to the Green Ridge Fire House. By the summer of 1955, services were held in a church owned building, which was converted from a Bridgewater Farm garage. The Church was located on property that had been purchased on Bridgewater Road in Aston, Pennsylvania. In the Fall of 1955 a Charter Membership was formed, and, by faith, they began to make plans for a new building. A $50,000 bond program was issued and a new building was constructed on the property.
In the years following, the Church grew to an average attendance of approximately 130 under the leadership of Pastor Rowgo.
After Pastor Rowgo resigned, Pastor Goodwin was called to the Church. His tenure, although less than two years, proved to be very influential in the history of the Church. The following Pastor, Ed Walls, again only here for less than two years, made a significant contribution by rallying the small group of people and instilling within them a worldwide vision. Upon his resignation the Church called Mike Peper as it's Pastor. He and his family moved to Aston in January of 1981.
In 1982 the Kiddie Kampus Daycare Center and Preschool was established. In 1983 the Church launched a school ministry beginning with a 5-year old Kindergarten class with a plan that each year a new grade would be added to the school. During the establishment of these other ministries, the Church continued to grow. As a result of this growth a new auditorium was constructed in 1983 with a seating capacity of 315.
As the Church continued to grow, it became very apparent that the newly constructed facilities did not provide enough Sunday School space. A house next door was purchased and re-modeled for additional classroom space. In 1986 a new Sunday School building with a Fellowship Hall was built.
Because of the continued growth in the Church, plans of expanding the building were discussed with the Township because of the lack of off-street parking. It became apparent that the Church, unless moved to another location would be unable to accommodate future growth. In a unanimous decision the Church voted to sell its present facilities and relocate to a larger piece of land. In 1992 new property was found on Route 452 in Upper Chichester, bordering Aston Township. It was only five minutes away from the old location. The facilities were sold in December of that same year. A transitional move was made to the leased school facilities and continued growth was experienced.
Construction on the new facility began in the Fall of 1994. In September of 1995, the new facility was dedicated and the church has again seen solid growth. |