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Spring, 1827 - Elder Robert T. Daniel preaches in Suffolk, creating a wave of revival.

September 12, 1827 - Thirty-three people gather in the meeting house on Cedar Hill to organize Suffolk Baptist Church. Services are held approximately once a month.

1828 - The church moves into its first building at the west end of Mahan Street.

1834 - A Sunday School is added, with "fourteen teachers and forty-three scholars".

1836 - The church moves into a new "proud white structure, surrounded by a fence", at the present church location on North Main Street.

1843 - The Suffolk Sewing Society is formed, one of the first women's missionary organizations in Virginia.

1845 - Suffolk Baptist Church sends Rev. Reuben Jones to the organizational meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Augusta, Georgia.

1855 - The first church Constitution is developed and adopted, replacing the old "Rules of Decorum".

1862-1863 - Church building is used as a hospital for Union Civil War soldiers.

1873 - A Foreign Mission offering is taken to assist in building a church in Rome, Italy.

1874 - Weekly prayer meetings are begun.

1878 - Ladies' Aid Society is organized to help with fundraising for church activities.

1890 - Construction of a new brick sanctuary is completed after the earlier wooden structure is moved to the back of the lot for use by the Sunday School.

1896 - The Baptist Young People's Union, the church's first youth organization, is formed.

1901 - The Women's Missionary Society is organized to support mission activities of the church.

1902 - The church begins publication of the Suffolk Baptist Outlook, a monthly newsletter for its members.

1911 - Suffolk Baptist Church joins the Blackwater Baptist Association.

1919 - Dr. and Mrs. Carl Jordan are appointed as missionaries to China, the first missionaries supported by the church.

1929 - One hundred thirty-eight members of Suffolk Baptist Church withdraw their membership and organize West End Baptist Church.

1930 - Suffolk Baptist Church adopts the new name, First Baptist Church.

1938 - The Goodwin Building is dedicated, enlarging Sunday School education space.

1957 - Wilroy Baptist Mission is adopted, and services are held in various locations in the Wilroy area. Wilroy Baptist Church is constituted in 1960.

1957 - The first services are held in the new First Baptist Church sanctuary, which is still in use.

1958 - Southside Mission is adopted, and services are held in an old cotton gin building. The mission becomes Southside Baptist Church in 1965.

1960 - Riverside Baptist Mission is adopted. Nansemond River Baptist Church is constituted in 1968.

1963 - The Traylor Building, used for Christian education, is dedicated.

1965 - A children's Day Care program is begun, followed soon by a Kindergarten.

1965 - First Baptist Church adopts Temple Baptist Mission of York, Pennsylvania. Temple Baptist Church is constituted in 1976.

1968 - First Baptist Youth Choir tours and makes presentations at churches in the eastern United States and Jamaica, over a period of two weeks.

1976 - Shrewsbury Baptist Mission, Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania, is adopted. It becomes Shrewsbury Baptist Church in 1986.

1982 - The first presentation of Living Pictures is given, reaching thousands of people during the Easter season.

1988 - First Baptist Christian School is organized, offering grades 1-3.

1989 - The church's new Family Life Center is dedicated.

1997 - First Baptist Church joins the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia.

2001 - A second Sunday morning Worship Service is initiated.

2001 - First Baptist Church sponsors West End Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia.

2002 - First Baptist Church observes its 175th Anniversary.