News
Announcements
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...
Kenosis
The following is adapted from the author’s book,“ Emptied Out: A Personal Journey Through Lent,” and is reprinted with permission. Years ago, I attended the Brevard Music Center’s Summer Music Camp for high school and college students. I was in high school and was...
Camps and Retreats
Basecamp July 13-17 BaseCamp 2020 at Rock Eagle is a summer camp for completed 6th - 12th grade students Register HERE Passport Kids Camp July 21-24 A 4 day, 3 night camp for grades 3-5 (completed) at Rock Eagle in Eatonton, Ga. Full cost of $250 due by June 15, 2020....
Foster Care Collection
During the season of Lent, we will be collecting items for Grace 127, a ministry of FBC that seeks to support children in foster care and foster families in our area. The items collected will be used to fill "gotcha bags" that provide basic items for a child on the...
Offering for North American Missions
There are many stories across the North America which show our mission dollars at work - doing things we cannot do and going places we cannot go. Two stories are: Rick Burnette is a CBF Personnel serving in Florida. The Mision Peniel Garden in Immokalee, Florida, is...
Women on Mission
Women on Mission will meet Tuesday, March 10 at 1:00 p.m., in the FLC Hospitality Room. The program will feature North American Missions. Members are asked to bring writing pens and aluminum roasting pans. The pans should be heavy duty, disposable and with or without...
First Friday: Board/Card Game Night
Board/Card Game Night 6:00-8:00 p.m. Common Grounds Coffee House & Morgan Hall
Journey in Grace: Missions
March 8 & 15 FBC Griffin is a “community of grace.” However, we recognize that grace is a journey, not a destination. As with any journey, there are often unexpected twists and turns in the road. Whatever your journey has been to this point, we are thankful that...
Highlights from March 1
Celebration of 50 Year Members and Church Conference Results 50 Year Members This past Sunday, we recognized 16 new members to the “50 year” club at FBC Griffin. These members have been a part of First Baptist Church for fifty years or more. We celebrate such...
Lent and Holy Week Highlights
Multigenerational Ash Wednesday Service February 26 at 6:00 p.m. in Morgan Hall Join us as we repent and turn toward the Cross in preparation for Easter! Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, forty days of reflection and repentance prior to Resurrection Sunday and...
Called Church Conference
Sunday, March 1 Dear Church Family, In the fall of 2019, after reviewing the heating and air conditioning systems for the church, we determined that having a plan for replacement of some of the older components might be a good idea. Although the units serving...
Lent and Holy Week Schedule 2020
Throughout the Season of Lent, we will be starting a series entitled, “Rooted in Transformation” in all three of our morning services at First Baptist. This series will look at some familiar passages from the Gospel of John about ways in which Jesus transformed...
Lenten Book Study
Brian McCartney will facilitate a Lenten Study on Portraits of Jesus in the Gospels on Wednesday mornings, 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the Cheatham Room, beginning March 4. If you are interested in participating, please let Brian know. There is no required reading or homework...
The Soil of Tenderness
This article is part of an ongoing series exploring the rich spiritual soil that can be found in Griffin and Spalding County. “Praise be to the God…of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort...
Rooted in Grace: A Study in Ephesians
Our “Rooted in Grace” Bible study will resume on Wednesday night, March 4 at 6:00 pm in Morgan Hall. This study is being taught by Steven Norris and is open to anyone in the church. Please remember that during this time of transition, the “Pastor’s Bible Study” and...
Multigenerational Ash Wednesday Service
February 26 at 6:00 p.m. in Morgan Hall Join us as we repent and turn toward the Cross in preparation for Easter! Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, forty days of reflection and repentance prior to Resurrection Sunday and the Easter season. We receive the ashes...