Two and a Quarter Centuries on Main and Love
The First Baptist Church of Erwin stands at the corner of Main and Love Streets in downtown Erwin, in a place that has held a congregation almost as long as there has been a Tennessee. Founded before the State came into being, the church predates both Unicoi County and the town itself. Its roots reach back into the late 1780s, when it organized as Greasy Cove Baptist Church and was one of seven congregations that came together in 1786 to form the Holston Baptist Association. The church still belongs to that same Association.
After nearly fifty years of fellowship, the congregation reorganized in 1822 as Indian Creek Baptist Church. The first seat of Unicoi County government actually met in the church's meetinghouse during the years before a courthouse could be built, and the downtown area was given to the city by D. J. N. Ervin during Reconstruction. Ervin - the same man for whom Erwin was originally named - had attended Indian Creek Baptist Church as a boy. As Erwin expanded, the church moved alongside the city; by the early twentieth century the name had settled into its present form, First Baptist Church.
The first century of the church's life brought considerable reach into the surrounding hills. First Baptist planted six daughter congregations - Flag Pond, Shallow Ford, Coffee Ridge, Ninth Street, Calvary, and Hulen - each started as a neighborhood mission. In 1912, the church founded the Unaka Academy, a private high school open to all Unicoi County children; four years later the city purchased the school and made it the seed of what is now the county's public school system.
The present campus was given to the church in 1913 by congregant and businessman A. R. Brown. An earlier sanctuary with stained glass went up on the corner of Main and Love in 1915, with a small education wing following a few years later. Explosive growth from the region's industrial economy soon required more space, and in 1957 the soaring modernist sanctuary that the church still worships in was built. Its clean lines, exposed-beam construction, and warm wood finishes are meant to evoke the surrounding mountains - a deliberate echo of the natural beauty of Unicoi County.
A decade later, in 1967, the Rex Lewis family gave the church an 8'11" Steinway Model D grand piano. In 1970, a three-manual Schantz organ with thirty-three ranks and 1,868 pipes was installed. Both instruments still support worship each Sunday. A deeper chronicle of the church's long history, written by Martha "Twerpy" Brown Stromberg, is held in the Church Library.
Sunday Mornings at First Baptist
Sunday School gathers at 9:45 a.m. across the education building. At 11:00 a.m., the congregation moves into the Sanctuary for the Worship Hour - what the senior pastor describes as "meaningful modern-traditional worship." Hymns accompanied by piano, organ, and choir give shape to the service, and special musical offerings are woven into the liturgy. Scripture is read from both Testaments; the congregation prays for one another, the wider community, and the world; and the pastor preaches. From time to time, baptisms and the Lord's Supper are observed.
The service is rooted in the church's ecumenical Baptist identity: the elements of worship are carefully planned to connect the gospel with the history of the church and the world in which the congregation lives. Senior Pastor Dr. Brian Scott often greets newcomers after the service, and ushers are easy to find for directions or questions.
Children are welcome in worship. A Sunday Early Education room staffed by Nicole Morris and a team of volunteers is available during the Worship Hour, and a Mother's Room - quiet, private, and adjacent to the Chapel - is set aside for nursing and caring for infants. Brown Parlor hosts a Sensory Space during the service for anyone who finds the larger Sanctuary overwhelming: lights are dimmed and the service is broadcast on a closed-circuit television so worshippers can stay connected while experiencing worship in a way that feels safe and supportive.
Wednesday Nights Around the Building
Three gatherings meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m., each in a different room. The Midweek Chapel Study offers acoustic, contemplative worship and a brief reflection in the Chapel next to the Sanctuary. Across the courtyard, Pathlight for Kids invites children to a missions-based class in the Education Building. Youth Bible Study, led by Minister to Students Dr. Guillermo Mendoza, gathers in the Education Building for teenagers - both junior high and senior high.
The midweek rhythm keeps the broader family of the church connected through the working week. There is no need to be a member to attend; visitors and newcomers are always welcome.
The Main Street Market
Hunger relief is one of the most visible expressions of the church's mission in Unicoi County. The Main Street Market, a member-led food pantry operated by First Baptist, distributes groceries from the North Lot on the first Monday of each month at 9:00 a.m. Distributions are face-to-face rather than drive-through: volunteers help families choose what they need, offer hospitality, and often prayer. Some guests come once; others come for a season; still others come regularly as they work to regain stability.
The pantry is as much about connection as about provision. Volunteers from the congregation shop, organize, unload deliveries, pack boxes, offer hospitality, and lovingly greet every guest. Monetary gifts are accepted online or by mail, marked for "Main Street Market." A Community Resource Guide prepared by the church lists other local assistance - Care and Share, Calvary Baptist, the Col. J. F. Toney Memorial Library, UETHDA, and more - and the church's own appearance on that guide offers First Baptist as a place where anyone can turn in a moment of need.
Sunday School: The Heart of Small-Group Life
Sunday School is described in the congregation's own language as "the faithful hands and hearts behind a ministry that gathers every Sunday morning for study, fellowship, and the steady work of discipleship." Classes meet during the 9:45 hour and are open to anyone, member or not.
