An Englishman named Robert Raikes began “Sunday School” as a way to educate the poorest children in his hometown of Gloucester. Since the factories closed on Sunday, Raikes seized the opportunity to invite the children to reading classes on Sunday morning, followed by attending a Christian worship service. Over the years, this idea gained traction and it has been estimated that in 70 years the “Sunday School movement” may have helped over 2 million English children learn to read, beginning an educational revolution in that country.

When the idea of Sunday School crossed the Atlantic to the United States, the focus became Bible education because it was highly promoted by the Baptist General Tract Society.

It is this form of education that continues today at First Baptist Church.

We believe that the Holy Bible was written by divinely inspired men and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. 2 Timothy 3:15-17