News
Announcements
A Spiritual Check Up
By Steven Norris It’s been that time of year around the Norris house this week. As we prepare for the beginning of another school year, it is time for the annual visit to the pediatrician. When it comes to our children, we have always been diligent about regular...
Grace 127 Summer Update
Due to the pandemic, there have been fewer foster care placements this summer. However, Grace 127 has continued to work diligently to improve the lives of foster families and the staff working with them. First, we purchased 28 punch cards for the Rock Ranch, making it...
Library Curb Service is OPEN!
Calling all Book Lovers! And Book Likers! and Book Tolerators! The Curb Service Library is open again! It’s as simple as request, drive up, ring the doorbell and we bring them out to you. Bored of TV? Can’t access the online catalogue? We can help! Remember those...
Frank Conversations About A Pandemic
By Steven Norris “All you have to do is grin and bear it.” This was the advice I received as a child. It was the advice of calloused-handed farmers who had seen more than a few lean harvests. It was the advice of penny-pinching survivors of the Great Depression. It...
Communion and Benevolence Offering August 2
Come partake in the Lord’s Supper with us this Sunday! 9:30 a.m. Celebration Worship 11:00 a.m. Connexion Worship All of our Communion bread is free of wheat, dairy, yeast, eggs, soy, nuts, and corn. Ushers will be at each exit after the service to receive a special...
Weathering the Storm
By Steven Norris In 2018, my family spent fall break at a friend’s condo in Panama City, FL. News about an impending tropical storm had barely registered for us. It wasn’t supposed to be that bad. We arrived on Sunday, enjoying a lazy evening settling in. As the sun...
Best Practices Reminder
For all gatherings inside the church building, we are recommending the following guidelines. Hygiene. Everyone should wash hands regularly and use the hand sanitizing stations upon entering the building. Screening. We are asking everyone to self-screen and stay at...
From These Roots
As we continue to explore the theme “Rooted,” we want to hear your stories of the beliefs that ground you, as well as the experiences and relationships that nurtured those beliefs. Through the end of August, we invite you to reflect on what you believe: What do you...
Words, Words, Words.
By Steven Norris “Over the last few decades we have been inundated by a torrent of words. Wherever we go we are surrounded by words: words softly whispered, loudly proclaimed, or angrily screamed; words spoken, recited, or sung; words on records, in books, on walls,...
library curb service
Starting Tuesday July 28, the curb side service for library book pickup will be back. You may use the online catalog through our website FBCGriffinLibrary.org to select your books. Contact us with your choices via email at library@fbcgriffin.org or leave a message at...
A Message for Weekday Parents from Mrs. Diane…
Dear Parents: Due to the rise in Covid-19 and the decision of the Griffin-Spalding County School System to delay opening schools for this year, First Baptist Church Weekday will not begin school until September 8. This is not what we had planned, but we are...
Freedom For, Not Just Freedom From
By Steven Norris Freedom. It’s been on my mind quite a bit over the past days and weeks. Maybe it was watching the fireworks on the fourth of July from the parking lot of Southern Crescent. Maybe it was joining in the national phenomenon of seeing the musical...
Confronting the Darkness Head On
By Steven Norris “How can two people walk together, unless they are in agreement?” The prophet Amos was onto something here. Shortly after the death of George Floyd, I received a phone call from one of my fellow ministers, asking if I would be willing to attend a...
Let Us Know You’re Coming…
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Plan For Renewing In-Person Gatherings
Over the past few weeks, a COVID Task Force consisting of ministers, deacon officers, and select members of our community have met to review current recommendations and formulate a plan tailored to fit the needs of our congregation. Below, you will find an outline of...
Use of Exercise Facilities in the Family Life Center
Beginning on Monday, June 15, the exercise room and aerobics room will be available for limited use. Before using, we ask that everyone carefully read through the guidelines and follow them completely. Failure to do so may result in loss of building privileges. At...
