First Baptist Church of Herndon

The congregation was established in 1899 and a stone church was constructed in 1900 at the current location. The property was donated by one of the congregation’s founding members, a prominent Washington DC attorney named J. J. Darlington, who spent his summers in Herndon. In addition to the land and financial aid, he provided the stone from his quarry for the building. The church bell, that is still rung every Sunday morning, was a gift of a Darlington family friend.

The Sanctuary was refurbished and the Fellowship Hall added in 1951. The Education Building was added in 1965. The original Sanctuary was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone in 1987 to reorient the sanctuary, to better utilize the site, and to allow for the growing congregation.

For much of our early history, we were served by interim and visiting pastors. Our longest term pastors were: Leland Wyatt who served 37 years (1951-1988) and Raymond Spears who served 18 years (1990-2008) before each retired. On September 26, 2010, Sean Roberds was installed as our Senior Pastor and we feel most blessed to have him here.

Ox Hill Baptist Church in Chantilly and Southview Community Church in Reston were started as missions of First Baptist Church of Herndon. Today our congregation is diverse, reflecting our community and the world.