Taken in part from the Monroe City Sesquicentennial Book of 2007.

Inspired by the growth of the town and the presence of three local churches, the Baptists of Monroe City gave serious thought to building a House of Worship. January 23, 1869 has been listed as the official date of organization for the Monroe City Baptist Church of Jesus Christ. Eleven persons were present when the Articles of Faith and Rules of Decorum were presented. On the third Saturday in February of that year, representatives from Palmyra, Pleasant Hill, Providence and Sharpsburg organized a recognition service and received the new church into the Bethel Baptist Association. Immediately following, J.M. Proctor and T.J. Canterbury were ordained as deacons.

By July 1869, interest was shown in building a house of worship. A frame building located at the corner of West Dover and Oak was finished and dedicated to the ministry of service in July 1870. The building lots were a gift from Dr. Elijah and Elizabeth Bailey. Elder William C. Busby was extended an invitation to be the first pastor. He served until he was succeeded by P.R. Ridgely in 1872.
In 1884, the frame church building was sold to another congregation for $600 and a new building was erected at a cost of $7,000. When the cornerstone was laid, a copper box was inserted in the stone. The box contained a copy of the Monroe City News of June 26, 1884, a copy of the ordinances of the city of 1879, a catalogue of Monroe Institute for the past session, a copy of Old and New Testament Scriptures, and a manuscript roll of the congregation. While waiting for the new building to be completed, the congregation met at the Monroe Institute. The first service in the new building was conducted on November, 15, 1884, and the congregation began to have preaching services every week.
On Sunday night, February 12, 1899, the First Baptist Church Building was destroyed by fire. The night was an extremely cold one and the furnace, which had been put in a few months before, had been taxed to its limit to keep the building warm during the night service. A couple of hours after the service, passers-by discovered that the building was on fire. Great effort was made to save the church building but the destruction was complete. Only the pipe organ and a few pews were saved from the burning building. There was no insurance on the building, and the loss was estimated at $5,000. The congregation was plagued with financial difficulties. Even more disastrous for the church were the dissension and problems within the church membership. These problems delayed the rebuilding and were the cause of unfavorable notoriety in many newspapers all over the state. In 1990 the dissension led some of the church members to leave the First Baptist Church and form Grace Baptist Church. Gradually, over the next twenty years, relationships became friendly between the two churches and, in 1919; members of the Grace Baptist Church requested union with the First Baptist Church and were welcomed back into the church body. The church history tells us that “the same people who became bitter twenty years before had forgiven their adversaries and Christian grace was the appealing factor that emerged the factions into a single unit.”
During the time the church was split, the remnant of First Baptist Church built another building to replace the one that was destroyed by fire. Under the leadership of their pastor, I.W. Reed, the beautiful new building was dedicated on Sunday morning, June 24, 1900. Through the years many improvements were made. A new pipe organ was installed in 1915. A basement under the sanctuary was added in 1923. The educational building was dedicated in May 1957. In 1966 the church completed a red brick veneer parsonage at 807 Prairie Street. The construction of an addition which included a new fellowship hall, kitchen, and several Sunday School rooms was begun in 2003. Heimer Construction Company built the shell, and most of the interior finishing work was completed by volunteer labor.
The following pastors have served the church during its life: W.C. Busby, P.R. Ridgley, J.S. Green, J.D. Andrews, M.D. Green, J.H. Riffe, I.W. Reed, E.T. Magnum, L.C. Lemons, Harry C. Wigger, Marvin J. Pitney, Emmett C. Owensby, David Hoy, J.D. Stewart, Philip E. Turner, David Downey, and Milton Baumgardner.
On Sunday evening, March 12, 2006. at about 10:30 p.m., a tornado touched down in Monroe City and hit the First Baptist Church building. The pastor, Rev. Baumgardner, and some people seeking shelter from the storm were in the building at the time, but there were no injuries. The sanctuary was extensively damaged and had to be demolished, but the educational building and new addition had very little damage. Although the Fellowship Hall in the new building addition was not completely finished, worship services were held there on the following Sunday. Although five Sunday School rooms were lost from the tornado, classes were relocated in the partly finished addition, and Sunday School continued.
Now, nearly three years and eight months after a tornado destroyed the building, members of the church look forward too worship services in a new sanctuary, which combines the old and the new. Although several large stained glass windows from the previous sanctuary were broken by the storm, most were salvaged from the 1899 church building and incorporated into the new sanctuary. A pipe organ also was repaired and refinished.
Before the tornado struck, on Sunday night March 12, 2006, the pastor had opened the church basement for several people to take shelter from the approaching storm. No one was injured.
At that time, the church had nearly completed construction on a multipurpose building with a fellowship hall. The congregation met at a local school building for one week while the interior of the fellowship hall was painted. Since then, worship services have been held in the fellowship hall which sustained only minor damage from the storm. Classrooms and temporary offices were completed in the basement of the fellowship hall by volunteer labor in March 2008.
Heimer Construction Company was chosen as the general contractor for the rebuilding project and members of the church and the public will have an opportunity to worship in this new House of God on Sunday for the first time.
As written in the church’s historical sketch, “History may record events and statistics, but fellowship within the body of a loving church cannot be recorded except in the lives of those who are touched by her ministry.”