About Us


We want you to know that you are very welcome.
We hope you will feel right at home.
If you are searching for a church home,
we'd like you to know that there is a special place here
just for you.

      A Place for Worship:

The primary reason we meet together is to focus our attention on God, giving Him our worship and receiving His blessing and inspiration. Each of these occasions is a special time of spiritual refreshment.

      A Place for Learning:

To us, studying the Bible is vital because it not only instructs us intellectually, but also guides us spiritually. We believe it and accept it as God's Word to us, a Book that is alive and relevant to life today. Learning its truths is a thrilling adventure.

      A Place for Enrichment:

For every person at every age level, we offer a wealth of opportunities - special programs and ministries for children, youth, and adults, which fill the church calendar. You can be sure that in this kaleidoscope of activities, there is more than one place where you can be personally enriched.

      A Place for Friendship:

Nothing quite compares to the joy of Christian friendship. That is why we make it a priority to build lasting bonds between the members of our church family - bonds of concern and genuine commitment to one another. Best of all, this circle of care is ever-widening.

      A Place for Service:

Just as Jesus Christ came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister..." we accept our responsibility to reach out in service to others. This applies both within the church family and outside our fellowship.


Affiliations

First Baptist's call to missions is also expressed through various affiliations for the purpose of global missions. The ministry of First Baptist includes the support of the

  • Alliance of Baptists
  • American Baptist Churches of the U.S.A.
  • American Bible Society
  • American's United Fund
  • Baptist General Association of Virginia
  • C-Cap
  • Chaplain Service of Virginia
  • Children's Home
  • Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
  • Cooperative Program of the SBC
  • D.C. Baptist Convention
  • Front Royal/Warren County Ministerial Association
  • Retirement Center
  • Salvation Army
  • Shenandoah Baptist Association
  • Virginia Baptist Hospital

A Doctrinal View

For 150 years, First Baptist Church has embraced the historical principles and traditions of Baptists. We as a church believe that these principles are being threatened today by Baptists with little appreciation for these distinctive's. These principles still direct our life together as a church. Thus, as a church, we are committed to the following:

  1. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the sole authority for our faith and practice. We also believe that scripture must be interpreted using all of the resources available to us. This means we must be serious students of the Bible in seeking God's will for our lives.
  2. The priesthood of all believers is at the heart of how we understand both our mission and relationship to one another. This doctrine speaks of our personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ. The implications of this doctrine are manifold. First, it means we are free and responsible to relate to God personally. Second, it implies that we as individuals are called to the ministry of reconciliation which God has entrusted us with. Third, this denotes that we are all ministers together in the ministry of Christ. This implies that the pastors are ministers among ministers.
  3. From the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, Baptists have always believed in the autonomy of each individual before God. This implies that each individual is free, led by God's Spirit within the family of faith, to read and interpret the Scriptures and to seek God's will for life. Because of this conviction, we as Baptists believe that each individual must choose to follow Christ without coercion and manipulation.
  4. We also affirm the autonomy of each church under the authority of Jesus Christ to govern and shape its life and mission, call its leadership, and ordain those they perceive as gifted for ministry.
  5. With all Baptists, we also share a zeal to share the Gospel with the world. Because of the effectiveness of cooperating with others, we join together with other Baptists to do missions both locally and throughout the world. We also desire and seek to reach out to our own community in sharing the Gospel.
  6. In keeping with Baptist tradition, we also believe in a free church, in a free state and to the opposition to any effort either by church or state to use the other for its own purposes.
  7. We practice baptism upon conversion as a way of affirming the freedom of the individual to choose to follow Christ without coercion or manipulation. We also practice immersion as the example found in Christ and as a symbolic expression of the event of conversion.
  8. We also affirm the larger body of Jesus Christ, expressed in various Christian traditions, and in welcoming them into our fellowship.

First Baptist Mission Statement


At First Baptist, we are a community of faith in Jesus Christ seeking to understand our vital connections to God, to one another, and to the world around us.

 

We seek to nurture our connections through:

  • Creative and dignified WORSHIP at the heart of our life
  • A commitment to the BODY OF CHRIST
  • SPIRITUAL GROWTH through education and discipleship
  • SERVICE and OUTREACH to our community and the world
  • FREEDOM and responsibility of all believers to understand their calling and exercise their ministry in an open and affirming community

First Baptist Church,  14 West First Street,  Front Royal, Virginia 22630  540-635-2122