First Baptist Church was organized in 1879 as Manly Baptist Church in Manly, North Carolina. Membership was 16 at the time and services were held on the 4th Sunday of each month. The church was a member of Sandy Creek Baptist Association, the oldest Baptist association in North Carolina. 

      In 1899, First Baptist moved from Manly to the corner of West Connecticut Avenue and Page Street in Southern Pines. Membership had doubled at that time to 32. In 1901, First Baptist began to hold worship services every Sunday. We were the first church in the association to do so. 
       First Baptist moved to our current location on New York Avenue in 1936 with a membership of 154. First Baptist has continued to grow over the past 80+ years. In 1951, a new Educational Building was added, and in 1977, the current Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall were completed. The new Adult and Preschool Educational Facility and renovated Youth Complex were completed in 2008, followed by renovations to the
Sanctuary in 2014. 
      In 1964, the Rev. John Stone was called as Senior Minister and served faithfully for 34 years until he retired in 1998. The Rev. Dr. David Helms was then called as Senior Minister after serving as our Minister of Education & Youth for 15 years. After 40 years of faithful service, Dr. Helms retired in July 2023. Over the past 144 years, First Baptist has only had eight Senior Ministers, with two of those ministers serving for the past 60 years.