This SIGNED FIRST EDITION hardcover book was published in 1977 by the Author with 192 pages. The text is unmarked. The binding is tight. There is normal shelf and edge wear. The dust jacket is unclipped but has several closed tears and chips along the edges. The dust jacket also has seven areas that are scuffed. A renewed interest in the study of local history and in the preservation of historic places has appeared in recent years. This book is a product of such interest. The author traces the past 125 years of the First Baptist Church of Springfield, Missouri, from pioneer days to the present, and in so doing he both interprets the Church's history for its members today and seriously attempts to explain it for outsiders as well. The book relates events of both national and local history to this particular church and examines their impact from the Antebellum Era of the 1850's to 1977.......A church or "The Church" is a term holding varied meanings for different people. For Baptists the central focus of church life has always been the local congregation. Thus anyone seeking to understand Baptist faith and practice needs to look beyond the histories of the national Baptist bodies and their agencies and examine the life and work of individual congregations......Through this approach of focusing on a single local institution and examining its internal operation and its relationships with other local institutions and activities the author has presented a fascinating history which goes beyond traditional church histories. This is a book which should be read by anyone interested in a complete understanding of American society.