First Freewill Baptist Church

First Freewill Baptist Church is a Baptist church at 1617 Des Moines Avenue in Portsmouth, VA 23704. It is one of 213 churches in Portsmouth, and one of 51 Baptist congregations in the city.

1617 Des Moines Avenue, Portsmouth, VA, 23704

Shares a ministry location with Zion Bethel United Church of Christ.

First Freewill Baptist Church is part of the Baptist family of churches in The American Church Story. 2,727 congregations of the Baptist family gather across Virginia — 71,417 across the United States on The Church Map.

Baptists pressed harder than anyone for religious liberty in America, and the freedom every other congregation on this map enjoys is partly what they won. They have carried believers' baptism and the priesthood of every believer to more of the world than almost anyone — and the Black Baptist church has repeatedly been the conscience of the whole nation.

Find First Freewill Baptist Church on The Church Map, explore nearby congregations, and pray for its community.

The community around First Freewill Baptist Church

Within a few blocks of these doors, more than 4 in 10 renting households pay over half of everything they earn just to keep a roof over them. Nearly half of adults live with obesity, and nearly half of households aren't sure there will be enough to eat. That is two thousand neighbors — and some of them are already in these pews.

Pray for the families one rent increase away from moving, and for this church to know their names.

  • Obesity: 53.6%
  • Food Insecurity: 50.4%
  • Poverty Rate: 49.9% (31.9–67.8%)
  • Fair/Poor Health Status: 41.5%
  • Social Isolation: 41.3%
  • Housing Insecurity: 36.4%
  • Utility Shutoff Threat: 31.4%
  • Diabetes: 27.1%
  • Transportation Barriers: 26.3%
  • Unemployment: 14.1% (6.9–21.3%)
  • Lack of Social/Emotional Support: 30.2%
  • Depression: 23.2%
  • Uninsured Adults 18-64: 16.2%

Source: CDC PLACES, U.S. Census Bureau (2023, 2019-2023), aggregated across 2 census tracts near this church.

Portsmouth city is served by 119 churches — about one congregation for every 818 residents.

Churches near First Freewill Baptist Church

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