First Baptist Church stands on Central Avenue in the lakeshore city of Dunkirk, New York, where it has been a fixture of the community since the spring of 1830. It was the very first church of any denomination organized in the village, and members still gather in the same neighborhood where the Baptists once met in the village schoolhouse on Third Street. Today the church occupies a brick building completed and dedicated in 1975, with a lower-level Fellowship Hall and classrooms that house Central Christian Academy. The congregation's motto captures its purpose plainly: worship God, grow spiritually, and share the Gospel.
From the Village Schoolhouse to the 1975 Building
Twenty-two charter members, most of them residents of Dunkirk who belonged to the Fredonia Baptist Church, formed First Baptist on May 5, 1830 and called Benjamin F. Robbins as their first pastor. With no meeting house of their own, the Baptists worshipped in a small brick school building on Third Street near Central Avenue, a structure whose first floor served as the village jail and whose second floor doubled as town hall, school, and church in turn. It took twenty-five years for the congregation to acquire a permanent home. On March 21, 1853, the trustees were instructed to buy a lot and build a good brick meetinghouse about fifty by seventy feet.
The present building at 876 Central Avenue was completed and dedicated in 1975. The Leiby Fellowship Hall and additional classrooms for what would become Central Christian Academy were added later. The 150th anniversary was marked in 1980 under Pastor Horst with a dinner and a display of photographs in the library, and the 175th was celebrated in 2005 even while the church was between pastors. The congregation's bicentennial arrives in 2030, and the members look forward to marking two hundred years of the same gospel work in the same city.
An Independent Baptist Family with Ties Beyond Dunkirk
First Baptist describes itself as an independent Baptist church with connections to two fellowship bodies: the Northeast Fellowship and the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. Its governing officers are pastors and deacons, and its teaching ministry centers on the Bible as the sole and final authority for faith and life. The church holds to the ordinances of believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, teaches the pre-tribulation rapture of the church and the pre-millennial return of Christ, and believes that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit concluded with the completion of the New Testament canon.
Core Values and Statement of Faith
The church's core values include worship as a lifestyle, obedience to the Word, the Bible as the sole authority, prayer as the key to power, the local church as the faith community under Christ, fellowship and service, and the conviction that every person matters to God. A more detailed statement of faith covers the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, the Trinity, the full deity and full humanity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the substitutionary atonement, justification by faith, sanctification, the eternal security of the believer, and the hope of Christ's return.
Worship on Sunday Morning
Sunday worship begins at 9:30 am in the auditorium on the upper level. The service runs roughly sixty to ninety minutes and follows a familiar shape: blended music led by a worship leader using a mix of instruments and voices, prayer, Scripture reading, and a message from God's Word. The music draws from classic hymns of the faith alongside the best of contemporary worship songs, and lyrics are shown on screens while hymnals remain in the pew rack for those who prefer them. The teaching time is centered on Scripture and is meant to be both challenging and encouraging; sermon notes and announcements are included in the bulletin, and the same material is available in the FaithLife app. Communion is observed monthly, typically on the first Sunday, and guests who are believers are welcome to participate. An offering is received as an act of worship from members and regular attenders; guests are not expected or obligated to give, and giving envelopes are available at the Welcome Center for those who want them for tax purposes.
The whole service is live streamed every week on Facebook and YouTube, thanks to a dedicated tech team, and the recordings remain available for later viewing. Anyone who would prefer not to appear on camera can watch from the Fellowship Hall on the lower level, where the service is shown on a large screen with others.
Sunday School, Nursery, and Kid's Church
At 11:00 am the church family moves into Sunday School for all ages. Adults gather in classes in the conference room on the main level next to the Welcome Center and in the Fellowship Hall on the lower level; women's Bible study meets in the conference room. A nursery is available for infants through preschool both during worship and during Sunday School, with changing tables and a private room for nursing mothers. Children's classes use the Strong Kids curriculum, which is built on seven teaching aims drawn from Jesus' earthly ministry; children up to age two are in room 200, three- and four-year-olds in room 103, kindergarten through second grade in lower-level room 110, and third through fifth grade in lower-level room 116.
During the 9:30 worship service, Kid's Church is offered for kindergarten through fourth grade. Middle school and high school students meet in the Youth Room, room 112, on the lower level for snacks, games, and announcements, and then split by grade for their own teaching times; a youth leadership team, with Jason Wood and Liz Narraway, leads the weekly gatherings and monthly events like bonfires and game nights.
Wednesday Prayer and Weekly Bible Studies
Prayer is the central midweek gathering. At 6:30 pm on Wednesdays, the church meets in the Fellowship Hall to pray for the Gospel, the church family, missionaries, partner ministries, the community, first responders, and government leaders. For those who cannot attend in person, the prayer list is posted weekly on the Facebook Church Family Group. Men's Bible studies meet on Mondays at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall and on Wednesday mornings at 7:30 am, and a Men's Breakfast gathers at Central Station Restaurant at 332 Central Avenue every other Tuesday morning for food, fellowship, and a devotional from Breakfast with Jesus. A Monthly Saturday Men's Breakfast is held at the church and is listed on the calendar.
Growth Groups, GriefShare, and Counseling
Growth Groups are the church's small-group ministry. They meet every other week in the homes of church members, usually for about an hour and a half to two hours, and dig deeper into the previous Sunday's sermon. Groups typically run for several months at a stretch, take a break for the holidays, and resume; new visitors are welcome to try a group without making a long-term commitment. Sign-up sheets are kept at the Welcome Center.
