First Baptist Church Dallas

==History==
[[File:Dallas - First Baptist Church 01.jpg|thumb|right|Historic building]]
The First Baptist Church of Dallas was established on July 30, 1868, with eleven founding members. They convened in the Masonic Hall, located on Lamar Street near Ross Avenue.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lefever |first1=Alan J |title=First Baptist Church, Dallas |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ivf01 |website=[[Handbook of Texas Online]] |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=June 10, 2018}}</ref> In 1872, the congregation pooled their funds together to purchase the first building, on Akard, in downtown Dallas. The cornerstone of the sanctuary that the congregation worships in today was laid in 1891.

Since the 1970s, the church has established a number of ministries that are affiliated with the church. [[First Baptist Academy of Dallas]] and [[Criswell College]] (formerly Criswell Bible Institute) were formed to champion [[Christianity|Christian]] education. In the mid-1970s, [[Criswell College]] purchased [[KCBI]] to be used as a Christian radio station. The station has resided on the lower frequencies of [[FM broadcasting|FM]]. Now at 90.9 FM, [[KCBI]] broadcasts as part of the Criswell Radio Network, and includes [[KCCE (AM)|KCCE]] and [[KSAO (FM)|KSAO]] of [[San Angelo, Texas]], and [[KCBK]] of [[Frederick, Oklahoma]].

In 2013, [[Ted Cruz]], invited by Robert Jeffress, attended the church and gave a speech on faith and the [[U.S. Constitution]] to the congregation. Jeffress praised Cruz as "a strong leader and a committed Christian".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jervis|first1=Rick|title=Ted Cruz uses faith freely on campaign trail|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/12/10/ted-cruz-religion-2016-evangelicals/76945128/|work=USA Today|date=December 11, 2015 |access-date=June 12, 2017}}</ref>

In 2013, a 3,000 seat Worship Center and expansion was built at the cost of $130 million, close to the historic building. The center has {{convert|178000|sqft|sqm}} of space, and the older facilities were also renovated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2013/03/31/first-baptist-of-dallas-unveils-its-new-campus/|title=First Baptist of Dallas unveils its new campus|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=2013-03-31|access-date=2019-10-22}}</ref>

In 2018, the church claimed 13,000 members.<ref name="dallasnews.com"/>