With a congregation dating back to 1843, First Baptist Church of Tarrytown has proclaimed the Gospel for nearly two centuries.
Shorter History
First Baptist Church is a young church with a long history. It is young because it seeks to relate the ancient truth of God’s Word in relevant ways to people in the 21st century. Its history goes back over a century and a half past two world wars and a civil war. Through tumultuous and tranquil times God has been good to this church family.
It all began on October 18, 1843 when a small group gathered to discuss the feasibility of planting a Baptist church in the Tarrytown area. One month later, almost exactly 160 years ago today, delegates from Baptist churches in New York, Westchester and Putnam gave their approval and blessing to the new Beekman Baptist Church and its 12 charter members.
Those early days were difficult days for the small church. There was little money and few members. Some outside the church wondered why the struggling Baptists didn’t disband. Even with the utmost economy they could not make ends meet. Their landlord, less fired with faith than his tenants, feared they would default on the rent, and asked them to leave.
In the midst of this adversity, by God’s grace the congregation grew slowly. Somehow, they managed to scrape together enough money to buy a lot on the northwest corner of Main and North Washington Streets in Tarrytown. This pioneering generation built a church, which was ready for use in September 1847. It was at this time that the congregation changed its name to the First Baptist Church of the Tarrytowns.
A religious revival swept the area in the late 1850’s during the pastorate of the Rev. William M. Wines, whose doctrinal and anti-slavery views were equally strong. He fearlessly spoke out against slavery, despite numerous threats from pro-slavery forces in the community during his nine years as pastor. During those years, more than 100 new members were added to the church.
As you look at the granite stone building today, it is not hard to remember the pastor who led the church during the original construction. His name was Stone, the Reverend Dr. George M. Stone. By the time Pastor Stone was called to the pulpit in 1873, a lot had been purchased at South Broadway and Elizabeth Street, and pledges were being solicited for the new house of worship. Construction delays are nothing new to our church’s history. The financial Panic of 1873 and the depression that followed delayed the work for several years. The cornerstone was not laid until 1876. The $100,00 cost of the stately granite Gothic structure weighed heavily on the financially struggling congregation. Still they persevered. The church was dedicated June 14, 1881, by which time it was practically debt free.
The yellow brick parsonage that is situated south of the church was built in 1896 through the generosity of Mrs. William Rockefeller. Other gifts from members of the Rockefeller family strengthened the church’s ministry, including money from John D. Rockefeller to landscape the grounds.
For over one hundred years the First Baptist Church building stood as a landmark in the center of the Village of Tarrytown as members of the church family contributed to the life and livelihood of their community. But on December 23, 1989 the building was gutted by a devastating fire that left only the steeple and the outside stone walls standing. Reconstruction was begun a little more than a year after the fire in 1991. Unfortunately, the insurance money was exhausted before the construction was completed. To make a difficult situation even worse, litigation brought against the church by the contractor left construction at a standstill for almost 6 years until the lawsuit was dropped. In 1998, the church family took a bold step. Although money was tight, with litigation behind them, they decided to trust God and to begin once again to rebuild.
For just over 160 years the First Baptist Church of Tarrytown has made a difference for Christ in this community. Much of the history of our church has been buried with the pastors, lay leaders and members who shared ministry together. While some sacrificed more than others, each generation of our church family has faithfully passed the baton of faith to the next. Even when men and women faltered, God continued to bless His work in and through this church for more than 16 decades.
Today is a new day. A new generation has been entrusted with this great work. Now more than ever, the people of this community and this county need a church that communicates God’s love in speech and in action. Those confused by society’s shifting standards need a church that dares to speak clearly for God. Now more than ever, men, women, boys and girls need to see Christians committed to live out God’s purposes for their lives.
Our church’s race has been long, but it is not over. The baton has been passed to us. It is our turn to run the race. God wants us to run hard, to run well and when our race is done, to pass the baton to a new generation. Perhaps, if God allows and if we remain faithful, it just might be that the greatest days of the history of this church are still to come.
It all began on October 18, 1843 when a small group gathered to discuss the feasibility of planting a Baptist church in the Tarrytown area. One month later, almost exactly 160 years ago today, delegates from Baptist churches in New York, Westchester and Putnam gave their approval and blessing to the new Beekman Baptist Church and its 12 charter members.
