MARIETTA- Nearly two centuries have passed since a group of Baptists “met in the Easterly part of Marietta and joined ourselves into a church,” according to a plaque mounted on a wall of First Baptist Church of Marietta.

“The church was organized on Sept. 5, 1818, and we’re already talking a lot about our 200th anniversary celebration – it’s really not that far off,” said Pastor Chad Mugrage. “And this church has been through some adversity, but we’re still going strong.”

Baptists have been here from the very beginning. One of Marietta’s first Baptists, a preacher named Capt. William Mason, arrived in 1788 with the original 48 members of the Ohio Company of Associates, according to the church history.

The early Baptist pioneers originally met in various homes or “branches” as they established communities along the Ohio and Muskingum rivers. One of those, located along Rainbow Creek near Lowell, was a predecessor of the First Baptist Church of Marietta, Mugrage noted.

After the 1818 formal establishment of what was then known as The First Baptist Church of Marietta Township, the first of three buildings that have housed the church was built, appropriately, on Church Street in Marietta by 1836.

That facility burned in 1855, and another church was constructed on Putnam Street near city hall.

The current church building, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, was dedicated in September of 1907.

“This building has been through some floods, too,” Mugrage noted. “There are photos of past floods where the water was over the arched entrances to the church. That’s one reason our sanctuary was moved to the second floor.”

And in October 1971 a boiler explosion in the church claimed the lives of four Sunday School students and their teacher. The tragedy was key to the development of federal safety standards for building heating systems.

Today the First Baptist Church of Marietta continues to grow with programs that benefit the community as well as the church’s membership.

“Everyone is welcome at this church – anybody and everybody can come visit at any time,” said Wil Dimit who’s been a member since 1964.

He said people often comment on how friendly the congregation is at First Baptist.

“A young lady from Marietta College who came here a couple weeks ago sent us an email that this was the friendliest church she’d ever attended,” Dimit said, adding that, in addition to college students, the church is also seeing workers with the shale oil and gas industry visiting on some Sundays.

“And we have good participation in our Sunday School following Sunday services,” he said. “There are classes and programs for all ages.”

Mugrage said “The Church with the Caring Touch” is First Baptist’s motto.

“We try to go above and beyond in reaching out to the community and help people,” he said. “Tuesday evenings people with needs can meet with some of our members to see how we can help them with issues like rent and utilities. We set aside about $20,000 a year to help people in our community. We want to touch people, whether they’re college students away from home or local people in need.”

The church also provides a community lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.

“It’s a full meal from the church,” Mugrage said. “We’ve served crowds as low as 35 and as large as 100 people. And we don’t just feed them, our members will grab a plate of food and sit down and talk with those who come to the dinners. We want to show a real interest in their lives.”

He said any food left over from the dinners is wrapped up and sent home with those in need. But the lunches are not just for the needy.

“We have people who are just lonely and want to come share a meal and talk with someone,” Mugrage said.

Other programs at the church are targeted for children, youth, adults and senior adults.

“We started our senior adult program early this year. It’s called the JOY ‘Just Older Youth’ Club,” Mugrage said, adding that the group takes trips to areas like the Amish country, but they also work together on missions projects.

He said ministering inside and outside the church is what keeps the First Baptist Church of Marietta alive.

“One of my challenges as a pastor is to look at how we’ll continue to serve the area for another 200 years,” Mugrage said. “We have to keep focusing on the future.”