Our church has proudly served Celina and Clay County since 1933.

Two local people started meeting together in the Courthouse with a pastor’s family from Albany, Kentucky.

Mary Belle Spear had seen her Baptist church on Proctor Creek close its doors. E. W. Fox had moved to Celina to teach at the high school. Both of our charter members wanted to worship in a Baptist Church.

Two years later, 1935, the few members built a small church building. They worked on it themselves and finished it over the process of a few years. The Great Depression made money scarce. During these early years of very little money, the Tennessee Baptist Convention helped support the church with young pastors just starting their ministry. These young pastors would serve here in the small church a couple years, then leave for ministry service elsewhere. From these humble beginnings, the church’s heart for reaching people for Christ led to growth, more church programs and more buildings and property.

The current modern sanctuary was built onto the back of the original church building in 1981. In recent years, property across the street was purchased for youth and fellowship activities.

We celebrate our wonderful past, and we embrace our exciting future. Our ministries to the community have changed over the years, and will no doubt do so in the future. Our church impacts the lives of local Celina and Clay County families, as well as new families relocating to Clay County. We hope you are a part of the mission that God has planned for Celina First Baptist or that you will become a part of it.

You can read a detailed account of our history in our book, Celina First Baptist Church History.