When First Baptist Church of Springdale was founded in 1870, the 13 original members could not have imagined the impact their church would have on tens of thousands of people, including Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 19 children.
In 1979, First Baptist Church of Springdale--which included Shiloh Christian School, founded in 1976--moved from downtown Springdale to a site on Johnson Road.
Jim Bob Duggar was a member of the first graduating class of Shiloh Christan School. For his first official date with his future wife, Jim Bob took Michelle Ruark to the Shiloh junior-senior banquet.
After the banquet, the two sat in the Ruarks' living room and talked for hours. As Jim Bob left, Michelle stood in the doorway of her family's home and prayed: "Lord, if this isn’t the one you have for me, I can’t imagine anyone better."
In 1984, Jim Bob and Michelle were married at First Baptist Church of Springdale on Johnson Road.
Fast-forward 23 years. Jim Bob and Michelle had 16 children and were expecting their 17th. Before moving into their current, 7,000 square-foot home, the Duggars had lived for more than ten years in a house on Johnson Road that had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. When they moved out, their Johnson Road house was demolished for the expansion of First Baptist Church of Springdale.
In 2009, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar renewed their vows at First Baptist Church of Springdale.
On June 21st, 2014, the Duggars were back at First Baptist,
renamed Cross Church in 2010, for another wedding. As Jim Bob walked 23-year-old Jill down the aisle to her new life, he had to have been thinking about the impact the church and its congregation has had on his family over the years.
With five campuses and a weekly attendance of around 9,000, Cross Church, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, is now the largest church in Arkansas.
Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com, TLC/David Welker
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renamed Cross Church in 2010, for another wedding. As Jim Bob walked 23-year-old Jill down the aisle to her new life, he had to have been thinking about the impact the church and its congregation has had on his family over the years.
