Veronica Springs Church History
Out of you, Living Waters will flow.

First Baptist Church of Santa Barbara was organized on July 5th, 1874 and had their first meetings in historic “Cook’s Hall” on Ortega Street. They soon purchased the Presbyterian Church's Chapel where they met and grew as a community for a number of years until 1882. 

In 1882, and needing room to grow, First  Baptist Church bought St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Mitcheltorena St. During the next 28 years, the congregation grew in ministry impact and in numbers.  During those years the church joined other churches for evangelistic meetings such as those led by evangelist Dwight L. Moody in 1889.

In March 1906, with the need for more space, it was time to step out in faith and the church purchased a lot in downtown Santa Barbara on the corner of West Victoria and Chapala Street and built a beautiful new church. 

For the next 70 years First Baptist Church continued to reach out to the city, and into the world through missions, and sustained both through two world wars, a national depression, a devastating earthquake, as well as the Korean conflict and the Vietnam war.

In 1973 the church was led to move out of the downtown to its current beautiful hill top location in order to be closer to home neighborhoods on Veronica Springs Rd.  The street received its name because of the water in nearby springs that contained healing properties. The healing spring water was bottled near the church and shipped around the world from the late 1800s until the 1930s - It was called Veronica Springs Healing Tonic.  

In December, 2016 the decision was made to change its name to Veronica Springs Church. Just as the water that brought the name to the street had healing properties, the church’s mandate and calling was to introduce others to Jesus, the Great Physician, who saves, heals and delivers all. 

Veronica Springs Church is a sacred house of prayer and healing, and a spiritual family gathered in the love of God—a dwelling place where His presence is felt and known, and where the Spirit of the Lord flows like living water, renewing hearts, restoring lives, and carrying hope into our city and the nations.

For more than 150 years, generations have worshiped here as one household of faith—lifting praise, contending in prayer, studying and embodying the Word of God, and proclaiming the Gospel together. In these shared rhythms of devotion and obedience, the Kingdom of God has taken root, shaping lives in Santa Barbara and reaching far beyond.

With gratitude for those who have gone before us, and hope for those yet to come, we look toward the next 150 years, trusting Jesus—our Savior and Good Shepherd—to lead our family forward. We long to see children, youth, parents, and elders walking together, families strengthened, communities restored, and young generations awakened to His voice, ensuring that the blessing and faithfulness of God will rest upon this household and be made known to a thousand generations.