Those early days were difficult days for the small church. There was little money and few members. Some outside the church wondered why the struggling Baptists didn’t disband. Even with the utmost economy they could not make ends meet. Their landlord, less fired with faith than his tenants, feared they would default on the rent, and asked them to leave.
In the midst of this adversity, by God’s grace the congregation grew slowly. Somehow, they managed to scrape together enough money to buy a lot on the northwest corner of Main and North Washington Streets in Tarrytown. This pioneering generation built a church, which was ready for use in September 1847. It was at this time that the congregation changed its name to the First Baptist Church of the Tarrytowns.
A religious revival swept the area in the late 1850’s during the pastorate of the Rev. William M. Wines, whose doctrinal and anti-slavery views were equally strong. He fearlessly spoke out against slavery, despite numerous threats from pro-slavery forces in the community during his nine years as pastor. During those years, more than 100 new members were added to the church.
As you look at the granite stone building today, it is not hard to remember the pastor who led the church during the original construction. His name was Stone, the Reverend Dr. George M. Stone. By the time Pastor Stone was called to the pulpit in 1873, a lot had been purchased at South Broadway and Elizabeth Street, and pledges were being solicited for the new house of worship. Construction delays are nothing new to our church’s history. The financial Panic of 1873 and the depression that followed delayed the work for several years. The cornerstone was not laid until 1876. The $100,00 cost of the stately granite Gothic structure weighed heavily on the financially struggling congregation. Still they persevered. The church was dedicated June 14, 1881, by which time it was practically debt free.
The yellow brick parsonage that is situated south of the church was built in 1896 through the generosity of Mrs. William Rockefeller. Other gifts from members of the Rockefeller family strengthened the church’s ministry, including money from John D. Rockefeller to landscape the grounds.
For over one hundred years the First Baptist Church building stood as a landmark in the center of the Village of Tarrytown as members of the church family contributed to the life and livelihood of their community. But on December 23, 1989 the building was gutted by a devastating fire that left only the steeple and the outside stone walls standing. Reconstruction was begun a little more than a year after the fire in 1991. Unfortunately, the insurance money was exhausted before the construction was completed. To make a difficult situation even worse, litigation brought against the church by the contractor left construction at a standstill for almost 6 years until the lawsuit was dropped. In 1998, the church family took a bold step. Although money was tight, with litigation behind them, they decided to trust God and to begin once again to rebuild.
For just over 160 years the First Baptist Church of Tarrytown has made a difference for Christ in this community. Much of the history of our church has been buried with the pastors, lay leaders and members who shared ministry together. While some sacrificed more than others, each generation of our church family has faithfully passed the baton of faith to the next. Even when men and women faltered, God continued to bless His work in and through this church for more than 16 decades.
Today is a new day. A new generation has been entrusted with this great work. Now more than ever, the people of this community and this county need a church that communicates God’s love in speech and in action. Those confused by society’s shifting standards need a church that dares to speak clearly for God. Now more than ever, men, women, boys and girls need to see Christians committed to live out God’s purposes for their lives.
Our church’s race has been long, but it is not over. The baton has been passed to us. It is our turn to run the race. God wants us to run hard, to run well and when our race is done, to pass the baton to a new generation. Perhaps, if God allows and if we remain faithful, it just might be that the greatest days of the history of this church are still to come.
longer history
Early History – 1843-1896
A small but determined number of devout men and women laid the foundations for a Baptist church in an area that, as one of them recorded, “was not naturally Baptist soil.” A small group gathered Oct. 18, 1843 to discuss the practicability of organizing a Baptist church. After hearing an inspiring address by the Rev. William Lock, pastor of the Baptist church in Sing Sing (Ossining), they decided it was possible. A month later, delegates from Baptist churches in New York, Westchester and Putnam conferred their approval and blessing upon the New Beekman Baptist Church and its 12 charter members.
