Next Steps
Small Groups
Our Sunday school small group classes for connection, growth, and encouragement for every stage and age of life (from children to senior adults) @ 9:15 am every Sunday.
To locate the group that is right for you, click the button below.
Joining our Church
Why join?
We believe God expects every Christian to belong to a local church. A Christian without a church family is a contradiction in terms (read Ephesians 2:19-22). Here are six reasons you need to join a local church.
Biblical Reason:
Christ is committed to the church. “…Christ loved the church, and He gave His life for it.” Ephesians 5:25 We should love what Christ loved.
Maturity Reason:
While you can be a Christian without the church, we have found you will not be a strong or mature one. The best environment for Christian maturity is found in the church.
Support Reason:
We try to minister and care for our membership. We pray for them, visit them, encourage them, and comfort them. Membership identifies our family and helps us care for you better.
Ministry Reason:
Every team has a roster. It shows who can be counted on to help serve. We have found that members are more involved in service/ministry than non-members. That pleases God, helps others, and grows spiritual strength. Membership identifies our community and family. It defines who can be entrusted with positions of leadership within the church. Every member has a ministry at First Baptist.
Personal Reason:
Spiritual stability occurs in the church. “Lone Ranger Christians” are often unstable and undependable. Christians need a church family to remain strong and grow. The happiest and healthiest Christians are those involved in a local church. The New Testament places a major emphasis on the need for Christians to be accountable to each other for spiritual growth. A person cannot be accountable when they are not committed to any specific church family.
Cultural Reason:
We live in an age where very few want to be committed to anything…a job, a marriage, or a family. This attitude has produced a generation of church hoppers and shoppers. Membership swims against the current of America’s consumer mentality and is an antidote to society. Membership sets us apart from the culture allowing us to preserve our distinctive Christian beliefs and values.
How to join:
Just simply speak to our Pastor, who will ask you the following four questions:
- Have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
- Have you been baptized by immersion following your decision to follow Christ?
- Are you in agreement with our doctrines in our statement of faith?
- Are you willing to uphold the expectations in our community covenant?
You will also be asked to attend our "Next Steps" classes (3 in total). After completing the classes and being able to answer "yes" to all four questions, we will present you before the church for membership and you will be welcomed as a full member of FBC Newberry. Next step classes are offered Sunday mornings from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM or at other times convenient to you by appointment.
If you are not ready to join, no worries being a part of a local church is a commitment, we still wish for you to attend, plug in with our ministries, worship with us, and get to know our amazing family of believers here at FBC. We want you to feel like you belong! Yet to be able to fully serve, lead, and participate in FBC, you must be a member of our church. Whenever you are ready to join in such a commitment, please speak with our Pastor for the next steps.