Partners

Herndon First Baptist Church

The story of Herndon’s First Baptist Church (FBC) begins in 1899, when three local families gathered above a Pine Street store to study the Bible from a Baptist perspective. From those humble meetings grew the town’s fourth church and its first Baptist congregation.

In 1900, construction began on the stone church at Elden and Monroe Streets, on land donated by J.J. Darlington, a prominent Washington, D.C. attorney and summer resident of Herndon. Darlington, himself a Baptist, encouraged the founders to build something lasting. He donated bluestone from his Herndon quarry and marble flooring salvaged from Washington’s historic Willard Hotel. Founding member J. Wesley Kephart provided the wood for construction, while his brother, William, a cabinetmaker, crafted the doors and window frames.

A friend of the Darlington family gifted the bell—cast by McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore—which still rings every Sunday morning. With its Gothic Revival architecture, stained glass windows, and stone buttresses, the church became an enduring landmark.

Today, located at 681 Elden Street, FBC stands proudly within Herndon’s Historic District and contributed to the town’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Through the decades, both congregation and structure have evolved. In 1951, the sanctuary was renovated, and a pine-paneled fellowship hall was added. An education wing followed in 1965. In 1986, the original sanctuary was carefully dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone, expanded to accommodate 350 worshippers, and crowned with a higher vaulted ceiling and extended bell tower. The most prominent stained-glass window, facing the Elden and Monroe intersection, was restored in 2007.

Beyond its architecture, FBC has played a vital role in shaping Herndon’s faith community. The church helped found Ox Hill Baptist Church in 1967 and later supported the mission that became Reston Community Church. In 1974, FBC was a founding partner of The Closet, the beloved faith-based thrift shop that continues to serve the community through volunteerism and fellowship.

For decades, the church’s WEEkday Preschool educated generations of children; today, those classrooms house a thriving English Language Learning program. The congregation also shares its building with Iglesia Bautista Shalom and the Persian Church of Herndon, both of which worship in their native languages. Community members frequently use the space for art classes, committee meetings, and local gatherings—proof that this church remains a cornerstone of civic life as well as faith.

Although some early records were lost in a fire, the church’s spirit endures. Over its 125-year history, FBC has been led by 19 pastors and continues to reflect the rich diversity of Herndon itself. As it looks ahead to welcoming its 20th senior pastor, First Baptist Church remains a living testament to devotion, resilience, and community—its bell still ringing out each Sunday as it has since 1900.

FBC worships Sundays at 10 a.m., IBS at 1 p.m. and PCH at 5 p.m.