Sellwood Baptist Church has been a part of the Sellwood community since 1904 when seven committed Christians under the leadership of Rev. D. G. Delano met to organize the work on Sunday, March 20th, 1904. At that first meeting, they chose the name Bethany Baptist Church. The person chosen to be the first church clerk made a notation in the minutes listing the limited physical property the group had to work with. They had: one Bible, one pulpit, three chairs, one pulpit desk, one pump organ, one table, one communion set, one tablecloth, two napkins, three robes, two chandeliers, a few benches and an assortment of books. Later on, in 1922, the name was changed to Sellwood Baptist Church as it has remained until today.

For the first two years the group met in a rented building. However, the congregation grew quickly and they soon realized that they would have to build. For $350 they purchased property on the corner of SE 11th and Tacoma, and by 1906 had erected their first sanctuary, which was dedicated on December 16, 1906.

There have been many changes since then. As the church expanded the congregation simply outgrew its facilities. The present large brick auditorium was constructed in 1956 and has served as the congregation's Worship Center ever since.

From its inception until 1947, Sellwood Baptist Church was affiliated with the Northern Baptist Convention (name later changed to American Bapt. Convention). However, in 1947 in response to steadily encroaching theological liberalism within the movement, Sellwood B.C., along with many other churches, joined with the Conservative Baptist Association of America, now known as CBAmerica with headquarters in Littleton, Colorado. We are still a member church in the CBA fellowship.

Sellwood has always been a very missions-oriented church, and through the years, has sent out many missionaries to fields all around the world. We continue that tradition to this day. We help to support Christian workers serving under various sending agencies.

We are a church committed to prayer and Bible study as well. We believe that Christians need to grow in their relationship with God and in their knowledge of His Word. However, knowledge is not enough. The Bible makes it clear that every Christian is to be a minister, a servant, a worker. Therefore, we are committed to helping every member and regular attender discover his/her spiritual gift(s) and begin to use those in practical ministries. We do not believe in mere Sunday AM Christianity. At Sellwood, everyone is expected to serve in some way. Of course, we realize that even many Christians think that it is their God-given right to just show up on Sunday mornings at 11 AM and warm a pew, but we at Sellwood Baptist are committed to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. (See James 1:22-27)