First Missionary Baptist Church of Kinloch stood as one of the last remaining structures when much of the surrounding community was bought out in the 1990s through airport-related programs tied to Lambert International Airport.
The expansion never came as envisioned, leaving much of the cleared land in Kinloch vacant for decades. But the church — rooted for generations in Missouri’s first Black incorporated city — was forced to move.
Now, as the congregation prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary, its story reflects both the upheaval that reshaped Kinloch and the resilience of an institution that has endured for more than a century.
The move came amid airport-related buyout programs that reshaped Kinloch beginning in the 1980s, as officials used federal funds to buy homes and properties in areas affected by expansion and aircraft noise. The buyouts took a heavy toll on the city, contributing to steep population loss and the disappearance of churches, businesses and other neighborhood institutions, according to historical accounts and news reports.
At its peak in 1960, Kinloch had more than 6,500 residents. By 2020, that number had fallen to 263, according to U.S. Census data.
Founded April 26, 1901, the church — the first in the city — began with families gathering on a vacant lot and in the home of Francis Weaver before formally organizing and constructing its first building on Washington Avenue. Growth soon required larger spaces, prompting moves to Jefferson Avenue and later to Monroe Street after a planned site was destroyed by fire.
Through each transition, members say, the church’s mission remained constant. For those who have carried the church’s history across generations, that consistency is rooted in lived experience.
“My family came in, in 1914. My dad was a minister. He put the bell in the church that we have out in the vestibule right now,” said Zenobia Jackson, a Mother of the church — a senior woman who mentors and supports the congregation. “My mom was the first church clerk.”
For decades, the church served as a cornerstone in Kinloch, a historically Black community that became Missouri’s first Black incorporated municipality in 1948.
According to historical church documents, the congregation served well over 11,700 hot meals during the Great Depression to people in Kinloch and surrounding areas.
“Back in the day on Sunday morning we would just stay here and eat almost every Sunday, not only us, our pastors fed the community,” said Shirley Washington, another Mother of the church. “You know that’s just how we are. We [are] just a giving church.”
That identity was tested in the 1990s, when the airport buyout led to widespread property acquisitions in Kinloch. Large portions of the city were cleared, and what had once been a thriving Black community steadily diminished as residents relocated and institutions closed.
The church ultimately relocated to Black Jack after more than a century in its original community.
“We had to move because of the airport — they never did the expansion, but they bought the building from us,” said Ruthie Atkins, First Lady Emeritus.
Similar patterns have played out elsewhere in the region. In Clayton, First Baptist Church of Clayton — now known as Clayton Missionary Baptist Church — was a vital institution for Black residents from the late 1800s until urban renewal forced its relocation in 1961.
The congregation relocated to St. Louis, where it remains, but kept the Clayton name. Clayton will commemorate the church’s original site on April 30. The displacement reflects a broader pattern of Black institutions uprooted by policy and development decisions.
Atkins said members of the Kinloch church took an active role in shaping its future rather than waiting for the process to unfold.
Her late husband was pastor at the time, and she was asked to lead the church’s land committee, which oversaw the transition. Members pledged one month of their annual salary to help finance construction of a new sanctuary.
Because property values in Kinloch had long been depressed by airport noise, buyout funds often fell short of what was needed to rebuild in surrounding suburbs, making the congregation’s financial sacrifice even more significant, according to historical accounts of the airport buyout program.
By 2001, the church had established its new home in Black Jack, Missouri, a suburb that remained almost entirely white for its first 130 years. The move placed the congregation in a community that in the 1970s had been the center of a landmark federal fight over racial exclusion. Today, Black Jack is a majority-Black community, with more than 80% of its residents identifying as Black, according to U.S. Census data. It’s a community embraced by the church since moving there.
“It’s all tailored toward the community — we want to make ourselves accessible,” said Senior Pastor Luther Butler. “Everything for me is just family oriented. I like to speak to them as I would out on the street.”
Today, the congregation continues its outreach through efforts such as a year-round canned food drive, collecting nonperishable items for donation to Team Food Pantry in Florissant.
“We have a lot to be thankful for because God has really just blessed us over the years,” Jackson said. “We just thank Him and hope that we can continuously grow and have the love for our members and all around the world.”
As Kinloch changed, the church endured and, in many respects, thrived, maintaining its mission even as the city around it faded.
Members plan to mark 125 years with a reunion picnic April 25 at Spanish Lake Park, inviting current and former members to reconnect and reflect.
The church did not just move. It carried its legacy beyond the community that built it.