Mission
To advance the kingdom of our Lord and Savior through preaching, teaching, and equipping members to do creative ministries to serve humankind.
We Believe
Believer's Baptism
In a regenerate membership safeguarded by baptism on the personal profession of faith.
Congregational Polity
That the local congregation has the power and competency to govern its own affairs and that inter-dependence is recognized in the voluntary association with denominational and interdenominational bodies.
Separation of Church and State
In the separation of church and state.
The Holy Scriptures
In the Holy scriptures as the rule of faith and practice for our church and our lives.
The Church Ordinances
In two ordinances: Baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper.
"Baptism is a decisive, once-for-all event, which marks the entrance into a new life in Christ. The Lord's Supper is intended to be repeated frequently and symbolizes the sustaining of that life by Christ. One denotes the beginning of a new relationship and the other - the maintaining of a vital relationship between Christ and the church . . . . The elements of bread and wine point to the body and blood of Christ. As visible symbols which reinforce the gospel preached in words, they remind Christians of the incarnation, of which the high points were death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation". (A Baptist Manual of Polity and Practice, by Maring and Hudson, Pp. 136-138).
The bread and wine are symbols of the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. As symbols, their redemptive power lies in our remembrance of and participation in God's efficacious act.
After the Sunday morning services, ordained ministers and/or ordained Deacons administer the Lord's Supper to members who are sick and/or shut-in.
Membership
The congregation is a friendly and open one, and consists of 400-500 members, including associate members, watch-care members, and members who live in other states. The membership is diverse, and includes various classes, cultures, languages, and ethnic origins. The church tends to attract a high percentage of persons from nearby colleges, universities, schools, and businesses.
FBCCH is associated with several religious societies, associations, and conventions, including American Baptist Churches: www.abc-usa.org
Located Where
First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill is located near the downtown district, at 625 Rosa L. Park Boulevard, in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. The congregation is currently meeting at Pearl Cohn High School while the main sancturary is being renovated. The city enjoys a consolidated city-country government, and includes some 600,000 citizens. The Metropolitan area consists of the city and several suburban counties, including 1.2 million citizens. The area’s economy is highly diverse, including automobile manufacturing, Dell Computer Company, seventeen (17) colleges and universities including Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, and Tennessee State University, and several religious headquarters including the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention, USA, the R. H. Boyd Publishing Company, the National Baptist Publishing Board, the Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board, the Methodist Publishing House, the AME Sunday School Union Publishing House, and major highway and airport facilities. The city is home to professional football, hockey, and minor league baseball teams.
Type of Worship
The church includes traditional Baptist worship services at 10:00 A.M. Sunday, Children’s Church during the 10:00 main service, and 8:45 A.M. Sunday school classes for adults, children, youth, young adults, married couples, and singles. Worship also includes weekly Prayer Meeting, weekly Bible Study, choirs, social activities, outreach ministries, social and political activism as well as other active components of the church.
Support for Members and Visitors: A Nursery is available for babies and toddlers. Additionally, the First Baptist provides free transportation to and from the main sanctuary and even tapes of the Sunday service for those who require such services. The Torch weekly newsletter is provided to all members and visitors attending the Sunday services. A "Coffee and Punch Hour" usually follows the main services, and all members and visitors are invited to partake and fellowship.
