1. Rev William C Lindsey, April 9, 1911-1913. Born about 1862 died at the Home for Aged Baptists at Ironton, MO in Sept 1933 buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery, Springfield MO Wife was Mrs. N J Williams of Craig, married in 1915

2. Bertram Welch was Ordained on Aug 19, 1917. He was Rec’d by letter, April 1912 dismissed as pastor by letter July 28, 1925. Returned, along with his wife, Lillian (Nyquist), and sons Kent and Alton in 1928. He served as Pastor Emeritus for many many years. Bertram and Lillian are buried in the Craig Cemetery.

3. Ernest Kline 1911-1982 was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 1889 and grew up in a home where his father was Baptist and his mother Methodist Episcopal. His mother died when he was a teenager, and Ernest decided to move west. By 1910 he was living in Craig and became friends with Rev Lindsey. He was one of the charter members of First Baptist Church. In 1913 he married Elizabeth Herod, daughter of another of the early members of the church. Ernest was ordained in 1917 by the church. Besides serving as Pastor from time to time, he was a circuit-riding preacher and preached in the outlying districts. In later years, he was always available to fill the pulpit when the Pastor was away, as well as perform many weddings and funerals. Ernest died May 11, 1982, and is buried in the Craig Cemetery

4. F I Blanchard June 13, 1924-July 5, 1925. We regret to report the death of Rev. Blanchard on June 6, 1937, at his home on Cherry Street in Denver, after a long and serious illness. However, our loss was his permanent gain. Rev. Blanchard was loved, respected, and esteemed by a host of friends. Following his graduation at Kalamazoo College he was a pastor and state evangelist in Michigan, then for nearly 20 years, he was Chapel Car Evangelist in Colorado and Wyoming, and brought the Chapel Car Emmanuel to Craig, CO, where it remained for nearly 2 years while the Baptist work was built up. Brother Blanchard has many new churches and building campaigns in his honor. The funeral was held on June 8th at City Park Baptist church, conducted by Rev Frank Eden and Convention Secretary F. B. Palmer. The honorary pallbearers were the Baptist Ministers who have known Rev Blanchard throughout the years.

5. Mr. Lowe called May 1925 left due to his wife’s health after only a few months. He was Pastor when the building at 700 School St was dedicated.

6. AC Huff Called July 31-1926. He came to Craig from Fountain, CO. Joined church by letter Feb 7, 1926, Resigned as Pastor July 31, 1927 and was dismissed by letter Aug 28, 1927.

7. Mr. A R Strubble—Called on the 1st Sunday in Feb 1928 at a salary of $2000/year. Letter of membership Mar 11, 1928, Dismissal Sept 14, 1930. They moved next to Florence, CO.

8. Reverend Doctor Richard M. Sammon May 24, 1931-July 22, 1934. Born in 1905. died July 29, 1967, at his home in Palm Springs, CA where he was serving as assistant pastor of Palm Desert Community church. Besides his years in Craig, Colorado, he served in Manitou Springs, Las Animas and Canon City CO. He was Protestant Chaplain at the Colorado State Penitentiary from 1958 to 1964. Buried at Delta, CO, his wife was Marjorie Dowd. Their 2 daughters—Mrs. Douglas Uhls and Mrs. Ronald Sherwood as well as his 2 brothers Tom and Harry Sammon of Texas and 3 grandchildren survived him.  He was the pastor who married Mildred and Woodson Herring in 1931.

9. Howard Bailey—July 12, 1936-Dec 27, 1936 Came to Craig from Casper, WY.

10. Raymond Rudd—May 23, 1937-Jan 19, 1939. Raymond Rudd served as Pastor, and he was the first family to live in the church parsonage. He had 6 children. He died while in office as Pastor we think from a ruptured appendix. His wife, Viola Rudd, was a school teacher in Craig for many years. His Grandson, Ty Rudd is a current member.

11. Roy Walker April 9, 1939-Nov 22, 1942. One of the additions to the church structure at 700 School Street was made while Rev Walker was pastor. Roy Walker was the Pastor at George and Laura Swanson’s wedding.

12. George Hooper—Oct 18, 1942-Oct 17, 1943. Pastor Hooper was only pastor for a short time, as there were disagreements within the church, concerning the Colorado State Baptist Convention, and he left the church.
Twenty -two members left with him, and after a time they started the Baptist Bible Tabernacle ( around 1947).

13.Lawrence Duncan—April 23, 1944-April 24, 1949.

14. Aubrey Nelson May 29, 1949- Dec 18, 1955, and Jan 5, 1965-April 1968 along with his wife, Dixie, served First Baptist Church as Pastor and resigned for health reasons in March of 1968. They moved to Arvada Colorado. The Nelson’s had 1 son, Stanley.

15. James Dolan Mar 14, 1956-Mar 10, 1957, and his wife, Mary are pictured in the 1956 group photo of the church. Rev Dolan was ordained while he was Pastor at FBC. He served only a short time with the church.