Truth: An Essential First Step
By Steven Norris Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). When I was a boy, I used to spend an extended period each summer with my Mamaw at her farmhouse in rural...
The Reality of Collective Grief
By Steven Norris In my role as pastor, I get asked to be present in moments of intense grief and loss. These moments may come in the wake of a death, a family dispute, or as counsel in times of personal turmoil and anguish. I have found that one of the most powerful...
A Call to Fast
By Steven Norris Isaiah. Now, there’s a prophet for our day. A man who spoke to a people on the brink of destruction. A man whose call echoed through the wilderness to a people marching headlong toward their own demise. A man who wasn’t afraid to mince words and...
Benevolence Volunteers
As we prepare to resume in-person gatherings at First Baptist, one of our high priorities is reopening our Ministry Center, which includes the Benevolence Ministry and Clothes Closet. This ministry helps us to fulfill our calling of being the hands and feet of Christ...
In Search of the One
By Steven Norris In these days of pain, confusion, uncertainty, and fear, it is hard to know what to think or where to turn. A cartoon I saw this week caused me to stop in my tracks and inspired this reimagining of Luke 15:1-7 for our day: After Jesus had been...
Church Conference Results
Our First Baptist Church family, in a called church conference Sunday, May 31, 2020, elected Brad Glass and Corey Letson to serve on the Board of Directors for the Endowment Foundation of the First Baptist Church of Griffin. Their five-year terms will begin July 1,...
A Prayer for Pentecost
By Steven Norris This Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate Pentecost, the “birthday” of the Church. In our worship, we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit, poured out on a small band of Jesus-followers, huddled together in prayer inside an upper room in...
Summer Book Studywith Steven NorrisWhen you think about God, what images come to mind? Our images of God have a profound effect on the nature of our theology and our relationship with that God. Much of the bad theology in the church today can be traced back to a...
The Desire for Normalcy
By Steven Norris “I just want things to go back to normal.” If I had a dollar for every time that I’ve heard that phrase uttered over the past few weeks, I’d have a pretty healthy vacation fund going. The truth is that most of us are over it. We are done. We are ready...
Church Conference
A church conference will be held Sunday, May 31, 2020, following our morning worship service. Members with email accounts on file will be sent a link to an electronic ballot to fill two (2) vacancies on the Endowment Foundation Board of Directors. These vacancies have...
True Worship
By Steven Norris In the next days and weeks, as many churches in our area will be returning to in-person worship services, things may look a bit different from what we are accustomed to seeing. It got me to thinking, when you hear the word “worship,” what comes to...
Longing for Home
Rev. Steven Norris When you think of the word “home,” I wonder what comes to mind. For many, it may include a particular house in which they grew up. For some, it may bring to memory the faces of people that inhabited that dwelling and made it feel like home. For...
May 3 Church Conference Results
Results The vote passed to elect Steven Norris as Senior Pastor and to elect the Pastor Search Committee to continue the work of assessing our staffing needs moving forward. We are also excited to celebrate the upcoming ordination of Marcia Henry-Day as she was...
Looking for Ways to get involved in missions at FBC?
Looking for Ways to Get Involved in Missions at FBC?FBC’s focus on missions continues throughout the month of May. Since May is the month we emphasize our Church Mission Offering, please consider making a donation this month in support of the work that our Mission...
XYZ Letter From Sarah
Dear friends, I know some of you have been in contact with Peggy, and we wanted to be sure each of you had the latest update regarding our plans for the Myrtle Beach and Cotton Patch Gospel trips. As you can imagine, neither we nor the respective locations we planned...
Welcome new Senior Pastor, Steven Norris
First Baptist Church is excited to announce that it has called Rev. Steven Norris as the next Senior Pastor to lead our church. Steven has served as the Associate Pastor of First Baptist since May 2018. Steven is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi,...
