Start Here, Start Today

1 - Come as you are

You do not have to arrive certain. You do not have to arrive healed. You do not have to know what you believe, what you want, or whether you are ready to call this faith. You may be tired, angry, skeptical, grieving, curious, afraid, or barely holding yourself together. You are welcome here as you are, not as someone else thinks you should be.

2 - If you’ve been hurt before

We will not ask you to pretend it didn’t happen. If church, family, doctrine, fear, shame, or spiritual authority wounded you, that pain matters. You should have been loved better. You should have been protected. You should have been allowed to ask without being punished for needing the truth.

3 - If you do not believe, that’s alright

You are not required to fake faith to be treated with dignity, respect, and kindness. If you are an atheist, a doubter, a former believer, or someone who flinches at the word “God,” you are not our enemy. We believe Christ is King, but we also believe truth does not need coercion. Bring your honesty and an open heart. That is a perfect beginning.

4 - You are loved

No matter how alone you feel, you are loved. No matter how powerless you feel, you are worthy of love. Not because you performed well enough, obeyed hard enough, or made yourself agreeable to the situation. You are loved because you are a human person, made for mercy, and no cruelty done to you gets the final word over your life.

5 - Why we are here

The First Baptist Church of America exists for people who need faith to be real, not ornamental. We believe Scripture should be understandable, freedom should be defended, water should be protected, aid should be rendered, and none should be abandoned to face the terrible world. We are not here to sell you a perfect life. We are here to walk toward the thing we all truly want in our lives and in our hearts. Truth, mercy, and the impossible dream of 1000 years of peace. A vision of God’s Kingdom as He truly wishes for it to exist.

6 - Start small, start here

Read one page. Ask one question. Say one honest prayer, even if the prayer is only, “God, if You are there, help me.” You do not have to become someone else to begin. You can begin here, now, with the life you actually have.

Give $1 and become a member today, but even if you don’t, we pray for your health and happiness, Amen.