Kansas' First Baptist Church - First Missionary Baptist Church in Leavenworth

By Leavenworth County Historical Society Facebook post

First Missionary Baptist Church at 800 W. 7th in Leavenworth, Kansas will celebrate their 166th anniversary in May 2023. 

The church has quite an interesting history.

In May 1857, before Kansas became a state, during a time of border warfare between proslavery and free staters and when a drought caused crop failure and famine, a group of freedmen and women organized a place of worship at the corner of Third and Pottawatomie under the leadership of the Rev. Dennis Jones.

Three years later, after the first building was destroyed by fire, another place of worship was built at Sixth and Miami. Between 1868 and 1874, the congregation then raised funds to purchase land at Seneca and Broadway. 

A charter was granted in 1874, which ultimately established the First Missionary Baptist as the oldest Baptist church in the state of Kansas.

Over the years, the congregation was often plagued by financial problems and times of division. A small frame building was constructed at 120 North Broadway. Church history indicates that Rev. J.W. Hays, who began serving the congregation in 1907, found a building on Choctaw Street that was to be torn down and encouraged members to purchase the brick for their church. Construction began in 1911 and was completed in 1915. This structure still stands today.

The congregation continued to grow and subsequently moved to its present location, 800 West 7th Street, in 1999. The church has been host to congressmen, military generals, a future Secretary of State, and world sports champions. Tuskegee Airmen and Buffalo Soldiers have been counted among the worshipers. Twenty-seven pastors have guided the church over the years to include Rev. Donald Sprague, who gave 31 years of service, and the current pastor, COL (RET) Rev. Thomas Cobbs. With a heritage to be proud of, the First Missionary Baptist is a church where members “can make a difference.”