Following a series of revival services held at the courthouse by Dr. W.C. Friley, then Corresponding Secretary of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, and Rev. Edward Kelley, a small congregation was formed. The first wood frame meeting house was erected on Bellevue Street in 1883.
Fifty-nine years after the city of Opelousas had been incorporated, the First Baptist Church of Opelousas was founded November 6, 1880.
With an ever-growing Sunday School and a steady influx of baptisms and new members, the need for a new church building with increased space became pressing once again.
This growth trend prompted the church to sell the Park Vista property and purchase land along I-49 South as demographics revealed the growth of residence and commerce to the south of Opelousas.
Ground-breaking for the current facility took place in November of 2001.
The fellowship of First Baptist Church worshipped together in the new facility for the first time on December 7, 2003.
As God leads this body of born-again believers into the future, we trust that the future will be just as bright as the witness of God’s faithfulness.
