First Central Bible Church traces its roots back to two churches that began in the early 1800s. The First Baptist Church was organized on November 28, 1828. The Central Baptist Church was organized on July 15, 1835. The two bodies merged on May 14, 1931 to form First Central Baptist Church.
First Central had been affiliated with the Pioneer Valley Baptist Association (formally Westfield Baptist Association), the Massachusetts Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Convention. A slow pulling away started in the mid-1960’s and at the annual meeting on January 8, 1975, the church voted to delete any references about the Convention and the Association from the church constitution.
In June 2016, we changed our name to First Central Bible Church.
Today, First Central Bible Church operates as an independent church. The church moved to its current location in 1878. The sanctuary was renovated in 2018.