History of The First Baptist Church



The history of First Baptist began 219 years ago.

It was a Christian congregation serving all of the

West Warwick community by seeking, engaging, and encouraging others through a life changing journey.

We place a high priority on teaching from the bible. Our vision is to impact and renew West Warwick and beyond with the transforming message of Jesus Christ through words and actions.




The legal title of the church was THE FIRST SOCIETY OF WARWICK. it was one of the mother churches of the town beginning on November 11, 1805. They later took the title of The Baptist Church of East Greenwich, Warwick, and North Kingstown. At that time the original group had 37 members.



Today our name has been shortened somewhat and we are now known as the First Baptist Church of West Warwick. However, our message is still the same as our forefathers. It's all about Jesus.

We are a community of loving and friendly people that worship God and we are here to serve others.



Nearly Insolvent





PawtUXET VALLEY ROCKED BY TEXTILE STRIKE OF 1922



Sometime later the Pawtuxet Valley was rocked by the textile strike of 1922. During the decades that followed, the church often found itself deeply in debt and nearly insolvent. The Rev. Paul Rollins and Deacon Gordon Lyons points out that, that fortunately throughout the Great Depression the church always managed to survive and credited this to rugged individualism in the party of the congregation.


The church still stands today at 1613 Main Street, West Warwick, RI. The church was built during a time of great prosperity. With the Civil War came a demand for textiles in the 1860's. during this period the parishioners became quite affluent and undertook many costly projects. Many repairs were undertaken during this time. They even acquired and installed a Mason & Hamin organ at a cost of $425.




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