Serving our community for 129 Years.

1891

Salem Baptist Church, originally called First United Baptist Church of Christ of Salem, was organized February 27, 1891. The meeting took place on South Church Street at the Union Church building. We then became known as “First Baptist” for a period of years, but was later called Salem Baptist Church as it is today.

1907

The earliest associational report of Sunday School at Salem Baptist is found in the associational minutes of 1907. Sunday School continues to be a vital part of the church with classes for all age groups. 

1910 

A new concrete block building was built on North Hayden Avenue. This structure was built of blocks molded on the grounds from sand and limestone.

1937

The first Vacation Bible School, according to the minutes, was in 1937.

1940 

New Sunday School Rooms were added and dedicated the fifth Sunday of September 1940. During the following years the church membership grew from 105 to 268, remodeling programs were implemented, bus ministry began and a church parsonage was built. J.W. Hansen was pastor during this period.

1949 

The first bus ministry was begun in 1949 when J.W. Clarke offered to let the church use his school bus as a church bus. At that time, school bus drivers owned their own buses. In 2016, Salem Baptist Church purchased a new bus with a capacity of 26.

1961

In 1961, the floor of the old auditorium was raised and a basement was dug underneath. This monumental project was accomplished entirely by volunteer labor. The men dug out the entire section with shovels. A grain elevator was extended through a front window of the church, the dirt piled on it, and then removed. In 1966, the present parsonage was built.

1975

A new church sanctuary and fellowship hall was dedicated in 1975. The first service in the new church building was an interdenominational Easter sunrise service. In 1979, an educational wing was added, replacing the old block building, which was demolished.

1997 

We purchased the former Salem Elementary School in May of 1997 and it became Salem Baptist Christian Life Center.

2009

Then in 2009 a Clothes Closet was opened in the Christian Life Center to serve the needs of the community. Volunteers from SBC operated it. The Clothes Closet transitioned into a Thrift Shop in 2012 with Carolyn Howard as the director.

2015

In 2015, SBC launched their Annual Easter Service known as Raise & Praise.