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In a village setting of apple orchards and dirt paths, fourteen people met on October 22, 1924, to establish the Silver Spring Baptist Church. Services were held in the old Armory, now the Silver Spring fire station. From the beginning the group had the firm backing of the Columbia Association, later the District of Columbia Baptist Convention. This tie has endured over the years, with five members of First Baptist serving as president and with many church members being strong participants in Convention ministries.
In 1925 three lots were purchased at the corner of Wayne and
Fenton for $4,393.62. A parsonage was built, followed by an auditorium.
With the advent of the New Deal, Silver Spring became an urban community and
the tradition of community service was firmly established. The church
facilities were used as a day nursery and the church voted to give ten percent
of its income to missions.
In
1947 the church changed its name to First Baptist of Silver Spring. The
years following World War II brought unprecedented growth to the area. A
temporary sanctuary was built; twenty-eight years later, the permanent sanctuary
was built on the corner reserved for it. It was dedicated in 1957. Ministers
of Music and Education were added to the staff to help with the expanded program.
Becoming an urban church with growing cultural diversity called
for new programs. The Child Development Center was begun in 1968, and
a class of religious instruction for mentally hadicapped young people was formed;
both continue today. 
A continued response to community needs over the
following years brought an expansion of the Food Closet, the use of a church-owned
property for the Shepherd's Table (a community supported soup kitchen), and
the use of the church facilities by Haitian and Spanish congregations.
In recent years, under the leadership of Dr. Dan Ivins, the church continued to support the D.C. Baptist Convention, American Baptist Churches of the U.S.A., Baptist Senior Adult Ministries, the Baptist Home for Children and Families, ASSISST, MUSST, and the Alliance of Baptists. After nearly ten years as pastor, Dr. Ivins recently resigned. The church has called Dr. Duncan McIntosh as pastor for a deliberate interim period of three years or less while we re-evaluate the church's mission and methods. After this period we will seek another pastor who will help us carry on the church traditions of service and openness to a constantly evolving spiritual journey.