Our youth participating in the CROP walk.

The younger children having a party

After Celebration Sunday in the Sanctuary

Some of the families at a celebration (we love to eat together!)

A childrens' story with just a few of our kids.

Story time in fellowship hall.

A Bit About First Baptist Church, Attleboro

Begun over 100 years ago as a Sunday School, First Baptist Church in Attleboro remains in its original location, near the train station, on the southern edge of downtown Attleboro.

A lot can happen in over a century, and First Baptist has not been without its challenges.  In fact a reading of our church history will reveal that in the mid-1950's there was a split of the congregation, and another church was started from the splinter group.  Both churches still survive today we are happy to report.

Our church consists of two buildings, the main church, and a separate Sunday School Building, which was built in 1955.  In addition to being used every Sunday for classes, during the week, the building is used by a local preschool, and a friendly cooperative relationship has endured for several years.

We also accommodate other community groups through the rental of our space.  A local quilt guild has been a long-time renter of our fellowship hall, which can seat upwards to 115 people, there is an Alcoholics Anonymous group who meets there on another night, Attleboro's local Habitat for Humanity uses some office space, A local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill meets weekly, and on Sunday afternoons, the sanctuary is the church home for a local Bolivian Baptist church.

We have a good working kitchen, and although that may seem trite, we all know that the kitchen can often be the heart of the home.  It is true at First Baptist as well.  There isn't a Sunday morning or any event that involves food which won't include laughter and friendly conversation happening over the stove or while doing the dishes.

Our church building is situated next to a funeral home, and although we own the parking lot behind our buildings, we have a gentleman's agreement on the use of it during funerals and visiting hours, and they extend financial help annually, which helps us offset the cost of plowing snow during the winter.

You might call us a "back door" church, because our building is very close to the sidewalk, and the parking lot is in the back of the church, so most members enter the building through the back door.  It is also how we like to treat our visitors - as back door company.  We have a very friendly congregation, and on many occasions it has been the warm and friendly welcome of one or more of our church members that has brought many a new participant back for the second or third visit, and oftentimes leading to membership and service to God within our church body.

Points of interest in and around our great city!

This is our church Facebook page where you can see a few pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=91909994856
This is information about the city we are located in, with information about schools and other community resources:
http://www.cityofattleboro.us/
These are links to specific attractions and resources in our area:
http://www.attleboroartsmuseum.org/
http://www.capronparkzoo.com/ 
http://www.sturdymemorial.org/                                                    
http://wheatoncollege.edu/
http://www.bristol.mass.edu/
http://www.attleboroymca.org/
This is a link to a local Realtor who is a member of our congregation:
http://www.terrytwombly.com/

Church Profile

The profile information below is the result of several meetings and questionnaires from the congregation. It is based on the "Calling an American Baptist Minister" guide.


Ministry Priorities
1st-- Strength in interpreting the faith

2nd-- Pastoral care

3rd-- Preaching

4th-- Spiritual life development

5th-- Interchurch cooperation

6th-- Conflict management

7th-- Visitations

8th-- I put two here Growth and Communications




The following are quotes from members of the congregation about what they hope for our future.



1. Youth ministry to bring in more people, involve youths in our congregational life, think of ways to get community involved

2. Evangelical for adults--put in some different types of gatherings so we can have fun together, more attractive to other adults, think of ways to get community involved

3. Fundraising think of ways to get community involved


4. Missionary


5. Music to share with others in our community 


Our Church Information (demographics)

Several church members were not comfortable sharing demographic information, so this information is incomplete. Our church is located in the center of a city with a population of 35,000. Church members live from less than one mile and more than ten miles from the church, and everywhere in between. We participate in most of the denominational events but in small numbers. Our racial/ethnic mix includes Afro Americans, Euro Americans, and Latinos. There are households with single parents, married with and without childern, divorced, and widowed. There are retired, unemployed, homemakers, part-time and full-time employed. They include clerical workers, health care workers, household workers, managers/executives, service workers, teachers and technical workers. Incomes vary widely and include everything from $0 to $90K and above in fairly even distribution.
We have a multi-board system, as you can see in the by-laws. There is a Church Council which has only recently gone back to work. This Council is representative of each Board and Committee. The other Boards include Deacons, Trustees, Education, Nominating and Missions (not fully functioning). We do not currently have a Pastoral Relations Committee. We have representatives to the Attleboro Area Council of Churches, Old Colony Association, and TABCOM.
Our current total budget is about $130K. The average annual income of church participants (based on who shared this information) is about $50K. The current expenses of the church are about $130K. The annual mission giving is about $11K. The current endowment is about $400K. Income from the endowment is used as follows: 39% maintenance, 46% operating expenses, 5% scholarships, 10% community outreach and AB missions.

Worship

 There are about 50 people in worship on a normal Sunday, but we have noticed an increase in visitors in the past few months. We currently have a traditional worship, including a lay leader for scripture reading, prayer concerns shared aloud, greeting one another, and reading church covenant only on Communion Sundays (first Sunday of month). Litanies and responsive readings are used, and we often follow the lectionary because our Sunday School curriculum follows it. Having said all of this, we are open to new ideas about worship, and realize that our current situation may not meet the needs of the entire congregation or best equip us for reaching out to the community as we want to. We would love to talk more about this during an interview.