First Baptist Church was founded by a group of people from Scotland on October 25, 1888. They began by holding Sunday School in their homes, then moved to the Grand Old Army Hall on Bridge Street in downtown Westbrook. At the time many of these folk were attending the Free Street Baptist Church in Portland where Pastor A.T. Dunn was serving. He, however, devoted some of his time to the Saccarappa work (Westbrook) and baptized many converts in the Presumscot River. It wasn't long before the group grew large enough to want their own church and soon property was acquired (our present site) and building and developing began.

In the 1890's the church fell upon hard times with the shutting down of the Gingham Mills. Many of the active members moved to other places for employment and for several years it was a severe trial to hold regular services. Much of the credit for renewing the church after this time belongs to the State Convention for sending Evangelist J.W. Hatch and his wife in 1900 who not only encouraged the members to repair the meeting house, but to secure a new Pastor.

Much of the early strength and power of the church was due to a group of dedicated men who organized and led singing groups and Bible studies. Women were not to be outdone by the men and they too contributed to the strength of the church through the Ladies Aid Society and Philathea Class.

In the year 1923, it was deemed advantageous for the church to be incorporated and on April 12, 1923, the First Baptist Church in Westbrook was officially registered. In this same year, the home at 65 Stroudwater Street was purchased for a parsonage. In December of 1947, a fire broke out in the night from the chimney of the front furnace and it severely damaged much of the upper part of the church structure.

In 1954 more rooms were added for the growing Sunday school and the basement, likewise, underwent remodeling. These improvements helped the Sunday school for awhile, but as it continued to grow there was need again for additional space. In 1959, the Welch home adjacent to the church lot was purchased and this house with its many rooms provided more space for the Sunday school as well as dwelling quarters for the church custodian.

The church was likewise growing at this time, and it gave rise to a building project in 1963 in which much of the interior of the sanctuary and vestry was reconstructed. In 1968, a new parsonage located at 96 Oakland Avenue was purchased and in 1971, the church acquired the land and building at 705 Main Street which was transformed into a parking lot.

In 1973, plans were drawn up for a new Christian Education wing and this wing provided more room for Sunday School classes, the Church Library, the Pastor's Study, and the Secretary's Office.

In 1989-90, major repairs were made including siding and a handicap ramp installed. In 1983, a Nursery School was established and served many families in the community and church.

As a person surveys the first century of the church's history, a number of notable characteristics stand out:

First, is the strong lay involvement of both men and women over the years. As already mentioned, these men and women have organized and led men and women's groups, taught Sunday school classes, sponsored singing groups, and served in mission groups that have touched lives both here and overseas.

Second, this church has had a history of reaching out to its community. As previously noted, the church began because some of its Scottish immigrants wanted to reach children for Christ. More recently, a former Pastor, Bruce Dyer, spearheaded a community effort to reach teens in Westbrook and this eventually became known as the Mission Possible Teen Center.

As a church, we strongly believe that God wants us to be light and salt in the world and we encourage our members to follow their passion to minister to others in Christ's name. In 2009, a group of ladies from our church shared their vision of starting a soup kitchen in our church and our church has served a hot meal to the needy in our community on the third Saturday of every month funded by an annual grant from the Narragansett Number One Foundation.

Third, a strong emphasis on discipling others is evident over the years through a strong Sunday School program. After a difficult season of decline that lasted a number of years, 2016 saw the rebirth of children's programing when families with children began attending once again..

Lastly,  FBC's heart for missions can be seen throughout.

A more indepth history is available here from the 100 year celebration.

2013 - After 5 months of serving as Interim Pastor, FBC called Rev. Scott Linscott as lead pastor.

2014 - Oil furnace replaced with natural gas at a tremendous savings.

2014 - Worship space updates included state-of-the-art digital projection system with drop down screen under the center arch.

2015 - the former conference room was claimed as a new nursery space to better serve the congregation which was once again attracting young families.

2016 - installation of a full color digital sign in the front donated by a local business. The church's vision was that it become a community message board to serve both the needs of the congregation and the City of Westbrook.

2016 - A group of 18 travelled to Guatemala to work with a school in the village of Oratorio. A renewed heart for missions in a connected, significant format resulted in the church body.

2017 - more electricity upgrades to the worship space to accommodate the needs of modern worship-leading groups with electric instruments.

2017 - renovations to the lobby area with the installation of a hospitality window, new furnishing, paint, accent wall and update to the exterior of the building frontage with picket fencing, flower gardens and new lawn was completed as a mission project by the Youth Ministry Program of Eastpoint Church in South Portland.

2017 - New flooring, fresh paint and new toys mark the launch of a larger and better equipped nursey in the basement to make room for the growing number of children.

2018 - A return trip to Guatemala with a group of 19 to visit homes, distribute 130 home water filters and teach VBS.

2018 - After a year of inviting a small group of African Asylum seekers in for weekly prayer, FBC launched a new church plant for immigrants and refugees, God's Peace Assemby, spoken in French, Lingala, Portuguese. Most attenders are new to the United States and coming from the Republic of Congo.

2019 - a furniture ministry was born at FBC to help immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, people coming out of SUD treatment, survivors of domestic violence and all who had a need. A large space in the basement housed donated furniture that then went out to people by appointment or by attending a quarterly open house. By 2023 the furniture ministry had served many families in the community, even providing more than 50 new mattresses with gifts given in an Easter offering and a Christmas offering.

2019 - The Open Door Kitchen free monthly community meals marked 10 years of serving the community. (2020-2022 the leaders and crew of ODK quickly adjusted to life in a global pandemic by providing monthly meals in a drive-up format!) 

2020 - The global COVID-19 pandemic put the United States into a state of lockdown by the end of March. While some churches ignored the state directive to close public gathering spaces to stop the spread of the virus, FBC elected to submit to governing authorities and follow the wisdom of state and national doctors as well as members of the congregation with medical backgrounds and training and offer online services only.

2020 - During early summer the state started allowing gatherings with protections in place requiring masks and social distancing. FBC elected to meet outside in the city park which would allow it as many as 100 people rather than the 25-50 allowed inside. Its ministry in the park connected it with unhoused people and others in great need. That led to creating a pop-up, mobile food pantry and collecting tents, supplies and sleeping bags as a housing crisis worsened.

2020 October - 2021 November - FBC was tasked with putting together a weekly USDA "Farmers to Families" food distribution system. Cars and people on foot lined up to receive goverment food boxes and milk. By the time March 2021 came around, FBC volunteers, working with caseworkers and volunteers from other churches and Westbrook Gorham Rotary, distributed approximately 640,000 pounds of food in thousands of boxes.

2020 - A relationship with The Maine Locker Project was established inviting people into the building to receive fresh produce, breads and meats rescued from the waste stream.

2022 - FBC received a $10,000 2-year grant from the American Rescue Plan and the City of Westbrook to establish additional programs addressing food insecurity in the community. It opened a weekly food pantry and began providing occassional community meals in the city park.