April 4, 2023Dear First Family,Have you invited anyone yet?A personal message to a friend or loved one goes a long way in making them feel welcome and loved. Take a moment this week to simply send a text message, an email, or a Facebook message inviting someone to join you for Easter.I recognize this can be intimidating, so I’ve included a simple sample message below that you can simply copy and p...  Read More

March 28, 2023Dear First Family,Have you invited anyone yet?82% of people who don’t attend church say they would visit a church if they were personally invited (“The Unchurched Next Door” by Dr. Thom Rainer).A personal invitation is a powerful opportunity for someone to find their way to a relationship with Jesus. The most effective way to welcome someone this Easter is with a face-to-face persona...  Read More

First Family,One of the key characteristics of the Baptist denomination is the understanding of local church autonomy. Biblically we understand that God designed the local church as an autonomous body with the Lord Jesus Christ as the head. As a result, there is no biblical precedent for an outside authoritative body over the church. The Baptist denomination does not have an ecclesiastical hierarc...  Read More

Tim Keller once said, “Because the gospel is endlessly rich, it can handle the burden of being the one ‘main thing’ of a church.”Over the last few weeks, I hope I have communicated my passion and desire for us as a church to keep the gospel at the forefront of everything we do. There are so many good things that the church could do, has done, and is even doing, but there is only one thing it must ...  Read More

First Family,Have you looked at the church steeple this week?For as long as anyone can remember, the light bulbs have been burned out in our beautiful church steeple's lower and upper sections. However, all that has changed this week thanks to our new Building Superintendent, Dana Lawhorne. Under his supervision, he saw to this needed repair.Last night our steeple was a true show-stopper. During a...  Read More

Church Family,I am praying for you this week.  I pray specifically “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”Let me ask you, who have you prayed for?I am looking ...  Read More

Church Family,Wednesday nights at FBCA have become one of my favorite times during the week. Each week my family and I gather for a meal and have the blessed opportunity to spend intentional time getting to know other families around the tables in the Faith Activities Center. In addition to the meal, we have great discipleship opportunities for our children (Choir and RA/GA’s) and activities for s...  Read More

Pastor Robert StephensGreetings Church Family,This Sunday (19th), we will conclude our series, A Seat at His Table. We will spend our time together in Isaiah 25, considering “things planned long ago” for the banquet table of the Lord. We will get a glimpse of our seat at His table.I pray it will be a hopeful and refreshing look at our future in the Kingdom of God. Many of the key events happening ...  Read More

Pastor Robert StephensWhat a wonderful time of worship we had this past Sunday. It is always a blessing to gather each week in worship to focus our attention and dedicate our time to the glory of God. I heard from many following our services and can testify from my experience this Sunday that God’s presence was felt among us.We started a new Sermon Series, “A Seat at His Table.” This week we will ...  Read More

Pastor Robert StephensChurch Family,I want to provide you with a quick Stephens Family update.            It is a joy to write this week's pastor blog from our lease home here in Alexandria, VA. The Lord provided us with a perfect home for the next six months in the Hayfield community. This allows us to finish selling our home in TX and begin looking for a home here in Alexandria. Only through God...  Read More

Pastor Robert StephensOne of my hobbies is backyard bird feeding. I enjoy watching, feeding, identifying, and supporting the wildlife that is all around us. Last year my family enjoyed watching a pair of birds build a nest and lay eggs in a birdhouse hanging on our fence.These two birds have worked tirelessly for weeks building and guarding seven eggs.  One day by the grace of God, we were able to...  Read More

Pastor Robert Stephens“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” - 1 Peter 5:2-4This week, we thank Wayne and Carolyn Je...  Read More

Pastor Robert StephensA New Year is always an exciting time with renewed hope and endless possibilities. My family and I are thankful to begin our New Year with First Baptist Church as our new home. We spent our New Year’s Eve playing the game of Monopoly together. For the first time, the most valuable property was Virginia Avenue. We know that the real Virginia Avenue is located in Atlantic City,...  Read More

Pastor Reed BernickFather in heaven,You are worthy of our lives. We praise you because you have sustained us. You have remained near to us even as we’ve walked through tragedy and change. In answered prayer, in lives transformed, in tears shed on other’s shoulders, in strangers becoming friends, in the reconciliation of the estranged, and in your word proclaimed and heard across our congregation, ...  Read More

Pastor Eric SchneiderhanMary’s Song46 And Mary said:“My soul glorifies the Lord47  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,48 for he has been mindfulof the humble state of his servant.From now on all generations will call me blessed,49  for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,from generation to generation.51 He has performed might...  Read More

Pastor Wayne JenkinsDo you not know?Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom.He gives strength to the wearyand increases the power of the weak.Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall;but those who hope in the Lordwill renew their strength.They will soar on ...  Read More

Pastor Kim EskridgeIt wouldn’t feel like Christmas without the carols. My favorite is “O Holy Night,” which is based on a French poem written in the mid-1800s. I especially like this part:A thrill of hope the weary world rejoicesFor yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.Fall on your knees O hear the angels voices.O night divine O night when Christ was born . . .The hope that the birth of our Savio...  Read More

Pastor Carolyn JenkinsIf you ever considered writing a biography for someone, where would you start? Perhaps you’d tell when you first met the esteemed person…or when that person was born…or maybe even tell of his ancestors. You could even get Henry Louis Gates on the television show “Tracing Your roots” to highlight the person you have chosen!Interestingly, each writer of a New Testament gospel b...  Read More

Pastor Jesse McCainSomeone mentioned God’s covenant with Abraham the other day. I can’t help but think about it as we talk about blessings during the time of Thanksgiving.“The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a bless...  Read More

Pastor Reed BernickMost of the Pastoral Staff is at the Hampton Convention Center this week for the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV). I have family in Virginia Beach and grew up there, so making the drive down felt a bit like coming home – or at least going 90% of the way. We’ve had a great time together – which I think I can say for all of us – but without repo...  Read More

Pastor Eric SchneiderhanOne of the questions I have been praying about during this season is who are we called to be as followers of Christ in our current cultural context? The urgency of seeking the answer to this question always seems to be heightened for me during election years, but is one that has been on the forefront of my heart and mind throughout the past few years now. The truth is we ar...  Read More

Pastor Wayne Jenkins One of the purposes of our recent Pastor Retreat was to prayerfully seek God’s Values and Goals for FBCA for the coming year. It is through these Values and Goals that we will pursue God’s direction for FBCA in 2023. Values establish curbs for our way forward to keep us from wandering from God’s path and principles. Values fuel us forward. Values can be seen as our passions th...  Read More

Pastor Kim EskridgePaul and I were able to slip away for a couple of weeks last month to drive around Germany. Good friends and former FBCAers, John and Chris Hoover, who moved out of state as the pandemic hit, joined us for part of our adventure, the climax of which was staying in Oberammergau and seeing the Passion Play. The play depicts the major events in the last week of Jesus’ life and ends ...  Read More

Pastor Carolyn JenkinsIf you are lucky, that day will come, perhaps sooner than you think. (For those of you already 75, make it 85 or 95!)You’ve heard that 60 is the new 40 when it comes to age, but that won’t hold up when explaining your miles per hour to the policemen on King Street. We say “age is just a number” - but some numbers affect us differently. Forty seems to be a magic number of real...  Read More