We are a church with history living out the message of Jesus in a modern world. We are rooted and we are flexible. We see our space as a place to cultivate relationships, worship together and impact our community. We believe that it’s important to integrate healthy spirituality into all aspects of our lives so we invest in those things. And, we welcome all.
We want to…
Lead with Grace
God has shown immeasurable grace to us so we do our best to lead with grace in every relationship, every situation and every circumstance. Everyone has a story and often we have no idea how difficult that story is. Leading with grace invites and empowers wherever we are. Grace first…always.
Champion Authenticity
FBCG will always be a safe place where people can be who they were created to be…and in that…ask questions, doubt, wonder and be open about what they are going through without fear of judgement.
Celebrate Diversity
We are all unique. We are all different. We are all valuable. We believe that the church works best when we embrace and empower the differences around us. FBCG is fully inclusive, meaning that no matter your age, race, gender, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation, you can participate fully in the life of our church family.
Cultivate Partnerships
As a small church, we can’t do all the things we’d like to be able to do. So, what do we do? We offer our space to the community and we mobilize volunteers and funding to work with organizations who are already doing an amazing job helping people in need in our community and around the world. We currently partner with multiple community support groups as well as:
We welcome, affirm, protect and support people of all 2SLGBTQ+ identities. We believe 2SLGBTQ+ people are made and loved by God, and that they benefit Christian communities greatly. We want to be a place that learns from, celebrates, and communes with 2SLGBTQ+ people, and we are actively looking for ways we can better educate ourselves as a congregation and learn from each other.
Sunday Mornings
We want our Sunday morning services to be life-changing. We want people to be drawn into a relationship with the Creator in a way that deepens that relationship.
Every week we come together to express our thanks and praise God. We meet at 10am on Sunday mornings.
Our service is led by our Praise band. Each week there will be different elements that help us to better understand that morning’s topic. Sometimes there will be a musical presentation, a reading, a drama, or a video.
Children will begin in the main gathering, but will be dismissed to part-way through. Our programs run from September – June. If your child wishes to stay with you, there are busy-bags available at the back of the sanctuary. Junior Church is weekly for kids up to Grade 6. We also run an Intermediate Youth Program, usually on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month for those in grades 7-10.
There is always a talk about how different aspects of the Bible apply to our everyday lives.
We think worship (what we do on Sunday morning) is about connecting and communicating with God. But, our goal is not just to do that on Sunday morning. Our goal is to become people who do this every day. You will find people here who use a wide variety of spiritual practices to enhance their private worship throughout the week.
Sunday morning becomes a collective expression of our worship.
Following our gathering, refreshments are served where people have the chance to socialize with each other.
Baptism
When you are baptized you identify yourself as a follower of Jesus Christ. Baptism symbolizes a life in Christ.
The first step in getting baptized is to attend a baptismal class. You will learn what the Bible teaches about baptism and about First Baptist’s baptism process.
We practice believer’s baptism by immersion. This means that someone must be following Christ to be baptized and here we baptize by immersion (going right under the water).
Membership
Many people ask why I should become a member. Why not just attend? Does becoming a member make any difference?
We encourage you if you are a regular attendee to get involved in areas that you feel you can make a positive contribution to.
Membership goes further. It says, “I belong.” It means that you are committing yourself to our church community. It means that you will look out for others and that they will look out for you. It is a way of fully identifying yourself with our mission.
Membership means that you can vote at our business meetings where decisions are made about the direction of the church.
Membership also means that if you have the gift of leadership, you could be a team leader of ministry area that you are passionate about.
If you would like to become a member, please contact us. We look forward to having you serve alongside us!
Statement of Beliefs
We believe in God, Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We believe that God is the Creator and Redeemer of all things; all-loving and the righteous Judge of the living and the dead.
We believe that Jesus Christ, our Lord is God’s Son; truly man and truly God, two natures meeting in one person, born of the virgin Mary, crucified, died and was buried, raised from the dead; our Redeemer from sin and death to everlasting life; giver of every spiritual blessing in whom is the forgiveness of sins by the grace of God through faith.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us, our guide and comforter and at work in the world.
We believe that the Bible is God inspired, both the Old Testament and New Testaments of the Bible; that God composed them concurrently with human authors, making them the authoritative rule for our faith and practice.
We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ is a community of believers; a living fellowship for worship and the proclamation of the Gospel; the priesthood of the believers.
We believe that the Christian faith should manifest itself in godly living, in harmony within the family of God, in love toward all, and in faithful witnessing and self-denying service in the word as set for us in the example of our Lord; observes believer’s baptism by immersion and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper; proclaims the Word of God as the effectual means of grace.