Grace For The Journey

    What a great day of rejoicing that will be!  We are anticipating welcoming many former members, pastors, and staff for this significant day in the life of our church family.  As we have reviewed the history of our church, we have learned about many building programs (the first building the church met in, the first building it built, the rebuilding after the 1943 fire, the remodeling of that building, and the addition of the educational building and chapel).  Those were significant moments in the life of our church family.  However, the greatest headline and continual story is not about buildings and budgets but about how God has worked through His people.  The one resounding focus of our church’s history is that through His dedicated people a message of life and hope and a ministry of love and help has sounded forth and been expressed within the church buildings and outside the church in the lives of its members.

Through the years First Baptist has focused on reaching and ministering to people of all ages and backgrounds.  Our church family has sought to provide a ministry to the whole family, whether that family consists of one or several.  First Baptist has always had a commitment to preaching and teaching God’s Word to people as they are.  This has been done through meaningful worship, an on-going Bible Study ministry for all ages, musical pageants and dramas, mission education (through the Women’s Missionary Union, Acteens, Girls in Action, Mission Friends, and Royal Ambassadors) and mission involvement (sending out missionaries to Argentina, Paraguay, China, the Far East, and Philadelphia).  Members have also gone on short-term mission trips to Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska,  South Dakota, and Iowa.  Caring about our community, we also started a Food Pantry ministry to the residents of Bates County that today is community-wide ministry reaching about 300 families each month.

More recently First Baptist has sought to continue the church’s heritage of outreach, evangelism, and discipleship through providing a mid-week time of Bible memorization and practical Bible study for the children of our community through Awana, an on-going, relevant discipleship ministry for our youth, as well as Women’s and Men’s Ministries.  We also are in the initial stages of beginning a Single Adult Bible Study ministry.

First Baptist seeks to lead people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and help them strengthen their faith for their daily life in Christ.  One of the ways we do that is through the bi-annual presentation of “Judgement House” to the Community. This is a three-day drama presentation, involving over 120 actors and workers (we are thankful that members from area churches now join in to help us), where the church is transformed into 8 scenes that present a common life scenario and clearly communicates the Gospel message and importance of settling your eternal destiny by choosing Christ as your Savior.

The story of the people of First Baptist Church is still unfolding.  In the midst of today’s society that has a cloudy and confused understanding of Christianity, our desire is to have a clear statement of the true marks of our faith.

It is our desire by God’s grace to actively do our part to help the church of Jesus Christ rediscover her:

•  Authority: Scripture Alone
• Message: Saved by Grace Alone
• Focus: Christ Alone
• Confidence: Faith Alone
• Power: through Prayer Alone
• Purpose: The Glory of God Alone

As a church we seek to:

(1)       Honor and glorify God in our worship and work.

(2)       Strengthen believers through worship and the teaching of God’s Word.

(3)       Reach the lost with the life-changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The members of First Baptist Church are well aware that the history of First Baptist church has been a small part of His Story through the ages.  We are grateful for what God has done and seek to make much of Him and His great love and life for us through Jesus in the years to come.