A church that began in the 1850s with 29 members now has a building that spans an entire city block.

Although the First Baptist Church of Dallas opened its doors in 1854—a time when the church, led by James Reeves, was admitted to the Tallapoosa Baptist Association—according to The book Paulding County: Its People and Places by W.A. Foster Jr. it was the post-Reconstructionist period in the 1880s that was eventful for the small congregation. In 1880s, the church outgrew its original, small building on the corner of Griffin and Church streets and moved into a white-framed structure that had been constructed on Grove Park Avenue. However, the church later sold that site to the city of Dallas for $700 after it was deemed unsatisfactory due to its proximity to the railroad tracks.

In 1905, the congregation moved to its current location, a brick building on Main Street. Since that time, two additions have been made to the building—an education wing was built in 1940, and an annex was constructed in 1956.

At the turn of the century, the congregation was split during services with the men sitting on side of the sanctuary and the women on the other. Women could attend monthly church conference meetings but only men were allowed to speak.

In February 1946, the church voted to hold services every Sunday, and the Rev. Arthur Hinson was called to fill the full-time position. That December, electric chimes—a gift from Dr. Joe I. Matthews as a memorial to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Matthews—were installed and the Agatha Sunday School class sponsored a movement to add pictorial stained glass windows in the sanctuary.

In 2001, the church acquired the property at the end of South Main Street, which had formerly been the old post office. The city of Dallas signed over Forrest Street to the church, adding 0.195 acres to the church property and buildings.

But, the next year, an electrical fire broke out in the main church building. A passer-by reported the fire to authorities. Schneider Wright Inc., an architecture firm, was hired to design the church’s new building. The first services in the new building were held in February 2006.