16. Robert Duggan Aug 14, 1957-September 1, 1959 served, along with his wife Louise.

17. John Fisher Dec 19, 1959-October 14, 1964 served, along with his wife, Grace, and their children.

18. Aubrey Nelson 2nd Pastorate

19. Ken Lindow, September 1, 1968-July 10, 1973 his wife Ruth and their children Eddie, & Ruthie came to Craig, Colorado in 1968 to Pastor, following the resignation of Aubrey Nelson. During Ken’s ministry, the High School and Jr Hi age youth groups were very active, and Ken was often seen packing a number of kids into his Volkswagen to transport them to some event. He was also very active in Radio Ministry.

20. Don Wasey—September 10, 1973-July 21, 1976—came with his wife, Doris, to FBC in the fall of 1972. Their children were already grown up. During Pastor Wasey’s term, the building at 1150 W. 9th Street that we currently occupy was built. There was a bond campaign and even the teenagers of the church invested their money to buy bonds to finance the structure and build it free of debt to any lending institution. When God began to move in a new direction, Waseys left FBC in July of 1976,  along with a number of church members, and shortly thereafter began the Yampa Valley Baptist Church in Craig.

21. Dave Chambers— July 10, 1976-March 1, 1983. Pastor and Muriel Chambers came to FBC at a time with his son, Dwight, and Mother, Mrs. Chambers, when the people were hurting. His gentle spirit did much to bring healing, and it was under Pastor Chambers that we began to change our style of worship. Songs of praise were sung along with the old hymns, and after almost 30 years, Dave’s style of teaching is still remembered by many. All those who remember Dave will remember his glowing face as he led us in singing Majesty.

22. Dan Canady—April 1, 1983-July 1987. Dan and his wife Charlene came to First Baptist while the Chambers were still in Craig, and an overlapping ministry was begun. Dan was young and enthusiastic and played the guitar to accompany our songs. While Dan was Pastor, the Ministry of the Crisis Pregnancy Center began. Dan was the Chaplain at the Territorial Prison in Canon City, CO. for a few years, and is now Pastor at Kremmling community church. Dan and Charlene and their family are still very much a part of our ministry, and are resident managers at Mt Elim Camp during the summer. . The Canady children are Christian, Rachel, Jessiah, Hannah, and Luke.

23. Patrick Mosbey—August 1987-April 1988. Patrick was only Pastor for a few months but remains in Craig. He and his wife Patty are employed locally.

24. Sam Dryer—March 26, 1989-September 30, 1990. When Sam and his wife Tammie came with their children Nathan and Denae, to Craig, the church had been without a pastor for a few months. We were so excited to call this young, dynamic man of God to serve in our church. Sam recognized the Spiritual Battle that was being fought in our valley and jumped in with both feet. Sam’s term here was a time of growth at FBC, but when he left the church, mostly due to a need to be with family in another state at that time, the congregation was left in some turmoil, wondering what was going to happen next. Again, people were hurting, and God sent healing

25. Craig Blair— August 18, 1991-April 1, 1996. Pastor Blair, came with his wife Lucy and their children Joel and Bethany to help bring God’s healing to a hurting congregation. Craig sang some of his sermons in his lovely baritone voice and counseled so many of the congregation as they began to recognize that God is in control and that people still need the Lord, no matter what else is happening around them. In 1996, Craig was called to another church in Naperville, Illinois, and continues his ministry. His children were Bethany and Joel.

26. Brian Haynes— May 20, 1997– May 2005. Pastor Brian came to FBC with his family, wife Brenda and children Ashley, Abby and Caleb, in May of 1997. Brian did a great job as our Pastor, and as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the church, we honor him for his 8 years of service. In September of 2001, Brian and his family entered a new phase of their ministry as they embarked on the Goliath Project—traveling to each of the 50 states to pray with leaders and equip churches to pray. Brian and Brenda were called to Faith Baptist church of Hampton, Iowa in May of 2005.

27. Leonard Browning accepted the call to become Pastor Feb 5, 2006. A long time member of the church, God called him out of the congregation. He has been married for about 30 years to Cheryle Ann (Brewer) and they have 5 children, Jeremy, Courtney,(married to former youth pastor Justin Jenison) Nathan, Joel, and Lindsey. In the last few
years since Len became pastor, there have been great changes to the church, including the expansion of the building at 1150 W 9th Street with more space and a beautiful new foyer and sanctuary.

Over the years, several men have served as summer interns, associate pastors, or youth pastors. Among them were intern Jared Gustafson, summer of 1998. Youth pastor Justin Jenison August 2000- March 2002. Len Browning, youth pastor in the ’80s, and Tom Sheeley, part-time associate pastor in the late 80’s.

Gary Tague, long-time member became our discipleship Pastor when he retired from teaching.

There have been at least 6 Pastoral Ordinations at First Baptist Church. Ernest Kline was the first ordained—in 1917, followed by Bertram Welch, Jasper Clouser, Howard Bailey, James Dolan and Harley Johnson.