A century of gospel ministry

The Early Years

Our church was organized on March 4, 1926, as Calvary Baptist Church — the fifth Southern Baptist church in Arizona. We began with 170 members under our first pastor, Rev. Ed G. Butler, in a Glendale that was still mostly farmland.

Without a building of our own, the congregation first met in the Glendale School auditorium. Two lots were soon purchased at 2nd Avenue and C Avenue, and on December 4, 1926, the first services were held in our new auditorium. The church carried that mortgage through the Great Depression before finally paying it off in the early 1940s.

Though small, the congregation was deeply engaged in the life of the community and the nation. During World War II, the church sent its state Baptist paper to every member serving overseas, and in August 1945 held a memorial service honoring five sons of the church who gave their lives in the war.

Continued growth brought new needs. A nursery was added in the late 1940s, and an education building followed in 1948–1949. In March 1956, the congregation adopted its present name — The First Southern Baptist Church of Glendale — and began acquiring additional lots along what would soon be renamed 58th Avenue.

Change & Growth

By the early 1960s, attendance had grown to the point of requiring two Sunday services. Under Pastor Bob Warren, the church moved forward with plans for a new sanctuary, and the congregation's enthusiasm was unmistakable: $270,000 in bonds sold out in just eleven and a half days. The new building was dedicated on May 1, 1969, with 764 people in attendance and eighteen people added to the church that day.

As the church continued to grow and reach the community, leadership looked ahead. In December 1981, in an act of faith that would take nearly two decades to bear fruit, the church purchased 14 acres near 59th and Brown Avenues for $1,000,000.

A New Chapter on 59th Avenue

Mark Mucklow became pastor in October 1993. That same year, the church became debt-free and began planning to relocate to the property purchased years earlier. Ground was broken in March 2001 on our current campus near 59th and Peoria, and in 2018 the congregation fully paid off the building loan.

The Same Mission Today

In more recent years, the Lord has knit our church together with Christian Challenge, a collegiate ministry serving Arizona Christian University, Grand Canyon University, and Glendale Community College. College students and young adults now call FSBCG home, alongside saints who have prayed for this church for decades.

Times change, but the gospel does not. We remain committed to the same Bible, the same Savior, and the same Great Commission that started this church in 1926 — and we are eager to welcome new families and new neighbors into the next chapter of what God is doing here.