Can you guess which church is the oldest protestant church in California? Is it Immanuel Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles? First Baptist Church of San Francisco? Or St. John’s Lutheran Church of Sacramento? If you guessed the church just down the street from Fisherman’s Wharf then you are correct!
The First Baptist Church of San Francisco (FirstSF) has been in continual existence for 171 years (founded in 1849)! The current pastor, Ben Day, is the 22nd pastor to shepherd the congregationy. I wrote him an email this week, and he was kind enough to write back. He wrote this, “The members at FirstSF regularly speak of the faithfulness of God towards our church. They know that it is only because of God and Him working through faithful members that the church has been able to serve in the heart of SF for so long.”
He also wrote this, “A church that hopes to experience God’s faithfulness towards them must be faithful to God. While God is certainly faithful to us in times when we are unfaithful, we should not use that as a license to be unfaithful. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, Jesus makes it clear that he will remove the lamp stand of the churches that aren’t faithful to Him. This means being faithful to His Word.”
I was struck by what a powerful testimony FirstSF can be for true believers here in California. The churches that are faithful to God’s word will last. They will survive the fires, pandemics, and political turmoil of this age. Pastor Ben reminded me that Covid-19 is not the first pandemic that their church has survived. They have pictures from the Flu pandemic of 1918 with people in their congregation worshipping outside with face coverings. FirstSF also survived the great earthquake and fire of 1906! Even though their beautiful sanctuary burned down, they were able to trust in God and rebuild in their current location.
It is sobering to consider what God has brought their church through. And it is encouraging to know they don’t give credit to created beings. No, they give credit to the Creator God and his amazing faithfulness to them! He is the one who has brought them through those devastating difficulties and he is the one who can bring them through any trial that may come their way.
This weekend I am preaching on the need for our church to persevere, and I have been meditating on these questions, “How long will our church last? Will we be faithful to the commands of Scripture? Will God allow us to keep the lamp stand for this generation and those to come?” We don’t know when our Lord and Savior will return, but it could be very soon! Are we going to be found faithfully defending the truth? Will we “Keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ?” (1 Tim. 6:14)?
These are weighty questions that deserve careful thought and consideration. Every church in California needs to consider if they are being faithful to Scripture. If not, they must repent and return to God. If they are being faithful, they must cry out to him to sustain them through the continual temptations of life and the attacks of the enemy! May God protect His church as she awaits the return of Christ! Maranatha!
Pastor Tim is the teaching pastor at Grace Baptist Church Lemoore. The church is celebrating 42 years of God’s faithfulness! You can read more of Pastor Tim’s articles at www.christandcommonsense.com.
