About FBC | fbcreadingpa

About First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church is a vibrant church in the heart of Reading, PA (Berks County). First Baptist Church offers Worship Service, local community ministries, and missionary support, and Bible study groups.

First Baptist also has historic and beautiful original hand-crafted stained-glass windows throughout the sanctuary, chapel, parlor, and hallways.

First Baptist Church is part of the American Baptist Churches, USA, denomination. For more information on American Baptist Churches, please click here: http://www.abc-usa.org

10 Facts you should know about American Baptists! http://www.abc-usa.org/10facts/

Pastor's Greeting:

Welcome to First Baptist Church of Reading! When this historic congregation first began it's journey, most of it's members walked to services. A "website" was the place where spiders sat in wait for their next meal. Horsepower was a measure of... how many actual horses were working!

Since the 1800's, a lot has changed in Reading and Berks County, PA. But then again, a lot hasn't changed. People are still greeted with a friendly smile. God's Holy Word is read, studied and preached each time we gather in His Name. Beautiful praise continues to echo throughout His house, just as it has for well over a century.

Yes, much has changed. But, where grace and peace blend among God's people, some things have not changed.

Come and be our guest. Stay and become part of our family.

Our Beliefs

First Baptist Church,

Reading, Pennsylvania

(Adopted by Board of Deacons April 2016)

First Baptist Church Reading, PA is rooted in the particular history known as ‘Baptist.’ We affirm that Christ is Lord over the believer, He is Lord over the church, and He is Lord of all that is. Jesus Christ is the final authority in our individual lives, in our homes, in our churches, and in all our relationships with society and the world. We emphasize the freedom and the responsibility of every individual to relate to God through Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit. (John 1:1-18; Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:17; I John 1:1; Revelation 19:13)

At the same time it is important to say that Baptists affirm the historical doctrinal beliefs of the church. Those faith statements are expressed in such historic creeds of the Christian church as the Apostle’s Creed(1) and the Nicene Creed(2), what we might call ‘first order’ beliefs – the core doctrinal beliefs of Christianity. First Baptist Church, Reading, PA is a Christ centered, Bible-focused people who stand on the following beliefs:

God: There is one God existing as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The triune God subsist in unity, and also as three separate distinct Persons. (John 14:7-11; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 40:28-29; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14).

Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and our Lord, and that through belief in Him, and Him alone, we are assured of eternal salvation and fellowship with a loving God.

He was born of a virgin as both God and man, lived a sinless life, died to atone (by His sacrificial death) for the sins of humans, was buried, arose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and will literally return to earth one day. (Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; Hebrews 4:14-15; I Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14-15).

The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the divine helper.

He is assistant, counselor and instructor and His work is to reveal Christ, convict of sin, lead to repentance, guide believers, comfort, strengthen, and sanctify the soul (making the child of God more into Christ's spiritual likeness) (John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25).

Salvation: Eternal salvation is obtained by grace (God's loving favor) through God’s Son, Jesus the Christ and through Him alone.
All humanity is lost through the nature of sin and is in need of God’s salvation and Christ’s righteousness. Mankind’s sinful nature excludes the possibility of obtaining this salvation by any merit or effort of his own. Salvation is obtained by the grace of God, through the redemptive death on the cross and resurrection from the dead by Christ. Salvation is a free ‘gift’ to all who come to Christ in sincere confession, repentance and genuine belief in Him. (John 1:9-18; Romans 11:6; II Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 1:7; 2:4-9; 4:7; II Thessalonians 2:16; Titus 2:11).

Authority of Scripture: The Bible is God’s Holy Word, without error in the original documents.

The Bible is the sole authority for life. All Scripture is divinely inspired and serves as the final authority in all matters of belief and behavior (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Exodus 24:3; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Matthew 5:17-18; Acts 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; Hebrews 4:12).

Worship: We are created by God to worship Him, and that glorifying God is the ultimate reason for our existence.

Therefore we will seek to praise and worship Him in private and corporate worship. (John 4:23-24; Psalms 100; Psalms 95:6; John 4:23; Acts 24:14; Revelation 4:10-11; 14:7).

Ordinances: We partake of two ordinances exemplifying obedience to our Lord’s commands: Believers’ Baptism and The Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.

Believers’ Baptism – We administer baptism only to those who have the maturity to understand its profound significance: resurrection to new life in Christ. We follow the Biblical example set by Christ when we fully immerse in water. Baptism is a public witness to our faith in Jesus Christ, and is a criteria for church membership. For those who come making a first time profession of faith in Christ, we baptize by immersion. However, we practice open membership, which means that a believer from another Christian community may be considered for membership if their baptism was by a means other than immersion. The prior baptismal experience would need to be meaningful for him/her as a public witness of faith in Christ. The Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion commemorates the sacrifice of our Lord. The bread and cup that symbolize the broken body and shed blood offered by Christ remind us of God’s great love for us. We celebrate ‘open’ communion, meaning that all believers in Jesus Christ, regardless of church membership, are invited to partake of Holy Communion with us. (Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-29).

Family/Fellowship/Community: The family is God’s foundational institution for human society.

Therefore, we encourage lifelong commitments to marriage between one man and one woman; we support the ongoing spiritual nurture of the family and we are committed to honoring the priority of family time through our ministries and activities. We believe that all Christians should daily pursue a growing, personal relationship with Christ, and are responsible for becoming more like Christ in their beliefs and conduct. We believe that every person is important to God, that God desires a personal relationship with every individual, and that He has entrusted us with the message of salvation. Therefore, we will endeavor to share the message of salvation with all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status locally and throughout the world. (Matthew 19:5-6; Ephesians 5:22-33; II Corinthians 5:18-20; Romans 12:10-21; I John 4:7-11).

Church Governance: First Baptist Church, Reading, PA, affirms the historic Baptist principle of Congregational Autonomy.

In Congregational Autonomy the Holy Spirit guides our congregation in local and distant ministry. We adopt our own constitution in harmony with the Bible and civic law for day-to-day actions, also cooperating in ministry with other Christian churches, especially American Baptist Churches/USA. (Hebrews 12: 9-13 and 13: 1; I Timothy 3, 4, 5).

(1) APOSTLES' CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

and born of the virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to hell.

The third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended to heaven

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.

From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic* church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and places

We grant permission to download for personal use, a ministry setting, or classroom use provided that

the material is distributed for free and the copies include this credit

(2) NICENE CREED

We believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

begotten from the Father before all ages,

God from God,

Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made;

of the same essence as the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven;

he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,

and was made human.

He was crucified for us under Potius Pilate;

he suffered and was buried.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.

He ascended to heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again with glory

to judge the living and the dead.

His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life.

He proceeds from the Father and the Son,

and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.

He spoke through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,

and to life in the world to come. Amen.

We grant permission to download for personal use, a ministry setting, or classroom use provided that: no

more than 100 copies are made; the material is distributed for free; and the copies include this credit

Our Beliefs