David Sherwood held the tiny congregation together until the Rev. Charles K. Underhill was called as pastor in January 1844. His task was not easy; money was scarce, adherents were few, and some of other religious views looked askance at the struggling Baptists and “wondered why they didn’t disband,” as one put it. Men and women took turns tending the fires, shoveling snow, sweeping, dusting and cleaning, but even with the utmost economy they did not make ends meet. Their landlord, less fired with faith than his tenants, feared they would default on the rent, and he asked them to leave. The Baptists were still uncertain what to do next when Allen S. Newman, a Methodist and head of Newman’s Military Academy in Patriots Park, offered them one of his classrooms until they had a church of their own.
Led by their faith and the indefatigable Rev. Underhill, the slowly growing congregation scraped together enough money to buy a lot on the northwest corner of Main and North Washington Streets and build a church, which was ready for use in September 1847, when the congregation changed its name to the First Baptist Church of the Tarry- towns. A religious revival swept the area in the late 1850s during the pastorate of the Rev. William M. Wines, whose doctrinal and anti- slavery views were equally strong- -while welcoming more than 100 new members of the congregation, he fearlessly continued to inveigh against slavery, despite numerous threats from pro-slavery forces in the community during his nine years as pastor. He answered a call from a Poughkeepsie church in 1866 and was succeeded by the Rev. David M. Reeves, who had lost everything except his Confederate uniform while serving with an Alabama regiment during the Civil War. After Appomatox he walked from Alabama to New York, stopping at Baptist churches along the way. He reached Tarrytown on a Saturday and met Cornelius Curtiss, a Baptist hardware dealer, who bought the destitute clergyman a suit of clothes and arranged for him to preach at the Baptist church the next day. The congregation liked him, and he stayed as pastor three years before answering a call from a Boston church. Meanwhile, planning for a new church was intensifying, and by the time the Rev. Dr. George M. Stone was called to the pulpit in 1873, a lot had been purchased at South Broadway and East Elizabeth Street, and pledges were being solicited for the new house of worship. The Panic of 1873 and the depression that followed delayed the work; the cornerstone was not laid until 1876, and the $100,000 cost of the stately granite Gothic structure weighed heavily on the financially struggling congregation. But the work went forward under Dr. Stone, who left in 1879, and his successor, the Rev. George E. Horr Jr. The church was dedicated June 14, 1881, by which time it was practically free of debt.
A rectory was built south of the church in 1896 through the generosity of Mrs. William Rockefeller, and other gifts from members of the Rockefeller family strengthened the church’s spiritual work and enhanced its physical appearance. A number of groups for young people as well as adults were organized around the time of World War I and have continued to strengthen the church down to the present.
Middle History – 1896-1987 (More specific details not currently available)
It is assumed that First Baptist Church affiliated with the Conservative Baptists in the 1950’s. (Perhaps that date of affiliation is on file with CB Mission Northeast). During the 1950’s and 60’s, long-time attenders report that First Baptist Church was rather legalistic and traditional. From the 1960’s through the 1980’s, First Baptist had a strong connection to King’s College, a Christian school, in the neighboring community of Briarcliff Manor. Several students and faculty were part of the church during this era. One of the pastors of the church served on the faculty of Kings College during this time. When King’s College closed its doors, First Baptist and a few other evangelical churches in the area suffered as a result.
Recent History – 1986 – Present
In 1986, First Baptist Church was a dying congregation. The dwindling congregation found it difficult to maintain their beautiful but aging church building. The majority of the members were elderly and the church needed to move in a new direction. Consequently, they called Bruce Boria to be their pastor. They apparently saw in Pastor Boria leadership qualities that they needed to turn their struggling church around. Pastor Boria changed the style of worship to be more contemporary. This did not sit well with all of the older members, but under his leadership the church began to draw in a few young families. Under Pastor Boria, the church adopted a vision statement that reflected this need for a change of direction – Turning the inside out to draw the outside in.
In 1989, just two days before Christmas, while the church took a few unsteady steps in a new direction, a devastating fire seemed as if it might bring an end to the struggling church. The fire completely gutted the church building. All that remained of the church were the stone granite walls. The rebuilding process was complicated by the fact that the church was significantly underinsured. There was debate as to whether the church should take the insurance money and relocate, but the majority of members felt that the church building should remain located in the center of Tarrytown.
