LABC started out as Immanuel Baptist Church in 1953 when it split off from Central Baptist Church because Central was withdrawing from the SBC to become and independent Baptist church. The first meeting of LABC was in a house on 216 Mauvaisterre St. and it was affiliated with the Macoupin Association. It later joined the Sandy Creek Baptist Association.

In December of 1954, LABC purchased and moved into a two story house on Hardin Avenue.

The church grew and in 1958 a parcel of land was purchased at the church’s current location. Groundbreaking for the new church was in August of 1959 and the building was completed in late 1960 with a dedication in January of 1961. The church changed it’s name from Immanuel to Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church.

In September of 1969 another groundbreaking was done to expand the sanctuary, add classrooms and office space, a fellowship hall and a kitchen. That construction was completed in May of 1970. With a vision of future expansion, in 1974 the church purchased additional land to the west extending all the way back to Woodland Avenue.

There was an effort in 1979 to begin a building campaign to build a new educational wing and a new sanctuary. However, the bond sales sagged due to the economy and God’s intervention and the program was soon aborted.

In 1992, to more efficiently use our existing space, a total remodeling of the sanctuary was done and it was completely volunteer. LABC continued to grow. We moved from traditional hard pew to chairs. The platform and the baptistery were demolished and a new platform was built on the east wall. Seating was in a semi-circle. Several walls of Sunday School classrooms were torn down to expand the sanctuary. The new baptistery was portable and could be moved out of the way when not needed.

Many members had a vision for a new sanctuary for many years. In the early to mid 1990′s when Dennis Higgins was pastor, a long-range planning committee was established. Among the considerations was the sale of the current church property and a relocation farther south down Lincoln Avenue. After many prayers and long meetings, it was decided that LABC would stay put.

The primary need at the time was educational space. LABC was out of Sunday School space and was renting classrooms across the street at Turner Junior High.

In 1996, an anonymous gift of $100,000 was made toward the building of a new educational wing. The church voted to proceed with that program and in 1998 LABC opened the 6400 square foot addition. When the construction began LABC borrowed $175,000. This loan was paid off in less than two years.

It became clear after the new educational wing was completed and in use and the church was debt free, the God was moving LABC towards the building of a new sanctuary. Many members had been contributing to a building fund for this purpose. On December 12, 1999, the first meeting of the Phase III Planning Committee took place. After many meetings, on September 8, 2002, the church voted to proceed with the $1.7 million dollar construction. Ground was broken in early spring of 2003 and the work began. The volunteer labor is estimated to have saved LABC $100,000 in labor costs.

The construction was completed in eleven months. The first service in the new sanctuary was filled past capacity and was held in February of 2004.

LABC has continued to grow, and there are talks about Phase IV. God has led us through this process, and we are sure He will continue to guide us in our future.