Updates from our Mission Partners
During this time of global pandemic, our mission partners continue to be the hands and feet of Christ in communities around the world. Please continue to pray for the Harkleroad family serving in Rwanda, the Angalla family serving in Uganda, and the Andersons serving...
Meet Marcia Henry-Day, Candidate for Ordination
Marcia Henry-Day and her family (husband Carson and two children - Joseph and Zoe) have been attending FBC Griffin since October 2018. They joined our church in June 2019. Marcia has been in the process of discerning and pursuing a call to vocational chaplaincy. A...
Mission Council May Newsletter
mission-council-newsletter-for-May-Download
Paying Attention to the Body
By Steven Norris The past few weeks have given birth to many funny posts online as people have used humor to deal with the pain of separation and the fear associated with a global pandemic. I saw one that said, “Well, I guess it’s time to change from my nighttime...
Church Conference May 3
Church Conference On Sunday, May 3, we will be holding a special called church conference for the purpose of voting on a number of business items that have arisen over the past weeks and months. Below, you will find a description of each of the items that will be up...
Erin Clarke: One Year Anniversary at FBC Griffin
Erin Clarke One Year Anniversary This week, we celebrate the one year anniversary of Erin Clarke as our Minister of Music. Erin has been a breath of fresh air for our music ministry and church life. She has brought with her a deep passion for authentic worship,...
Candidate for Senior Pastor: Rev. Steven Norris
Since our election as your Pastor Search Committee we have committed ourselves to prayerful discernment of the movement of God’s Spirit in our midst. Those prayers have been answered, and now we joyfully and unanimously present to you Reverend Steven T. Norris as...
Flowering Cross
Resurrection Stories
During this season of Easter, we want to take every opportunity to shine a spotlight on the places that we see God at work in our community. In the midst of a constant flood of bad news, we want to highlight some ways that you are being the hands and feet of Christ in...
Spring’s Emerging
By Steven Norris Did you hear the news? Spring is here! I know, I know. Technically, spring showed up a few weeks ago, according to the calendar anyway. I’m pretty sure, however, that spring showed up in my neighborhood this week. The rose bush in my front yard...
Our Present Holy Saturday
By Steven Norris Holy Saturday. It’s one of the most overlooked parts of our Easter celebrations - at least for Protestants, that is. In some traditions it is referred to as the “longest day.” Even for the most formal and sacramental traditions, there are no...
Pastor Search Committee Update
Your Pastor Search Committee has been meeting regularly, first in face-to-face meetings and then through Zoom Video Conferencing as we navigate through this pandemic. We are in a season of prayer and discernment and we invite you to regularly lift us up in prayer as...
Communion Bread
Make your own communion bread! With this simple recipe, you’ll have perfect communion bread for our Palm Sunday worship service. Use the video to go into the kitchen with Ellee to make these or use the recipe below (this isn’t Martha Stewart or Ina Garten,...
Holy Week 2020
Based on the current recommendations, our Holy Week services will be done online and with individual families. Below is the current plan for these services. Please check back as we get closer for more details. We will update this page as more information becomes...
The Voice in the Whirlwind
By Steven Norris Two weeks ago today, I was on the phone with ministerial colleagues, church members, and friends, trying to determine the best course of action for our congregation in response to the Covid-19 crisis. I was listening for a voice of reason, a...
Creative Outreach Opportunities During Social DistancingCreative ways that you can connect with others during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to the many ways that our church community is seeking to provide opportunities for connection, we encourage you to use the...
Fearless, but not Reckless
Throughout the past few weeks, our lives have been forever changed by something so small that it is completely invisible to the naked eye. And yet, this microscopic virus has unmasked a difficult reality at work in our world: the competing power of fear and...
FBC Griffin COVID-19 Updates
Here are the Latest Updates Surrounding the Covid-19 Shut Down Closures While some of the executive orders for the state of Georgia have created some confusion regarding the “re-opening” of businesses and the ability of church to resume in-person worship, we at First...