As the church building was being rebuilt, the church family continued to meet in the basement Episcopal Church directly across Broadway. The FBC family initiated the first of many stewardship campaigns to fund the reconstruction effort. Soon, with the church partially rebuilt, the reconstruction process was stymied when the builder sued the church over work that had been done without authorization from the church. This was work for which the church had no money to pay. The construction company pulled off the job and for the next six years, the struggling church had to divert building funds to fight ongoing litigation. Still, with the church building only partially rebuilt, the Village graciously granted the church a temporary permit of occupancy so that they could hold services in the mostly finished sanctuary. In 1996, Pastor Boria accepted the call to a church I Portland Oregon and once again the family at First Baptist Church faced a crisis as they searched for a new pastor.
In 1997 the church called Pastor Torrey Robinson. During the interim, by God’s grace the church managed to settle the lawsuit. So with a new pastor and without the drain of ongoing legal wrangling, the church was, once again able to proceed with the rebuilding process. Space for ministry was tight. The sanctuary was used as a multipurpose room for virtually every activity. The main floor of the large parsonage had long been used as the office space for the pastor. During the rebuilding process, the first floor of the parsonage also provided an infant nursery, Sunday School classroom and the only bathrooms for the church. And during the week, the Sunday School classroom doubled as a board room.
For the next ten years, the church was consumed with fund raising and rebuilding efforts. The church leaders did not want to go into debt and so they took a pay as you go approach to reconstruction. There were three fund raising efforts that altogether raised well over a million dollars between 1998 and 2008. Unfortunately, the bulk of the first stewardship campaign had to go to rebuilding the new roof, put on after the fire. Faulty roofing materials literally caused the shingles to deteriorate leading to major leaks. The second stewardship campaign raised money for two classrooms and bathrooms. So approximately 15 years after the fire, the church family could go to the bathroom without having to run outside to the parsonage. The last of the stewardship campaigns raised money to complete the church fellowship hall, kitchen and a classroom above the kitchen.
Still today work needs to be done to complete the church sanctuary. That project is in the planning stages and will almost certainly require undertaking another stewardship campaign. It is hoped that this work will essentially complete the restoration of the church building. For all the hardship the church faced after the fire, they consistently experienced God’s provision for their needs. By God’s grace, He has provided the FBC family with a new interior within a magnificent old church building.
While reconstruction diverted considerable time and resources from the church over the past 24 years, the church managed to maintain a focus on ministry and on outreach. For much of the past quarter century, the church struggled to maximize ministry with very limited resources. But over time, God consistently supplied the people, the funds and the material resources needed to do the work He called the church to do.
During the interim between pastors in 1997 the church leaders began a reorganization of the leadership structure. The church transitioned from a more traditional Baptist structure of deacons and trustees to a centralized elder board. New by-laws were drafted and adopted in to support this reorganization. A manual of church policies was also drafted.
Even as the church struggled to rebuild, God continued to bring new families to the church. Around the turn of this century, along with growing families there was an influx of families with older children and so the church decided to step out in faith to hire a youth pastor. Although the annual budget had not been sufficient to that point to pay another full-time pastoral staff member, the church had built up a surplus of funds which was sufficient to ensure the salary of a new full-time staff member for at least the first year. And so, in 2001, the church began a search for a full-time youth pastor. Steve Armstrong was a member of the church who applied for the position. After a thorough search of several qualified candidates, it was decided that Steve was well suited for this position and he officially began ministry in August of 2002.
The elders felt that the vision statement adopted by the church in the 1990’s did not fully reflect the direction of the church as they began a new millennium. Much time and effort was spent in arriving at the statement that remains the church’s vision today. First Baptist Church exists to share God’s love and hope to transform hearts, homes, Westchester and the world. Since its adoption around 2005, this vision has, to some extent, guided both the church’s discipleship and outreach efforts.
Youth ministry was seen, not only as a discipleship ministry to church teens, but also as an outreach to the community. Two other significant ministries grew and developed into the church’s primary outreach efforts at the present time. The first is the seniors luncheon. Six times a year (every other month) between 80 and 120 seniors, more than 90% of which are from outside the church family, are invited to the church for a home-cooked meal and an inspirational or practical presentation. The primary purpose of these luncheons is to share the gospel with these friends from the community. Once a year, for one week every August the church has organized a Vacation Bible School for the children of the community and of the church. In recent years, the church has maxed out their space capacity with around 120 campers and around 60 teens involved.
