(1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 28:19-20)

Glorifying god by making disciples

We Believe

  • In God, the Creator of all things existing in three persons:  Father, Son & Holy Spirit

                (Genesis 1:1,2)

  • The Bible is God's Word given by divine inspiration, the record of God's revelation of Himself to humanity  (2 Timothy 3:16)
  • Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, according to the scriptures He rose again on the third day, ascended into Heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of God as our Savior.  "He is the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6)
  • Salvation is a free gift from God, given to all, who by faith believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Ephesians 2:8-9)
  • Baptism is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in Jesus Christ by immersion of water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20)
  • The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby Christians, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and celebrate in anticipation of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:24-26)

Our History

The First Baptist Church of Emery, South Dakota was organized on February 24, 1886 as the German Baptist Church.  Reverend Ottje Olthoff was the first minister.  Most of the pioneers had been raised in true Christian Lutheran homes.  After studying scripture they came to the realization that the scriptural form of baptism was by immersion.

The first meeting took place in a country schoolhouse in which the church incorporated a certificate by the state on April 15, 1891, becoming the first Baptist church to organize in Hanson County thus the fifth to organize in the Dakota Territory.

On March 10, 1891 the contract for the first house of worship was located four miles southwest of Emery where the community cemetery is now located.  By 1895, the church had grown to 80 members.

In December of 1901-1908 the church had moved to the schoolhouse in Emery.  A new church was built in Emery at the present site in 1908.

The German language was discontinued in 1917 and services began to be held in English.  On September 7, 1940, the name of the church was amended and changed from German Baptist Church to the First Baptist Church of Emery, SD.  On March 24, 1963 our present church was built covering 19,000 sq. feet and was dedicated March 22, 1964.

​The North American Baptist Conference establishes the standards by which we adopted and currently carry out.

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