About Us
Who We Are
First Baptist Church Jacksonville Beach is a community of Christ followers that began with several families meeting in various homes in 1921 with a common passion for Jesus Christ to redeem, restore, and renew lives in the beaches and greater Jacksonville areas. Throughout our history, as a church, we have seen lives changed, hope freely given, and God fulfilling His purposes all around us and through us. From our many "highs" to our many "lows" God has continued to demonstrate His goodness, His faithfulness, and His power to transform. Throughout the years and years to come we continue to rally around our common passion for Jesus Christ to redeem, restore, and renew lives in the beaches and greater Jacksonville areas.
What We Believe
The foundation of what we believe and are about is the Bible. We believe that the Bible is God's Word to humanity to guide us in our relationship with Him. Through the Bible, God has revealed His love, grace, and mercy toward us, while at the same time, has defined humanity's problem as a separation from Him. This separation is the result of sin in each of our lives. The only way for our lives to be made right is by confessing the fact that we are sinners to God, asking Him to forgive us, and asking Him to take control of our lives.
We believe that there is one God who exists as the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, God's Son, came to earth, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, proclaimed Himself to be the only way to a relationship with God, performed many miracles, taught truth, exhibited pure selfless love towards all those He encountered, was crucified on a cross to take the blame and penalty for our sins, died, resurrected Himself after being dead for three days, and ascended back into Heaven to return again in the near future. Because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice in our place, the Holy Spirit can now indwell all men, women, and children that confess their sins to God, ask for His forgiveness, and ask Him to take control of their lives. Out of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, we can be adopted as "sons and daughters of God" by the Father.
We believe that every person will be judged by God. God will not judge us based on how good we lived, but He will judge each of us on the basis of whether or not we acknowledged Him to be God and asked Him to forgive our sins, and surrendered control of our lives over to Him. For those that asked God to take control of their lives, eternal life in a very real, very literal place called Heaven awaits. For those that never decided to surrender their lives to God (or simply chose not to), eternal punishment in a very real, very literal place called Hell awaits. God loves us so much that He allows us to choose our destination while living life here on earth and will honor that choice on the day of judgment.
We believe that the church is God's primary instrument to reach out to, share with, demonstrate to, and tell men, women, and children that God created them, loves them, and has an incredible plan and purpose for their lives. The church is made up of imperfect people whose common bond is serving a perfect God. In His incredible creativity, God made each of us unique...as a church we seek to honor that uniqueness as a body composed of different people, yet functioning with a shared purposed.
If you would like more information, or you have any questions, on our beliefs as a church, we would love to meet with you and help you in any way that we can.
Why We Exist
We believe that the church is God's instrument and tool to bring about His transforming power to the world. Our mission and mandate is not based on "best ideas," but rather biblical instruction. First Baptist Church Jacksonville Beach has 5 core values that ensure that we are aligned with the mission and mandates described in the Bible that define an authentic church. These 5 core values are:
LOVE
God, the maker and creator of the universe, loves each one of so much that He allowed his own son to be sacrificed in our place so that we can have a relationship with him. Because God loves us and offers to change our lives in every area of our lives, we love people...of all races and of all backgrounds seeking to intentionally minister and serve in all areas of life.
RISK
Risk for the glory of God is to permeate our very lives..our families, our finances, our relationships, our homes, our jobs, and our dreams. As we risk in following God, we unleash Him to continue working the miraculous all around us as He transforms us into the person, the husband/wife, the father/mother, the coworker, the student, the friend, and the leader that we never thought we could ever become. Risk and faith are not church ideas, they are to be a constant in all areas of life
GIVE
We are stewards and not owners. God has given us everything for the purpose of worshiping Him and introducing others around us to the God that created them. We do this by giving of everything that are and everything that we are not...our talents, gifts, abilities, ambitions, resources, and time. We do this not out of obligation, but out of appreciation for all that God has given us and so that others around us may come to know God in a very real, very personal way.
CHANGE
God never changes...He is today who He was in the beginning. God’s Word never changes...it is as true and relevant today as it was the very day it was written. God’s plan never changes...He desires to have a relationship with each us today just as he originally did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Our methods, both in our personal lives and in the life of our church, of presenting God, God’s Word, and God’s plan to people in need of hope, rescue, and peace are to constantly change to reach out to a changing world.
GROW
Who we are today is not who we have to be tomorrow. God transforms lives and as a part of the transformation, God intends to grow each of us along the journey of life. Growth happens day-by-day, moment-by-moment, decision-by-decision.
