Our History
The First Baptist Church of Owego was the second Church organized in this village. It was organized September 28, 1831, by thirteen men and seventeen women who made up The Baptist Society. The church was organized in Daniel Chamberlain's dwelling house on the west side of Park Street. Mr.Chamberlain was a wagon maker.In November 1831 application was made to occupy the court room at the Court House as a place of worship. It was agreed to by the Board of Supervisors of Tioga County. The first Pastor was Samuel W. Ford and his compensation was $300.00 a year.
The first "settled" Pastor was James Burdick-- a graduate of Brown University (1833). His salary was only $300.00 a year-the Society paid half and the Baptist State Convention paid half. In addition to this, his house rent and firewood were furnished by the Society. The Society increased in members and steps were soon taken to build a meeting house. In February 1834 Deacons were authorized to raise money by subscription and build a new church as soon as possible. Money was raised and a new church was built that year on the southeast corner of Main and Church Streets on land which Charles Pumpelly sold to the Society for $275. The Meeting House was 40' X 60' and occupied all of the lot. The Meeting House was dedicated January 8 1835, and was occupied as a Place of Worship for twenty years.
In June 1854, William King became the "settled" Pastor, resigning in 1881. During his 27 year ministry, 1,111 persons were added to the church membership. In 1857 the old wooden builidng was replace with a large brick edifice witha seating capacity of about 300. Rev. William King , the Pastor of the Church, preached the dedication sermon in the forenoon of January 14, 1858 on the rise and progress of the church since its organization. The new church cost $16000. It was remodeled and materially enlarged in 1871 and again in 1896.
This was the first anit-slavery Church in the country, and the people were twice mobbed for allowing a Quaker to preach on the subject of "Human Rights". Washington Gladden and Frederick Douglassspoke here during the days of Abolition.
Washington Gladden in his "Reminisciences of Owego" says - "In the Baptist Church there was at first, I think, no instrument, but the solid phalanx of twenty or thirty voices in the midst of which Hammon Pinney stood, tuning fork in hand, giving out the key to the singers as they rose...The singing of the Baptist Sunday School under Mr. Pinney's leadership was also most inspiring; for several summers I walked three miles every Sunday morning before nine o'clock that I might have the privilege of joining in it."
It is also noteworthy that, in the early 1850's, First Baptist was the Church home of J.D. Rockefeller. Further, subsequent to the Civil War, General Henry Martin robert, a Military Hero and the author of "Robert's rules of Order", was a member of this church. The Truman Family of Owego also claimed First Baptist as their Church Home in the early 1900's.
In the steeple of this Meeting House was placed the first and only town clock ever seen at Owego. It was the invention of Charles F Johnson of the town of Tioga and was constructed by him and John J Speed of Ithaca.
May 1, 1863 the Baptist Society purchased off David Mersereau for $500 the house and lot east of the church and for many years the house was occupied by the Pastor of the Church as a Parsonage. In 1896 the sloping floors and semi-circular pews were installed. In 1911 the current stained glass windows were installed, except for the King Memorial Window above the Baptistry, which was installed in 1917.
Now that the Church is 178 years old, it will be exciting to see what God is going to do with First Baptist Church of Owego under the leadership of her Senior Pastor, Rev. G. Terry Steenburg. These are exciting times for our church; with Pastor Terry's strong commitment to inter-church unity and Prayer, he stays busy working with Owego clergy for the sole purpose of "preparing the soil" for Revival in Owego. Rev. Steenburg has a determined interest in evangelism and outreach and is anticipating First Baptist to grow. His Prayer is not however for God to fill the Church with people but, rather for God to fill the Church with himself. "When the true God is truly present, people will come," he says. He often incorporates his trumpet and singing abilities into Worship Services-even into his sermons.
With the help of many Members of the Church, Pastor Terry led the way in our 175th Anniversary Celebration in 2006. A bright yellow and green banner hung on the front of the Church announcing the anniversary. A Concert Series, An update to our church's history book, give-away pens, a formal anniversary ceremony, the Whitt family taking part in the morning service, former Pastor Ken Simpson coming to preach, a catered Banquet- even Pastor Terry's new beard!- all these things were part of what the Anniversary was all about. Rev. Steenburg is hoping to be present for First Baptist's 200th Anniversary. He believes " the third great awakening" will come prior to 2031. He is growing stronger in his belief in "The Purpose Driven Life" and " The Purpose Driven Church". He continues to strive to lead his ministry deeper into these teachings.
"THANK YOU, LORD, FOR WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO!
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