With recognition secured, Sampson White's small group received into their body all of the black members of the First Baptist Church currently worshipping at the 19th and I Streets location.

With the new members being in possession of the property at 19th and I Streets—an assertion that would be challenged for some years—the First Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., was established in 1839 with Sampson White serving as its first pastor.

On November 12, 1882, Reverend Dr. Walter Henderson Brooks—then referred to as the Dean of ministers of Washington, D.C.—was installed as the pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.

Under Brooks' pastorate, which spanned over sixty years, the church membership grew to over 3,500[3] and attracted leaders of the African American community.

[12] Brooks advocated for the inclusion of liberal arts courses within the curricula of black Baptist colleges, like those found at Howard and Fisk universities.

In addition to influencing the establishment of both the National Baptist Publishing Board and the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Walter Henderson Brooks also served as vice-president of the Bethel Literary and Historical Society under John W. Cromwell and was a member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Noted Washington, D.C., clubwoman, educator, and suffragist, Nannie Helen Burroughs, as well as founder of the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth, Jennie Serepta Dean were both members during this time.

[4][13][16] Charles R. Drew, renowned physician, surgeon, and medical researcher who was recognized as the authority on the preparation and preservation of blood plasma, also attended the church under Brooks' pastorate.

[3] Brooks' leadership and social advocacy ushered Nineteenth Street Baptist Church into an era of prominence and activism among African American elites that continued well after his death in 1945.

In 1946, after the death of Walter Henderson Brooks, Reverend Dr. Jerry A. Moore Jr. became the pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.

Moore, who had previously served as Brooks' pastoral assistant and student at Howard University's School of Divinity, received a B.A.

[10] He also oversaw the establishment of Noonday Lenten Services which initially focused on federal workers but now draws a number of older adults.

During this time, many of Nineteenth Street Baptist's parishioners had left the inner city neighborhood where the church had been located for 135 years.

[21] During his tenure, Nineteenth Street Baptist Church hosted President Barack Obama and his family twice during its Sunday service,.

On February 18, 2015, Dr. Harkins announced that after 17 years, he would step down as pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church to take the position of Senior Vice President for Innovations in Public Programming at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

On October 22, 2016, the membership of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church elected Reverend Dr. Darryl D. Roberts to the position of Pastor-Elect.

In the tradition of Nineteenth Street Baptist's previous pastors, Dr. Roberts demonstrated a strong commitment to social change at both the national and local levels.

He coordinated initiatives for organizations such as: the Corporation for National & Community Service, the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Hewlett Packard Foundation, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the American Baptist Churches of the South, The Carter Center, the Cleveland Job Corps, Southern Truth and Reconciliation, Junior Achievement and Americorps.