It might have been a log cabin or a crude dwelling.

No one knows for sure where they first met. But it was June 25, 1855, when the four men and three women who were the original seven members of Lawrence’s First Baptist Church gathered at the call of the Rev. William Hall.

“When the church was formed, it was (during) the battle for freedom,” said the Rev. Marcus McFaul, the church’s current pastor. “So freedom-loving Baptists tried to find themselves in freedom-aspiring Kansas territory.”

Lawrence was at the center of the foment over slavery that grew into the Civil War, still the nation’s most murderous conflict.

Lawrence survived that and thrived; so has First Baptist, which now has more than 400 members – and a birthday to celebrate.

“One-hundred-and-fifty years is a big deal, and I think it warrants more than cake and ice cream,” said Mary Ann Williams, who is chairwoman of the church’s sesquicentennial committee.

The Rev. Marcus McFaul, Steve Kawiecki, associate pastor of student ministries, and Sandra Watson, associate pastor, are all involved in making the 150th anniversary of First Baptist Church a special event.

The celebration starts today with a “golf scramble” at Eagle Bend Golf Course; continues with a church picnic Saturday afternoon that will feature pioneer demonstrations and a live bluegrass band; and concludes Sunday with a worship service and commemorative photo of the congregation.

It’s a long way from the church’s early days, when members had a hard time finding a permanent meeting place.

“They met in the upstairs of six different stores until they finally were able to settle (in 1870) at what is now Eighth and Kentucky with a new church,” said Bob Heacock, who is writing a history of the church titled “Strength of Stone.”

The congregation stayed at that location until 1979, when it moved to its current home at 1330 Kasold Drive – taking with it a cornerstone and a stained-glass window from the original building.

In its century-and-a-half, Heacock said, the church has weathered rough times.

• Lawrence church to celebrate sesquicentennial (06-23-05)

“During the locust plague, a lot of churches in Kansas folded and left, because there was no work, no food product,” he said. “But there was that nucleus of people who held on, who said, ‘We need this church.'”

First Baptist is one of three Lawrence churches that traces its roots to the city’s earliest days. Plymouth Congregational Church was founded in 1854 and the Unitarian Church formed in 1856.

During this sesquicentennial year, McFaul said, the church is reaching out to the community with a “Give 150” project – asking members to donate 150 hours to charities, give 150 blankets to the Salvation Army and so on.

First Baptist’s continued existence, he said, is extraordinary.

“The average shelf life for a congregation is 80 years,” McFaul said. “So we’ve exceeded that. And more than just the length of time in a place is the quality of what the people have tried to do and how faithful we’ve tried to be.”