GriefShare, a thirteen-week support program for those who have lost a family member or friend, meets on Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the church. Each session combines a video segment featuring respected counselors, teachers, and healthcare professionals with a small-group discussion. Topics cover the predictable and unpredictable emotions of grief: loneliness, anxiety, sadness, anger, regret, and the practical changes that loss brings to daily life. Participants take home a workbook of exercises to work through between sessions, and registration is handled in advance so that a book can be ready when the first session begins.
Biblical counseling is part of the church's ministry as well. Both he and his wife are certified counselors through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, and the church makes those resources available to the wider community.
Women of the Word and Table Talk
Cindi's ministry to women centers on Table Talk, a monthly brunch gathering for women that meets on the third Saturday of the month at 9:00 am. The format is open: women are welcome to come and just listen if they are not yet ready to share. The group works through a book of the Bible together and gives women an opportunity to talk about what God is doing in their lives. Participants are asked to bring a brunch dish to share and to sign up at the Welcome Center or by calling the church office.
Trunk or Treat, Blood Drives, and Other Outreach
The church reaches outward into the Dunkirk community in a number of recurring ways. Each Halloween, families park in the large lot, open and decorate the trunks of their cars, and hand out pre-packaged candy as children make their way safely from vehicle to vehicle. Operation Christmas Child is hosted at the church every November, with the building serving as a collection point for shoebox gifts. A Red Cross Blood Drive is held in the Fellowship Hall several times a year, and a Missions Sunday each October highlights the church's commitment to Great Commission work locally and around the world.
The missions program supports missionaries and partner organizations focused on sharing the Gospel and making disciples locally, nationally, and internationally. The church does not publish its full missionary list, in part because some partners serve in places closed to the Gospel, but a missionary of the month is featured for prayer and education. Short-term trips are organized to encourage missionaries on the field, and the church encourages members to write directly to the missionaries they support.
Central Christian Academy
Central Christian Academy shares the 876 Central Avenue building with the church and grew out of the classrooms that were part of the 1975 building program. The school is led by Cindi Massaro, who also teaches and counsels in the church, and its operations are supported in part through the CCA Giving Fund. Members of the church pray for and support the school year, and recent announcements have celebrated a strong end to the school year and faithful giving toward reducing the school's budget deficit.
What to Expect When You Visit
Visitors will find parking in the lot on Central Avenue, with handicap and guest spaces closest to the double side doors. A ramp inside those doors reaches the auditorium on the upper level and a second ramp leads down to the Fellowship Hall. Street parking along Central Avenue is also available, with just a few steps up to the main lobby outside the sanctuary. The dress code is whatever a guest feels comfortable wearing; some people wear a suit and tie, others wear jeans and a t-shirt, and both are equally welcome.
A Welcome Center in the center lobby is staffed before and after the service and is the place to pick up a name tag, ask questions, sign up for a Growth Group, or grab one of the booklets on the rack that cover a wide variety of life topics. The pastor, deacons, and other members gather to pray fifteen minutes before the service begins and are glad to pray with anyone who would like it afterwards. Coffee and snacks are available in the cafeteria on the lower level after the service, with signs and friendly faces pointing the way.
Pastor Mark Massaro
Mark Massaro joined First Baptist as Senior Pastor in September 2017. Before coming to Dunkirk he spent ten years as associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Princeton, Indiana, leading student and children's ministries, the senior saints ministry, and the biblical counseling ministry. Earlier, he served as a volunteer youth pastor at New Life Baptist Church in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. He and his wife, Cindi, also planted churches and worked in youth and children's ministry as missionaries with Furbo Baptist Church in Ireland and for many years as youth leaders at First Baptist in Hackensack, New Jersey, where they first met as teenagers and were married in June 1991.
Pastor Mark holds a Master of Ministry degree from Cedarville University, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Montclair State University. Before full-time ministry he worked in Christian publishing with Regular Baptist Press in Schaumburg, Illinois, and in corporate marketing for Sharp Electronics in Mahwah, New Jersey. He is an ACBC-certified biblical counselor and serves as chaplain for the Dunkirk Police Department. Cindi has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and education from Rutgers University and a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from Faith Bible Seminary. The Massaros are blessed with four grown children, two grandsons, and a granddaughter.
How to Connect
For those who want to follow along, the church's sermons are posted online, going back years and organized by speaker, book of the Bible, topic, and series; Mark Massaro is the primary preacher, with guest messages from Dan Jones, Greg Frank, Adam DeSanto, James Woodward, Aaron Young, Tim Priano, Michael Davis, and Thayne Bodenmiller. The congregation's life is also reflected on its Facebook Page, Instagram account, YouTube channel, and Text Connect alert system, and a FaithLife app carries announcements and sermon notes. Giving is available online through PayPal or Servant Keeper, with options for one-time or recurring gifts. Those who want to learn more about what the church teaches, how to become a member, or how to be baptized can pick up printed applications at the Welcome Center or follow the links on the church's site.
First Baptist Church of Dunkirk invites anyone in the Dunkirk area and beyond to come as they are. The two-hundred-year story of this congregation is still being written, one Sunday at a time, and the next chapter has room for you.