We gather for worship every Sunday @ 10:30 a.m.
Christian Education for children, youth, and adults is at 9:00 a.m. followed by Coffee Fellowship in the gathering area at 10:00 a.m.
Child care is provided during Sunday School and worship downstairs in the Baby Box. Pagers are provided for parents.
Worship is about the “work of the people” praising God and being fed by our Lord. Our worship seeks to be interactive, insightful, emotional, tasteful, and enjoyable. Our worship heritage is a core part of our worship identity and includes affirming historical Baptist principles. These principles guide us as we worship.
- Soul freedom is the right and responsibility of every person to encounter God without the interference or imposition of creed, clergy, or civil government.
- Bible freedom is the belief that the Bible, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and teachings of Jesus Christ, is authoritative and central in the life of individuals and the church.
- Church freedom affirms local churches to be free, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, to conduct their work and worship experiences, to ordain those they believe to be gifted for ministry, and to be active with participation in the larger body of Christ.
- Religious freedom is broadly defined as freedom of religion, freedom for religion, and freedom from religion – often known as “separation of church and state.”
Our focus on worship seeks to balance our Baptist heritage of worship in the free-church tradition while engaging in meaningful liturgy that is relevant to the concerns of our world. With the central focus being the worship of God, worshipers are invited to engage the liturgy (prayers, hymns, scripture, silence, and the spoken word) with their mind, heart, body, and soul. Our worship encourages worshipers to struggle with the hard questions of faith for the purpose of experiencing and living an authentic life of faith.
Worship is meant to be clergy and lay led. The worship liturgist is most often a lay person. The pastor and liturgist guides us in responsive readings, scripture readings, offertory prayers, and litanies. It is also the role of the laity to offer the joys and concerns and the prayers of the people. Rev. David Waldo offers the sermon every Sunday. On occasion throughout the year, however, sermons are offered by other ordained or non-ordained persons.
Baptism and Communion: We practice believer’s baptism at First Baptist Church, which signifies an understanding of God’s unconditional love, a desire to trust in God’s grace and mercy, and a commitment to follow in the ways of Jesus as each person understands that commitment and calling. We baptize throughout the year.
Communion is celebrated as a part of our worship on the first Sunday of the month. All people who proclaim Christ as Lord are invited to gather around God’s table to partake in this feast of love. In our communion, we invite the congregation to partake of the elements are one body. Sometimes, the congregants come forward to receive the elements by intinction, an ancient tradition in the Church.
We experience God and express our worship in a variety of ways. In order to engage mind, body, and spirit in the worship experience, we include elements that connect us to the sacred and help to interpret the seasons of the Christian year. These elements may include movement, visual imagery, and dramatic presentations, as well as music and the spoken word.
