First Baptist Church is affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA. 

We are a part of the Iowa-Minnesota region, Mid-American Baptist Churches.

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Who Are We? We asked this question of ourselves as a church. What we found:

We are a church where worship is central. Our gathering together in worship reminds us of who we are. It connects us to God and to one another. Worship is the most important thing we do as a church.

We have a faith that engages both heart and mind. We are willing to ask tough questions and wrestle with the challenges of faith in the modern world. One can be a thinking person and a Christian, and we believe a Christian needs to be a thinking person. At the same time, faith is deeply felt and is more than a set of facts; it is a vital relationship with Jesus.

We are a church called to mission. We are concerned about and involved in the wider community, beginning with the campus and Ames community and extending to the whole world. We do this because God has blessed us and leads us to share those blessings with others. God loves this world of ours and calls us to love it too.

We are a diverse congregation. We are a mix of spiritual types, a mix of ages, a mix of ethnicities, a mix of town and gown, faculty and students. We don’t all think alike, we have different gifts, and we consider our differences a real blessing.

We honor the past and embrace the future. We are traditional in the best sense of the word. We take pride in our heritage and history, but we don’t worship it. We are open to new ideas and approaches, and this in itself is part of our church’s heritage.

We are a theologically open congregation. We run a broad range theologically, and we don’t have a creedal requirement. We worship God, we seek to follow Jesus as Lord, we try to be open to the leading of the Spirit, we find truth in scripture, and if we don’t agree on all of the other stuff, that is OK.

We are a university congregation. This doesn’t mean we are only for university people, but our geography and demographics make us a university church. We moved here in 1950 to be near campus, and more recently we chose to remain near the campus. Our style of being church is influenced by the presence of the university, and we are in conversation with the world of learning and scholarship and artistry that is at our doorstep.

We are Baptist - and ecumenical. We live out a Baptist vision that values freedom and personal faith while also valuing the community of believers. We are also part of a larger family -- we are not the only Christians. Members come from many faith traditions, and this gives a richness to our life together.

We are a caring community. This may be what holds it all together. We are a diverse bunch, and we don’t always agree on everything, but we do agree that everyone matters. We do agree that “they will know we are Christians by our love.” We see ourselves as a family of faith.

Based on these characteristics, we adopted the following identity statement:

“First Baptist Church is an open and caring family of faith where worship is central and faith engages both heart and mind. We are warmly ecumenical, delight in our diversity, and cherish our Baptist heritage of freedom. We are called by Christ to share God’s love with the campus, community, and the world.”

In an effort to be clear about what it means to be a welcoming community, we have added these words of welcome to our identity statement:

"As we seek to follow the way of Jesus, we welcome all people to fully participate in our fellowship: all ages, colors, backgrounds, political affiliations, and physical and mental abilities; male and female, gay and straight, rich and poor, single and married.  We are all God's children, and all are welcome here."  We have certainly not arrived, but this a vision of the church that we are living into.  We hope you will join us!

First Baptist Church is an open and caring family of faith where worship is central and faith engages both heart and mind. We are warmly ecumenical, delight in our diversity, and cherish our Baptist heritage of freedom. We are called by Christ to share God’s love with the campus, community, and the world.

As we seek to follow the way of Jesus, we welcome all people to fully participate in our fellowship: all ages, colors, backgrounds, political affiliations, and physical and mental abilities; male and female, gay and straight, rich and poor, single and married.  We are all God's children, and all are welcome here.

Who We Are