Early one sunny Sunday morning, more than 60 men, women and children woke up and headed off to church. A typical occurrence for millions of Americans, but this was no ordinary church service. Theirs was the first meeting of First Baptist Church of Milwaukie. The gathering ran the gamut of age and experience, from the brown-haired one-year-old girl whose bright dress puffed out from around her father's strong, supportive arms to the dignified, well-turned out man whose well-groomed hair had long since turned white. Young girls wore white bonnets to shade their faces from the summer sun while young boys wore white pants with double cuffs and loud, patterned shirts. It was June 10, 1951.
 
 They gathered that day in the local VFW Hall on Washington Street, turning a place dedicated to the remembrance of war into a place dedicated to the exercise of love. They met to worship God and to pray that their meeting that day might be the first of years of work for the Lord and witness in Milwaukie. There was excited talk that day about reaching out to the community and building up the dozens who were already there. And there was talk about a building of their own.
 
 Following the taking of a survey to determine both interest and need for a Conservative Baptist Church in the Southeast Portland Suburb, meetings of prospective members had been held in homes for weeks before the first service to establish a church constitution, to find a location for church meetings and to help draft the future of First Baptist Milwaukie.
 
 The message that first day was brought by Rev. Virgil Savage of the Redmond Baptist Church, while Herb Jaunchen, vice-chairman of Portland Youth for Christ, filled the pulpit at the church's second meeting. A young missionary to the Far East, Stanley Peach, helped the church find a world-wide evangelistic focus in a message delivered in the third week's service.
 
 The church body reaffirmed its world-wide commitment in weeks to come as it heard messages from missionary leaders from India, Japan and Korea. Sending out workers to take the Word of Salvation to the ends of the earth became a top priority to the early members of Milwaukie First Baptist, and the burden for the lost of the world would be carefully and diligently handed down to the generations to come.
 
 The group approved its constitution in a well-attended meeting June 29, 1951, less than a month after its birth. In early October the church called Rev. Savage, who had served at First Baptist Church, Redmond, for two-and-one-half years before moving to Milwaukie, would be the first of a long line of Pastors at the church to receive spiritual training at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.
 
 "Baptists Buy Property as Church Site" sounded the headline in the November 8, 1951 edition of The Milwaukie Review newspaper. It reported that "growth of the church gathered momentum this week with the action to purchase church property at 42nd and Monroe streets in Milwaukie."
 
 Plans for building will not remain indefinite for too long now that property has been acquired, according to Pastor Virgil Savage. Two lots, both 100-feet by 150-feet, were purchased from Mr. and Mrs. John Helm, father of church member Fred Helm.
 
 At that time, twenty weeks into its life, the church had posted a record attendance of 100 people, nearly double its original size, and a regular Sunday School attendance of 80 people.
 
 The months to follow would be as busy as the first few, as high schoolers from the church held independent outings, including a January Ski trip at Rhododendron and progressive dinners at various homes. They often gathered early in the evening for fellowship before going off to attend school basketball games in a group.
 
 Parents of the teenagers of Milwaukie First Baptist prepared a Valentines Day banquet for the youth, who were also addressed by a missionary to Africa. Later that month the church's youth would lead an evening service that was led by youngster Warren Bottemiller. Bottemiller would later that year be named the president of the church's Young People's Society.
 
 His involvement in church activities would be rivaled by few other youngsters, among them Marilyn Helm, whom he would later take in marriage. The couple would serve with distinction in a variety of capacities in the mission field before retiring from service in the 1980's. They returned to Milwaukie and the First Baptist Church, where they worshipped and served among those stricken in health and living in nursing homes.
 
 One week before it said goodbye to its first year, the church said goodbye to one of the men instrumental in organizing it - Edgar Howard. Howard, who held planning meetings in his home through the Spring of 1951, left the area after a job transfer - he was president of Proto Tool Company - called him to Canada. Having helped lay the groundwork for a building program at Milwaukie First Baptist, Proto Tool had called him to Ontario, Canada to oversee the construction of a new plant there.
 
 On June 8, 1952, the church body gathered in a field at the corner of 42nd and Monroe streets to celebrate their first year together and to plot the future of the ministry. It was a time of celebration and a time of consideration. Just as Nehemiah had brought the people of Israel back into the promised land, the people of Milwaukie First Baptist had been brought to their land of promise. And as with Nehemiah and his followers, now it was time for the people of Milwaukie to start building.
 
 The early years saw strong and lasting growth at Milwaukie under the pastoral care of Savage and then Edward C. Stauffer, who presided over the February 1958 dedication of a new 350-seat, $125,000 auditorium. At the time of the dedication, the church body had grown to four times its original size and showed no signs of slowing down. By February 1965, when the church dedicated its newest addition in which worship services are currently held, the body had nearly doubled again under the leadership of Pastor Donald Baker, a young minister with training at Hinson Memorial Baptist Church and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.
 
 Even with the new auditorium, the church had decided to hold two morning worship services to facilitate continued growth of the body. Pastor Art Peters and Jerry Larson led the church through yet another growth spurt in the late 1960's and 1970's, and was followed in the pulpit by the Rev. Loren Fischer, who provided strong and caring leadership of the church and another building program which added the East Ministry Center to the church campus in 1996. Within the walls of the East Ministry Center lies Helm Hall, a new multi-purpose and fellowship room dedicated to the memory of Fred and Thelma Helm, early founding members of the church.
 
 Today's ministry of Milwaukie First Baptist Church is widespread, offering spiritual teaching and encouragement to people in every segment of the community and, through its many missionaries, to countries around the globe.