When Union soldiers forced plantation owners to free Sarah Gibson, her husband, Robert, a slave wagon driver, and their children, they escaped Bull Run, Manassas, VA, and had no idea that an explosion of life was about to begin. On their perilous journey north, Sarah would be separated from her husband while being chased by confederates with dogs barking after her and her two little children. She held onto them close, as she crossed the Bull Run Stream, running red with the blood of soldiers from the war torn land, while she gave God praise for deliverance north. She was later reunited with her husband and would work for a family as a seamstress to earn enough money to buy land in 1880, seventeen years after the emancipation proclamation, to have a place where God's name could be glorified. This was the beginning of Gibson Grove AME Zion Church. From 1880 to present day, God's name continues to be glorified there. 

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Records show that Mrs. Gibson, who could neither read nor write, but knew the Bible from cover to cover, lived by the Word, and believed in education. She had a one room school built right next to the church 1912 which was the only African American School in the Cabin John community, at a time when Public Education was not available to people of color. This school was later rented by the county to support the education of African Americans for $7.50 monthly and was later moved to Moses Hall.

 

The first church congregation was the gathering of people from the community, along with Sarah’s fifteen-member household, according to the 1880 Census. They met outside on Sarah’s land and sang praises to God for life and substance. Their fellowship would soon be housed in a structure that changed over the years to a proper church building in 1898 when part of the land was transferred to the Trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Records show that the church changed from a log structure in 1912, to a new building in 1923, and was later renovated 50 years later, to install heating, air conditioning, bathrooms, a kitchen, and a small fellowship Hall.

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Sarah Gibson died in January of 1929 and was buried near the church and Moses Hall.

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Decades later in 2002, Gibson Grove AME Zion church’s congregation dwindled to just a few members who were unfortunately unable to keep the lights on or pay the bills of the church. The trustees had to make the hard choice to close down the building. On January 19, 2003 the closing service was held where Bishop Williams who was in charge, and speaker for the occasion, noted that on top of the program the following words were written, "Order of worship Subject to change by prompting of the Holy Spirit". It was at the end of the service when he read this to the closing ceremony congregates and asked Pastor Bankhead, who was in attendance along with seveal of his own congreation, to stand where the Bishop announced that Gibson Grove church would not close, but that Pastor Bankhead’s First Agape Church congregation would move into the church building to complete overall repairs and renovations noting the leaking roof, deteriorating walls and outside appearance of the church. This endeavor brought the church under a new name, "First Agape AME Zion Church at GIBSON GROVE." The following Sunday the church was packed with previous Gibson Grove Members along with Bankhead's First Agape Members. The Trustees of the old Gibson Grove Church gave First Agape all of the old records of the church and asked that they be protected.

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Before the transfer could be formally finalized, a fire almost destroyed the church building completely in 2004. It was not until 2006 that First Agape AME Zion Church at Gibson Grove was made the successor of the church proper. A formalization of the transfer was necessary as major repairs could not take place until the deed demonstrated First Agape's stewardship as Trustees of the property.