The church has engaged in various outreach efforts over the past thirteen years, some have been more effective than others. Several in the church received training to assist the follow-up for the Billy Graham crusade in New York in 2000. Around 2005, the church rented the local music hall to bring in the illusionist, Andres Cole, as an evangelistic outreach to the community. The church formed an outreach ministry which promoted a summer Olympics, an event designed to use sports to share the gospel. This ministry also sponsored a family outdoor movie night on the front lawn of the parsonage. In addition, the outreach ministry put on an annual breakfast event to which church members could invite their family and friends. But the outreach ministry was later discontinued when it was feared that the existence of a ministry for outreach might appear to excuse the rest of the church from participating in personal evangelism.
Through at least the past 28 years, the primary outreach to the community has seemed to be the Sunday morning worship services at First Baptist Church. Through contemporary worship music and a relevant message from the Bible, Sunday has been the time when the church has continuously seen the primary influx of people from outside the church, believers and unbelievers. It is because of this that the Doorkeepers Ministry was established over 13 years ago to warmly welcome newcomers and to try to help them get connected in the church.
This year, 2023 First Baptist Church of Tarrytown celebrates 180 years of God’s faithfulness. Not much is currently known about some of its history. But this is certain, God raised up a church in the heart of Tarrytown, NY to proclaim the good news of His kingdom. For nearly two centuries, through some very difficult times, God has been faithful to the ministry of this church. As the church seeks to please Him, they can rest in the Savior’s promise, “I will build my church.”
A small but determined number of devout men and women laid the foundations for a Baptist church in an area that, as one of them recorded, “was not naturally Baptist soil.” A small group gathered Oct. 18, 1843 to discuss the practicability of organizing a Baptist church. After hearing an inspiring address by the Rev. William Lock, pastor of the Baptist church in Sing Sing (Ossining), they decided it was possible. A month later, delegates from Baptist churches in New York, Westchester and Putnam conferred their approval and blessing upon the New Beekman Baptist Church and its 12 charter members.
David Sherwood held the tiny congregation together until the Rev. Charles K. Underhill was called as pastor in January 1844. His task was not easy; money was scarce, adherents were few, and some of other religious views looked askance at the struggling Baptists and “wondered why they didn’t disband,” as one put it. Men and women took turns tending the fires, shoveling snow, sweeping, dusting and cleaning, but even with the utmost economy they did not make ends meet. Their landlord, less fired with faith than his tenants, feared they would default on the rent, and he asked them to leave. The Baptists were still uncertain what to do next when Allen S. Newman, a Methodist and head of Newman’s Military Academy in Patriots Park, offered them one of his classrooms until they had a church of their own.
Led by their faith and the indefatigable Rev. Underhill, the slowly growing congregation scraped together enough money to buy a lot on the northwest corner of Main and North Washington Streets and build a church, which was ready for use in September 1847, when the congregation changed its name to the First Baptist Church of the Tarry- towns. A religious revival swept the area in the late 1850s during the pastorate of the Rev. William M. Wines, whose doctrinal and anti- slavery views were equally strong- -while welcoming more than 100 new members of the congregation, he fearlessly continued to inveigh against slavery, despite numerous threats from pro-slavery forces in the community during his nine years as pastor. He answered a call from a Poughkeepsie church in 1866 and was succeeded by the Rev. David M. Reeves, who had lost everything except his Confederate uniform while serving with an Alabama regiment during the Civil War. After Appomatox he walked from Alabama to New York, stopping at Baptist churches along the way. He reached Tarrytown on a Saturday and met Cornelius Curtiss, a Baptist hardware dealer, who bought the destitute clergyman a suit of clothes and arranged for him to preach at the Baptist church the next day. The congregation liked him, and he stayed as pastor three years before answering a call from a Boston church. Meanwhile, planning for a new church was intensifying, and by the time the Rev. Dr. George M. Stone was called to the pulpit in 1873, a lot had been purchased at South Broadway and East Elizabeth Street, and pledges were being solicited for the new house of worship. The Panic of 1873 and the depression that followed delayed the work; the cornerstone was not laid until 1876, and the $100,000 cost of the stately granite Gothic structure weighed heavily on the financially struggling congregation. But the work went forward under Dr. Stone, who left in 1879, and his successor, the Rev. George E. Horr Jr. The church was dedicated June 14, 1881, by which time it was practically free of debt.
