About

Welcome From Our Team

Thank you for dropping by our website today! My hope is that our website will help you become familiar with FBCP.

Here at FBCP, you will discover that we exist to glorify the Father by following the Holy Spirit in sharing the story of Jesus.

Take your time and browse our site. See what interests you and don’t hesitate to ask questions!

Our mission is to glorify the Father by following the Holy Spirit in sharing the story of Jesus.

We’d love to have you come and see what God is doing in the life of this faith family.

Our Staff

Pastoral Staff

**Peter Burmeister**
*Associate Pastor of Administration*

**Craig Bonelli**
*Associate Pastor of Missions*

**Brian Hicks**
*Associate Pastor of Discipleship*

Worship and Creative Arts

**Jason Givens**
*Minister of Contemporary Worship*

**Isaac Beagle**
*Contemporary Worship Associate*

**Scot Cameron**
*Minister of Traditional Worship*

**Ashley Leigh**
*Traditional Music Associate*

**Jeff Henderson**
*Traditional* *Music Associate*

Missions

**Neal Kinard**
*In-home Ministries Coordinator*

Discipleship

**Kim Birthright**
*Director of Preschool*

**Lauren Fain**
*Director of Children’s Ministry*

**Barbara Burks**
*Student Ministry Assistant*

**Meagan Bastien**
*Student Ministry Intern*

**Stephen Churchill**
*College Ministry Associate*

Weekday Preschool

**Celeste Threadgill**
*Assistant Preschool Director*

Administration

**Wanda Jackson**
*Accounts Payable & Membership*

**Hannah Coleman**
*Director of Communications*

**Elizabeth Smith**
*Pastor's Ministry Assistant*

**Chien Thang Uc**
*International Minister*

**Laken Gordon**
*Publications Coordinator*

**Kelley Hamilton**
*Ministry Assistant to Associate Pastors*

Facilities

Food Services

Our Statement of Faith

I. God the Father

We believe, love and worship the one and only unchanging, all-powerful, and loving God, the Creator and Ruler of all things in heaven and earth. God is manifest in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Gen 1:1,26; Ex 20:2-3; Deut 6:4; 1 Chron 29:11- 12; Job 38-41; Ps 90:2; Matt 6:9; 1 Peter 1:2

II. Jesus Christ (Son)

Jesus Christ, our Lord, is God in the flesh. He is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, fully God, fully man, sinless. He died on the cross in our place for our sins, was buried, resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, as our Advocate, and will return to judge the living and the dead.

Matt 1:18- 23; Luke 1:31-33; John 1:1-18; Acts 1:9-11; Acts 2:22-24; 1 Cor 15; Heb 1:1-3; Rev 5:9-14

III. Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, exalting Christ and convicting us of our sin and need for Jesus Christ. He fully lives in every believer from the moment of salvation. He comforts, teaches and empowers us to live in righteousness. He equips every believer with spiritual gifts for service in the Body of Christ.

Matt 1:18; John 14:16-17; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 3:16; 1 Peter 4:10

IV. Bible

The Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God to reveal God and His will to man. The Bible has God as its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error. The Bible is the sole authority for Christian living.

Deut 4:1-2; Ps 12:6; Ps 19:7-10; Ps 119:105, 160; Heb 4:12; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21

V. Man

God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Each person is made in the image of God – created to worship God, to glorify Him and to have dominion over the earth. Sin separates man from God and man is eternally doomed unless he receives salvation in Jesus Christ.

Gen 1:26; Ps 8:3-6; Acts 17:26-31; Rom 3:10-18, 23

VI. Salvation

Since all persons are separated from God by sin and are in need of forgiveness, God offers the free gift of salvation. Each person must individually accept this gift, repent of sin, and place faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Ex 6:2-8; Matt 16:21-26; John 3:15-16; John 17:3; Rom 3:23; Rom 5:1; Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8-9

VII. Eternal Security of the Believer

We believe our true salvation, provided by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone, is eternally secure. It is imperishable and no person or circumstance can snatch us out of the powerful hand of God because Jesus Christ has made an everlasting covenant with us.

2 Sam 23:5; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 10:28; John 14:6; 2 Tim 1:12; Heb 7:25; 1 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:11-13

VIII. Priesthood of the Believer

Every believer is a minister and has direct access to God through the high priest, Jesus Christ.

Eph 3:7; Eph 4:11-16; Heb 4:14-16; Heb 10:19-22

IX. Family, Gender and Sexuality

The family, composed of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, is ordained by God as the foundational institution of human society. The covenant of marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman, rooted as it is in God’s creation of man and woman in His image, and in the relationship between Christ and His Church. Children, from the moment of conception, are to be protected, preserved and valued as a gift of life from God Almighty. Parents are to love, teach, discipline and model biblical truth before their children; children are to honor and obey their parents.

Gen 2:18-22; Ex 20:12; Lev 20:13; Deut 6:6-7; Ps 127:3-5; Ps 139:13-16; Prov 22:6; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Cor 7:1-16; Eph 5:21-33

X. The Church

Jesus Christ is the head of His Body, the Church. The Body of Christ is composed of believers. The purpose of the Church is to carry out His mission in the world and is best lived out in local, autonomous churches.

Matt 16:15-19; Acts 2:41-42, 47; Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12; Eph 4:10-16; Rev 2 & 3

XI. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Baptism by immersion follows Christ’s example, symbolizing death, burial and resurrection to new life in Christ. It serves as a testimony of faith after accepting Christ as personal Savior and Lord. The Lord’s Supper is an act of obedience and a testimony of faith. It symbolically memorializes the death of Jesus Christ. Self-examination and confession of sins should precede participation in the Lord’s Supper.

Matt 3:13-17; Matt 26:26-30; Matt 28:19; Acts 16:30-33; Rom 6:3-5; Col 2:12

Our History

When mission-minded individuals from Alabama set out to spread the gospel to the natives of Northwest Florida in the early 19th century, Pensacola was their primary destination. A long-established population center, Pensacola was known for, among other things, its “dire need for preaching.” Because seaports have a variety of cultural lifestyles imported from around the world and because exotic spirits of both the drinking and emotional variety were abundant invading influences, the area became a mission field for Alabama Baptists.

Today, the First Baptist Church of Pensacola is grateful for their efforts. In May of 1847, near Escambia Bay and what is now Seville Square, a small group of local citizens with Alabama preachers Alexander Travis and Joseph Mitchell founded First Baptist. Some forty-eight years later, the church was relocated to the current site on Palafox Street.

Through the many years since, the church has—as have our city and our nation—endured and survived storms, wars, epidemics, economic hardships and other hindrances. While a myriad of challenges have come our way, we continue to be faithful to God’s Word and to his purpose for us and we thank God for his goodness to us.

We invite anyone seeking to serve the Lord to become a part of the mission and the historical story that is the First Baptist Church of Pensacola.

Entitled On the Bay-On the Hill, a book documenting the church’s history was published in 1987. Anyone looking to learn more about our founding and past, is welcome to check out a book from the Church Library or purchase a hard-cover copy in the church office.

Contact us to learn more