HISTORY OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF NY

The First Baptist Church of New York City, founded in 1745 and formally constituted in 1753, is among the oldest Baptist congregations in America. Under early leaders like Jeremiah Dodge and Revolutionary chaplain John Gano, the church established itself in lower Manhattan. It grew through the 19th century, moving uptown with the city and actively supporting missions and Bible societies. Its most influential period came under Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Haldeman (1884–1933), who made it a national center of fundamentalism, premillennialism, and biblical inerrancy, opposing liberal theology and the Federal Council of Churches. The Romanesque building on Broadway became symbolic of its doctrinal steadfastness. After Haldeman’s death, the church declined but maintained its conservative identity under pastors like Carl E. Elgena and Robert C. Gage. First Baptist’s legacy is one of theological integrity, historic Baptist convictions, and unwavering opposition to modernist drift in American Protestantism.