About Us | Our History
From "a church with a heart in the heart of the Queens" (our first motto) to "loving God, making disciples" (our current motto), we praise God for what he has done through our simple, diverse and growing congregation. For more than forty years, he has guided Faith Baptist Church faithfully by his Word and we look forward to what he will continue to do for his glory.
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Doug Lowery
Founding Pastor (1974-1986)
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We praise God for how he placed Faith Baptist Church in Corona, New York City. After graduating from Bible college, Doug and Donna Lowery recognized the need for a vibrant, Bible-believing church in the Queens Borough, adjacent to Brooklyn and Manhattan. Believing that God would open doors of opportunity, the Lowery family moved to Corona to reach out to engage in gospel outreach and train new believers. The church chartered in September 1975 and incorporated in February 1976 as Faith Baptist Church, meeting first in the basement of the Lowery home.
There was a need for a vibrant, Bible-believing church in Queens.
After much prayer and searching, the Lord provided us with a building of our own. This meeting place formerly served as a Knights of Columbus building, complete with a bowling alley, dance hall, bar, and lounge. For a detailed account of how God set apart this building for gospel ministry and guided us in these early years, click here.
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Vincent Sawyer
Senior Pastor (1988-2014)
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James Swanson
Assistant Pastor (1986-2014)
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In the summer of 1986, Vincent and Terri Sawyer assisted the Lowerys at FBC. Later that year, Pastor Lowery resigned as pastor, leaving us without a pastor for two years. Jim and Colleen Swanson served the church in the absence of a pastor, beginning in 1986 and continued to serve for many years. Meanwhile, as Vincent completed his seminary training, he and his wife recognized the need for a pastor at FBC and accepted this opportunity in June 1988.
That same year, the church launched a Bible Institute program that provided theological and practical training to believers of FBC and from other area churches. We also housed a gospel tract printing ministry, supplying tracts for evangelism to churches throughout the world.
The church grew into a vibrant, multi-ethnic congregation with a commitment to clear Bible teaching.
During these two-plus decades, the church grew into a vibrant, multi-ethnic congregation (reflective of our Queens community) with a commitment to clear, expository Bible teaching. We also supported the beginning of Iglesia Bautista de la Fe, a likeminded Spanish-speaking congregation that continues to meet in our building.
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Thomas Overmiller
Senior Pastor (2014-2020)
Teaching & Administration Pastor (2020-2021)
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Christian Acosta
Pastoral Assistant (2016-2020)
Outreach & Discipleship Pastor (2020-2021)
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In April 2014, we called Thomas Overmiller to serve as our next senior pastor. He and his wife, Sarah (a Queens native), recognized this opportunity as God's leading in their lives and moved to NYC in June. Two years later, we called Christian Acosta (a Queens native) to serve as a pastoral assistant. He was married a few years later to his wife, Laura. Then, in September 2020 we ordained him as a pastor.
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Jim Swanson
Senior Pastor (2021-Present)
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Christian Acosta
Assistant Pastor (2021-Present)
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During this time, Jim and Colleen Swanson returned to New York and began assisting at the church as lay members. When the Lord led the Overmillers to take a church in Minnesota in 2021, we called Jim Swanson as the next senior pastor; Christian stayed on as the assistant. Together, our new pastoral team has continued to develop our youth ministries, revamp our men and ladies' Bible studies, and bring new families and visitors to the church.
We remain committed to gospel outreach ... a personal walk with God, and faithful ministry involvement from every member.
During this exciting stage of our journey as a church, we remain committed to gospel outreach and to clear Bible teaching, emphasizing devotion to the Word of God and prayer, a personal and obedient walk with God, and faithful ministry involvement from every member. We invite you to visit us and to see firsthand how God is glorifying himself in Queens at Faith Baptist Church!