FBC Baytown
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Like all living organisms a church is a dynamic entity that is constantly in a state of change. FBC Baytown is an evolving body of people whose individual and collective lives—from our origins in April 1926 to the present day—are characterized by significant markers through our history. Perhaps no single event reflects that change as much as a transition in pastoral leadership and for our church 2005-2007 served as a time of Intentional Interim Ministry. Under the direction of a trained Interim Pastor the church prayerfully conducted a thorough self-examination to prepare for the arrival of a new pastor and to provide us with a new understanding of God’s mission for us in the future. The study led to the adoption of a series of church-approved formal statements that spoke to our identity and mission, our core values and denominational relationships, and our system of working together to accomplish God’s purposes for this congregation. Identity and Mission Three questions drove the Identity task: Who are we? (Demographic statements about the members of FBC Baytown) Who are they? (A look at the citizens of this community) What are we going to do about them? (Determining our response to the needs we discovered in our mission field). The result of this work produced a document that guides all future work by the church: A Declaration of Intention Related to the Future Direction of the Church. Central to that declaration is an affirmation of the church’s Mission Statement: “First Baptist Church of Baytown exists to exalt God by bringing people into relationship with Jesus Christ and His church, developing them to Christ-like maturity, and equipping them for ministry.” The Declaration of Intention set the tone for the church in subsequent decisions, including the search and call for the Pastor and the nature of our worship experiences. Additionally, the church revised its organizational structure (Working Together), and under the Pastor’s leadership, has brought us to a significant re-commitment to reaching our community for Christ. Core Values and Denominational Relationships Another important task of the self study led the church through a re-examination of our basic beliefs and Baptist heritage. We discovered that many of our members and guests knew little of the distinctives and traditions of Baptists. In addition to providing several opportunities to learn some of those historic values, the church adopted An Affirmation of the Historic Partnership between First Baptist Baytown and our Denomination. Through that Affirmation FBC Baytown has endorsed a familiar document called the Baptist Faith & Message as its basic testimony of beliefs and values. We also renewed our commitment to work with San Jacinto Baptist Association to share ministry locally, with the Baptist General Convention of Texas to do missions in our state, and with the Southern Baptist Convention as our primary group with which to fulfill the call to share Christ around the world. Working Together As the self-study group examined our church’s organization and leadership structures, they recommended changes to our system for identifying leaders and working together that better reflected the ideals established in the Declaration of Intention. A second study group (New Vision Ministry Team) devoted a year to creating a new system that brought the church’s Mission Statement to the forefront of all planning and programming. Church approval of the new plan in January 2008 resulted in a revised Constitution and Bylaws to provide operational procedures. The new plan established a coordinating group called the Mission Action Council. Comprised of pastoral staff and lay leaders from each of six ministry groups, the MAC gives overall direction to the church’s ongoing ministry by preparing the annual budget, planning an annual church calendar, and reviewing prospective plans for ministries. The six ministry groups related to the tasks of the church and address the administrative work involved in the day-to-day operations. The groups include: an Administrative Committee, a Worship Support Team, an Evangelism Team, a Discipleship Team, a Members-on-Mission Team, and a Fellowship (Community-Building) Team. The FBC Deacons provide support and counsel to all church leaders, and they have accepted the challenge of helping church members find a place of service in one or more of the Ministry Teams by leading them through a special survey called SERVE. SERVE is an acronym representing five different factors in a person’s life that help him or her identify a unique ministry; the factors include: Spiritual Gifts, life Experiences, Relational style, Vocational skills, and Enthusiasm or passion for ministry. The survey and class is available as a 2-hour session through Sunday School classes or in independently offered units |
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