Welcome to First Baptist Church’s home on the web. I invite you to explore this website as a means of learning more about the character of our community of faith. I encourage you to join us for worship or study, fellowship or service, as we welcome the companionship of everyone who longs to follow Jesus and seeks to make sense of his or her experience in the context of a personal relationship with the God who was in Christ.
First Baptist is a thriving urban church which seeks to provide a compassionate, Christ-like presence in downtown Raleigh while being made up of people who live throughout the metropolitan area. We are Baptist by distinction, ecumenical in scope and global in concern. We are mission-minded, service-oriented and inclusive in spirit and practice. While having a rich heritage of distinguished pastoral leadership, we have just as rich a heritage of strong and thoughtful lay leadership, as devoted men and women form the backbone of this church and its service to Christ and the world.
Worship is the center of church life as we seek to ground everything we do in our primary relationship with God. We are privileged to meet in a majestic sanctuary, dedicated in 1859, which inspires awe and reverence. We are blessed with fine sacred music every week and liturgy which blends the best of our Baptist heritage with forms from other Christian traditions. Most of all, the people who call themselves First Baptist Church approach worship with a clear sense of purpose and a deep sense of passion. The warmth and vibrancy of our experience honors the One we worship at least as much as the forms we use.
Yet worship is just the beginning place and perhaps also the ending place of all we do. Worship leads to service and study, fellowship and play, a deeper concern for our neighbors and a yearning to know and learn from those who are different from us. We invite you to join us whenever you can and we assure you that you will be welcome in this community wherever you are on your journey. We are not perfected saints who have all the answers and no doubts. Rather, we are fellow strugglers on a journey who cherish the companions we have and understand how much our shared life is enriched by every new friend we make. We would be honored to have you join us.