A rectory was built south of the church in 1896 through the generosity of Mrs. William Rockefeller, and other gifts from members of the Rockefeller family strengthened the church’s spiritual work and enhanced its physical appearance. A number of groups for young people as well as adults were organized around the time of World War I and have continued to strengthen the church down to the present.
Middle History – 1896-1987 (More specific details not currently available)
It is assumed that First Baptist Church affiliated with the Conservative Baptists in the 1950’s. (Perhaps that date of affiliation is on file with CB Mission Northeast). During the 1950’s and 60’s, long-time attenders report that First Baptist Church was rather legalistic and traditional. From the 1960’s through the 1980’s, First Baptist had a strong connection to King’s College, a Christian school, in the neighboring community of Briarcliff Manor. Several students and faculty were part of the church during this era. One of the pastors of the church served on the faculty of Kings College during this time. When King’s College closed its doors, First Baptist and a few other evangelical churches in the area suffered as a result.
Recent History – 1986 – Present
In 1986, First Baptist Church was a dying congregation. The dwindling congregation found it difficult to maintain their beautiful but aging church building. The majority of the members were elderly and the church needed to move in a new direction. Consequently, they called Bruce Boria to be their pastor. They apparently saw in Pastor Boria leadership qualities that they needed to turn their struggling church around. Pastor Boria changed the style of worship to be more contemporary. This did not sit well with all of the older members, but under his leadership the church began to draw in a few young families. Under Pastor Boria, the church adopted a vision statement that reflected this need for a change of direction – Turning the inside out to draw the outside in.
In 1989, just two days before Christmas, while the church took a few unsteady steps in a new direction, a devastating fire seemed as if it might bring an end to the struggling church. The fire completely gutted the church building. All that remained of the church were the stone granite walls. The rebuilding process was complicated by the fact that the church was significantly underinsured. There was debate as to whether the church should take the insurance money and relocate, but the majority of members felt that the church building should remain located in the center of Tarrytown.
As the church building was being rebuilt, the church family continued to meet in the basement Episcopal Church directly across Broadway. The FBC family initiated the first of many stewardship campaigns to fund the reconstruction effort. Soon, with the church partially rebuilt, the reconstruction process was stymied when the builder sued the church over work that had been done without authorization from the church. This was work for which the church had no money to pay. The construction company pulled off the job and for the next six years, the struggling church had to divert building funds to fight ongoing litigation. Still, with the church building only partially rebuilt, the Village graciously granted the church a temporary permit of occupancy so that they could hold services in the mostly finished sanctuary. In 1996, Pastor Boria accepted the call to a church I Portland Oregon and once again the family at First Baptist Church faced a crisis as they searched for a new pastor.
In 1997 the church called Pastor Torrey Robinson. During the interim, by God’s grace the church managed to settle the lawsuit. So with a new pastor and without the drain of ongoing legal wrangling, the church was, once again able to proceed with the rebuilding process. Space for ministry was tight. The sanctuary was used as a multipurpose room for virtually every activity. The main floor of the large parsonage had long been used as the office space for the pastor. During the rebuilding process, the first floor of the parsonage also provided an infant nursery, Sunday School classroom and the only bathrooms for the church. And during the week, the Sunday School classroom doubled as a board room.
For the next ten years, the church was consumed with fund raising and rebuilding efforts. The church leaders did not want to go into debt and so they took a pay as you go approach to reconstruction. There were three fund raising efforts that altogether raised well over a million dollars between 1998 and 2008. Unfortunately, the bulk of the first stewardship campaign had to go to rebuilding the new roof, put on after the fire. Faulty roofing materials literally caused the shingles to deteriorate leading to major leaks. The second stewardship campaign raised money for two classrooms and bathrooms. So approximately 15 years after the fire, the church family could go to the bathroom without having to run outside to the parsonage. The last of the stewardship campaigns raised money to complete the church fellowship hall, kitchen and a classroom above the kitchen.
