It all started with a phone call in the summer of 1953…

Sometime in the summer of 1953, an unknown woman telephoned the First Baptist Church of Hammond and asked why there wasn’t a Baptist church in Griffith. This inquiry set in motion a sequence of events, which led to the constituting of the church known as the First Baptist Church of Griffith. Rev. Harold Teijon, First Baptist Hammond’s Assistant Pastor, was on a mission to see this church established.

In September 1953, a prayer meeting was held in the Masonic Hall in downtown Griffith. In December 1953, the board of directors of First Baptist Church of Hammond sent a committee of five couples to Griffith to canvas the town. On January 4 1954, they met in the American Legion Hall on Wiggs Street and had an attendance of 144 people. The five couples sent out were: Mr. & Mrs. Lester Blythe, Mr. & Mrs. Sid Powell, Mr. & Mrs. Glen Bacon, Mr. & Mrs. Ted Hiddle, and Mr. & Mrs. Chester Stickler.

The mission moved their meeting place to the Mason Hall on Broad Street and later moved into the old Christian Church building on Broad Street. By the end of 1955, property was purchased and church built on Harvey Street just south of 45th Street.

In February 1956, the vote on whether to stay with the mother church or go independent was split. Those who wished to go independent maintained the name of First Baptist Church and moved to Franklin School. Those who did not wish to leave the mother church remained at the Harvey Street location since the First Baptist Church of Hammond has supplied the money to build the church. They took the name Griffith Baptist Church and are still at the Harvey Street location.
In November 1957, Rev. Delbert Krooswyk became pastor and served until 1960. Under his ministry we joined the Southern Baptist Convention. The present church property was undeveloped when purchased in July 1964 for $12,000.00. Construction began in the spring of 1965 with 227 people present for the morning worship service that day. The building had an educational wing, nursery rooms, offices, kitchen facilities, fellowship hall, and classrooms for a Christian preschool.
Other men who have served as pastor are:

• Rev. Sam Martin in 1960
• Rev. Clem Morris interim in 1962
• Rev. Kenneth Ayers from 1963-1968
• Rev. Richard Sowards interim 1968-1969
• Rev. Melvin Hampton from 1969-1971
• Rev. Thurmon Harris from 1971-1990
• Rev. James Heard from 1991-1999

Mrs. Mary Hiddle was one of the original ten people who began the work in the fall of 1953 and is the only one who continued uninterrupted membership. (Ted Hiddle went to be with the Lord in 1985) Mary Hiddle went to be with the Lord in January 2003; she was 91 years old.

In 1989, the church purchased the house located on the corner of Lake and Colfax for educational space. Under Pastor Heard’s ministry, we realized the need for additional facilities. The church decided to build a new Worship Center with office and classroom space and remodel the old building for more classrooms and a larger fellowship hall. We did this through the ministry Builders for Christ. Ground was broken the 1st Sunday in May of 1996, with the church occupying the new facility the 1st Sunday in December 1996. Dedication services were held on Sunday, May 4 1997. During the building project, the house on the corner of Lake & Colfax was sold and moved to Dwiggins Avenue just south of Elm Street.

In May 2000, Dr. Scott Hobbs was voted in as our current Pastor. In September 2000, Associate Pastor Steve Simko was nominated. Pastor Simko and his wife moved to to a pastorate in Concordia, Missouri about a year later. In June 2001 the church voted to call its first youth pastor, Jeremiah “JJ” Hosch. Two years later, JJ moved on to his own pastorate. In 2002 and 2003, we sponsored a mission in Schererville under the leadership of church planters, Terry & Greta Stockman. They moved on to a pastorate in Texas in 2004. In June 2005, the church called its new youth pastor, Brandon Matthews and his wife Missy.  In November of 2007 the church called Rich Wallen and his wife Cathy to be our Minister of Worship.