Crystal City, Missouri
2025 celebrates 135 years of ministry for First Baptist. We have a rich history of ministry to Festus, Crystal City; and even around the world! While grateful for our past, we believe our greatest heritage lies in the future. We recently voted to relocate from our current downtown location of 100 years to our new location of 40 acres where our town is growing.
We just wrapped up a capital campaign to raise 3 million dollars over 3 years to fund this relocation. Our staff consists of an Executive Pastor, Student Pastor, and Office Manager. We have a diverse pool of talented volunteers who staff our ministry teams to facilitate the operation of our church. We operate under the model, "pastor-led, deacon-served, team-operated, and congregationally-affirmed." This model works for us because it fosters unity, ownership, transparency, and teamwork.
We affirm the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000 and support the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. We support various ministries financially and have an annual mission trip to El Salvador for hands-on mission opportunities.