Still today work needs to be done to complete the church sanctuary. That project is in the planning stages and will almost certainly require undertaking another stewardship campaign. It is hoped that this work will essentially complete the restoration of the church building. For all the hardship the church faced after the fire, they consistently experienced God’s provision for their needs. By God’s grace, He has provided the FBC family with a new interior within a magnificent old church building.
While reconstruction diverted considerable time and resources from the church over the past 24 years, the church managed to maintain a focus on ministry and on outreach. For much of the past quarter century, the church struggled to maximize ministry with very limited resources. But over time, God consistently supplied the people, the funds and the material resources needed to do the work He called the church to do.
During the interim between pastors in 1997 the church leaders began a reorganization of the leadership structure. The church transitioned from a more traditional Baptist structure of deacons and trustees to a centralized elder board. New by-laws were drafted and adopted in to support this reorganization. A manual of church policies was also drafted.
Even as the church struggled to rebuild, God continued to bring new families to the church. Around the turn of this century, along with growing families there was an influx of families with older children and so the church decided to step out in faith to hire a youth pastor. Although the annual budget had not been sufficient to that point to pay another full-time pastoral staff member, the church had built up a surplus of funds which was sufficient to ensure the salary of a new full-time staff member for at least the first year. And so, in 2001, the church began a search for a full-time youth pastor. Steve Armstrong was a member of the church who applied for the position. After a thorough search of several qualified candidates, it was decided that Steve was well suited for this position and he officially began ministry in August of 2002.
The elders felt that the vision statement adopted by the church in the 1990’s did not fully reflect the direction of the church as they began a new millennium. Much time and effort was spent in arriving at the statement that remains the church’s vision today. First Baptist Church exists to share God’s love and hope to transform hearts, homes, Westchester and the world. Since its adoption around 2005, this vision has, to some extent, guided both the church’s discipleship and outreach efforts.
Youth ministry was seen, not only as a discipleship ministry to church teens, but also as an outreach to the community. Two other significant ministries grew and developed into the church’s primary outreach efforts at the present time. The first is the seniors luncheon. Six times a year (every other month) between 80 and 120 seniors, more than 90% of which are from outside the church family, are invited to the church for a home-cooked meal and an inspirational or practical presentation. The primary purpose of these luncheons is to share the gospel with these friends from the community. Once a year, for one week every August the church has organized a Vacation Bible School for the children of the community and of the church. In recent years, the church has maxed out their space capacity with around 120 campers and around 60 teens involved.
The church has engaged in various outreach efforts over the past thirteen years, some have been more effective than others. Several in the church received training to assist the follow-up for the Billy Graham crusade in New York in 2000. Around 2005, the church rented the local music hall to bring in the illusionist, Andres Cole, as an evangelistic outreach to the community. The church formed an outreach ministry which promoted a summer Olympics, an event designed to use sports to share the gospel. This ministry also sponsored a family outdoor movie night on the front lawn of the parsonage. In addition, the outreach ministry put on an annual breakfast event to which church members could invite their family and friends. But the outreach ministry was later discontinued when it was feared that the existence of a ministry for outreach might appear to excuse the rest of the church from participating in personal evangelism.
Through at least the past 28 years, the primary outreach to the community has seemed to be the Sunday morning worship services at First Baptist Church. Through contemporary worship music and a relevant message from the Bible, Sunday has been the time when the church has continuously seen the primary influx of people from outside the church, believers and unbelievers. It is because of this that the Doorkeepers Ministry was established over 13 years ago to warmly welcome newcomers and to try to help them get connected in the church.
This year, 2023 First Baptist Church of Tarrytown celebrates 180 years of God’s faithfulness. Not much is currently known about some of its history. But this is certain, God raised up a church in the heart of Tarrytown, NY to proclaim the good news of His kingdom. For nearly two centuries, through some very difficult times, God has been faithful to the ministry of this church. As the church seeks to please Him, they can rest in the Savior’s promise, “I will build my church.”