Children's classes are organized by age. A nursery for the youngest is taught by Nicole Morris. Mrs. Shirley Erwin and Mrs. Christy Holley together lead the three-, four-, and five-year-olds. Tyler Engle, the Sunday School Superintendent, teaches grades one through six in the upper-floor multipurpose room. Dr. Guillermo Mendoza teaches both junior high and senior high in Room 201.
Adults choose among several long-rooted classes:
- Baraca, the church's longest continually meeting class, gathers adult men in Room 110-C under the shared leadership of Dr. Ed Mobley and Tom Wilkins. It works through curriculum from Smyth and Helwys and emphasizes the steady friendship of men around the Word.
- Mosaic is the intergenerational class taught by Mrs. Logan Engle in the Library. Its study rotates between books of the Bible, contemporary Christian books, and an examination of global faith traditions - an expression of First Baptist's ecumenical perspective.
- Tapestry is the women's class taught by Dr. Janie Snyder in Room 110-A. The name fits: women of varied ages and backgrounds weave their stories together through Smyth and Helwys' Connections series.
- Español meets in Room 102, the Brown Parlor, under Fernando Díaz, in Spanish. It exists to give Spanish-speaking adults a place to study Scripture in their own language and grow together as a church family.
Music: A Cherished Inheritance
Music has always been integral to worship at First Baptist. The Sanctuary Choir is the heart of the program, leading congregational singing each week and offering special music throughout the church year - including seasonal cantatas and festival services for Advent, Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. Rehearsals are open to adults and youth; no audition is required, only a willing spirit. Sherry Hendrix, an accomplished pianist and organist who has served as accompanying artist since 2020, plays both instruments, while Preston Holley, Minister of Music, plans the musical arc of each service.
The instruments carry their own stories. The Schantz organ, installed in 1970, fills the room with thirty-three ranks and nearly two thousand pipes. The Steinway Model D concert grand was built in 1940 and was used by pianist Roger Williams on tour before the Rex Lewis family presented it to the church in 1967. Recently restored, it still anchors congregational singing and the choir's anthems. The music ministry also welcomes handbells, strings, brass, and woodwinds - whatever gifts members bring - and a children's and youth program nurtures faith through music from an early age.
Beliefs and Affiliations
First Baptist describes itself as a historically Baptist congregation with an ecumenical perspective, driven to impact the community through local missions and civic engagement, as well as through giving to regional, state, national, and global efforts. The church subscribes to the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention and summarizes its commitments through the four "fragile freedoms."
Bible freedom locates the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, at the center of Christian life and study. Soul freedom - the priesthood of all believers - affirms every Christian's direct access to God without the imposition of creed or clergy control. Church freedom means that this congregation, under the Lordship of Jesus, is free to determine its membership, leadership, and worship. Religious freedom means that all people are free to worship in whatever manner and with whomever they choose, without coercion or state intervention.
Affiliations include the Holston Baptist Association, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, CBF Tennessee, the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, and the Southern Baptist Convention, among other local, state, regional, national, and international partnerships. The church is governed by a constitution most recently amended in February 2024, with a senior pastor, a body of deacons, trustees, and a broad slate of elected committees.
Two ordinances are observed: believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. Membership is open by profession of faith and baptism, by transfer letter from another Baptist church, by statement of prior baptism where records are unavailable, or by watch-care for those wishing to maintain membership elsewhere while affiliating with First Baptist.
A Capital Campaign for the Next Generation
In 1947 the church committed itself to the expansion and improvement of its campus - a decision whose benefits the present congregation still enjoys. The Light the Way campaign continues that tradition, raising gifts and four-year pledges toward an estimated $350,000 of work on the church's physical plant. Funded projects include assistive listening devices, new sanctuary speakers, sanctuary piano refurbishment, the chiller plant rebuild, the Education Building re-roof, replacement of the church business office windows and HVAC, parking-lot sealing, choir-loft spotlamps, and a contingency reserve.
Gifts and four-year pledges may be made online or by mail, and contributions may be given confidentially. The campaign's rallying line - "No gift too small. No gift too late" - echoes a tradition of faithful stewardship that goes back to the sanctuary's earliest days.
Finding Your Place at First Baptist
The church gathers at 200 Love Street and is reachable by phone at 423-743-9156 or by email at hello@erwinfirst.org. Business office hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A free bus ministry provides rides to and from Sunday services; reservations go through the church office. Tuesdays Together, in two sessions at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., gives women a deeper Scripture study, and Moms with Littles meets Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. in Brown Parlor.
Worship is livestreamed on YouTube, and weekly updates appear in the First Baptist News newsletter and the printed worship folder. Giving is available online through a secure form. The senior pastor - Dr. Brian Scott, the church's thirty-sixth - and his wife Jill began their ministry at First Baptist in January 2025; he holds an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from the McAfee School of Theology.
The staff and ministry leaders include Minister of Music Preston Holley, Minister to Students Dr. Guillermo Mendoza, Sunday Early Education Director Nicole Morris, and Accompanying Artist Sherry Hendrix. A team of technical services staff - broadcast and multimedia technicians and engineers - handles the audio and video for live and streamed services. The pastor's invitation is simple: "We are a warm and welcoming people who delight in opening our doors to the community and serving our neighbors... I invite you to come and join us as we journey together with Jesus Christ."