Our Mission at First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church exists as a community that seeks to know God’s transforming love and power by:

-Inviting others to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ,
-Connecting with others who are being transformed themselves,
-Enjoying His presence as we worship together,
-Reflecting Christ’s example more and more in our daily lives, and
-Serving people in the Treasure Valley and around the world.

 Leading ordinary people to a radical life-change through a growing relationship with Jesus.

10 Core Values of First Baptist Church


1.  MAKE DISCIPLES (True followers of Jesus) Matt 28:18-20
The Gospels speak much about the nature of a true disciple and Jesus’ command to ‘make disciples’ was not a suggestion for the church. While none of us is at the same stage in our discipleship, we are all on a journey to become fully devoted followers of Christ. We believe this happens best in the context of a church community, transparent relationships, and small groups.

2.  PRACTICAL CARE for the hurting.  Luke 4:16-21
We seek to provide valuable, meaningful, need-meeting service in our community.  We believe that a Christian cannot be healthy if they are not involved in serving others. We seek to meet physical, financial, psychological, and medical needs of those around us. Our hope is that this service helps lead someone to our Savior, but even if it does not, it reflects the love of Jesus Christ for all.

3.  MULTI-GENERATIONAL.  Psalm 79:13
“Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”
The church is the one place in society where God intends His children to not only get along but to do so across all generational boundaries. This is a difficult task in today’s increasingly age-segregated populations. Yet, this is our intention. Our aim is to have a balance of age groups from babies to seniors.

4.  DOWNTOWN FOOTPRINT.  Acts 1:8
Our first mission field is the downtown arena of Boise, Idaho. We feel called to minister to our neighbors and to the unique needs found in the downtown area. This is strategic for several reasons; a. The highest percentage of  unchurched people live in this vicinity, b. It has precious few evangelical churches, and   c.  It is where we find some of the greatest poverty and homelessness in Idaho.

5.  GRACE & TRUTH.  John 1:14
Some churches are full of grace. Some churches are full of truth (God’s Word). Few are both!  We believe that the church Jesus Christ is  pleased with embodies both. Jesus Himself was full of grace and truth.

6.  BIBLICAL & RELEVANT.  Hebrews 4:12, Neh 8:8
God’s truth does not change. However, language and culture are fluid and change constantly. Our goal is to translate God’s timeless truth in a contemporary way so that it can be understood and followed. We are not shy about declaring our belief that the Bible is the only true, accurate, and written revelation of God’s truth to human beings on planet Earth.

7.  RESOURCING FAMILIES.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9
We believe that the church should  stimulate, guide, and resource families toward spiritual growth. Our vision is to see parents succeeding in God conversations as part of everyday home life. The church for too long has had the misguided notion that THEY were the ones to teach kids about God when the Scriptures clearly delegate that responsibility to parents and grandparents. The strength of any church is found in the strength of its families between Sundays!

8.  DEVELOPING LEADERS.  2 Timothy 2:2, Luke 10:2
Ministry Leaders are to raise up and equip other leaders. Jesus said to pray for laborers because the harvest is ready to be brought in. If there was ever a time in history when the church needed new and growing leaders it is NOW! Therefore we seek to provide ongoing recruitment, training, and deployment of Christian leaders and pastors.

9.  CROSS-CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS.  Revelation 5:9-10
We seek to be involved in the life of churches and ministries of cultures different from our own—both near and far.  Nothing is as powerful as witnessing the unity and teamwork of Christians across cultural barriers in the name of Jesus Christ. While the world splinters and fights over its differences, we want to celebrate the uniting work of the Holy Spirit. Not to be overlooked in this vision is the great benefit we will reap as we learn from brothers and sisters in Christ around the world

10.  MULTIPLYING CONGREGATIONS.  Acts 14:21-25
While many churches concern themselves with survival, savings, and adding more people to their rolls, the New Testament model for churches is reproduction. We believe EVERY church should be reproducing itself by planting new churches, starting new congregations, and spawning satellites.