The congregation at First Baptist Church (FBC) consists of a mix of older adults, young families, and children of all ages. The church is of the American Baptist Churches USA denomination, and it is affiliated with the West Virginia Baptist Convention. Our church does not specify which Bible translation you should use. In our services, our pastor will typically use the New King James Version of the Bible or New International Version.
Our congregation size varies. Typically, we will have between 100-125 attendees on Sunday morning but could see as many as 140. Currently, only small groups such as Jr./Sr. High, God’s Cadets, and the 1835 Group (Young Adults) meet on Sunday evenings.
The physical address of the church is 215 Ann Street, in Ravenswood.
Your GPS will bring you to the front door. Parking is available on-street surrounding the church, and in the gravel parking lot located across the church behind the apartments. You can enter that parking area from Sycamore Street. Much of the street parking is gone by 10:25, so plan to arrive early.
Upon entering FBC on Sunday morning, you will likely meet Jon Moore, our head usher and one of our deacons. Jon will ensure you have a bulletin for the service. If you are a first time visitor, you will receive a welcome gift such as a Fiestaware mug, as a token of appreciation of your visit.
Once inside, you’ll find a church that is steeped with a history of over 150 years. The sanctuary is beautiful and very traditional in appearance.
You will quickly notice a mix of clothing worn at FBC. Some people choose to wear suits or sports coat, or what is best defined as business casual. While others dress far less formal wearing jeans and a shirt. Many of the youth wear dress the same way. There is no formal dress code at FBC. Attendees tend to dress much more casual than in suits.
Sunday School is a tradition at FBC and begins at 9:30. FBC provides an intimate learning experience for all ages. We have classes for preschool, elementary, junior high, high school, adults, and senior adults. Sunday School dismisses at 10:30, and allows time for everyone to make it to the sanctuary for morning worship which begins at 10:45. There, you will likely see our pastor walking around the congregation greeting people between 10:30-10:45.
Our Sunday morning worship service uses a blended format with both traditional and contemporary praise and worship music. We feature both a piano and organ. FBC has a wonderful choir that blesses attendees most every Sunday morning with a special song that crosses both genres of music. On Wednesday, the church offers an interactive Bible Study.
As part of FBC’s Sunday morning worship service, each service starts with an opening song of praise. Our service lasts until noon. Each service concludes with a time of invitation to allow attendees the opportunity to come forward and pray at the altar over concerns or to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord. You’ll also notice our church involves the youth in the service such as ringing the church bell, and participating as a junior usher. We feel it’s important for our children to learn the importance of serving in the church.
Prior to COVID-19, our church had a Sunday evening worship service. This has been discontinued. As far as youth, most young people arrive between 6:15-6:25 and report direct to their youth location. Jr./Sr. High Youth report to Ann Johnson on both Wednesday and Sunday evening. Our God’s Cadet’s program is for children age Pre-K through 5th grade. They meet on Sunday evenings at 6:30. Parents or guardians are welcome to stay with their young person to assist in the program.
If you have additional questions about our service format or about the church in general, please call the office at (304) 273-9910. You and your family are welcome to stop by and visit the church throughout the week between 8-Noon and take a tour.
Everyone at FBC would consider it an honor and blessing if you and your family decide to become a part of our church family. We are not perfect by any means, but we do love the Lord and each other. We strive to be the best Christians that we can be. We can do so much more together than we can do individually. Thank you for considering FBC as your home church. Come and let’s grow in Christ together.
