Pastor's Welcome

The First Baptist Church or Aurora, Indiana is constantly on the move and the question today is about how we attract people to join the excitement that we are experiencing.  If you are on our website, then you have found a church that is both exciting and struggling.  It is exciting because our facility is nearing completion and this Fall it is our hope and prayer that we will finally be worshipping upstairs in our sanctuary.  Now you might be asking yourself, “what does that mean for me and my family.”  The completion of our sanctuary means that we will be able to begin new ministries in our Family Life Center.  Since I have been the pastor of this church we have begun new ministries for the elementary and junior high age youth.  On most Sunday afternoons we meet for an hour and a half and discuss God’s word while also having a good time.  It is also our hope in the near future that basketball and volleyball will be utilization tools for reaching many youth and their parents, grandparents, and or caretakers.   It is one of our many goals at this church that all people come to an understanding of who Jesus Christ was and what his purpose is for each person who accepts him. 

Many churches struggle to understand why they exist and what their purpose actually is in their community. That is a constant conversation here at the First Baptist Church of Aurora, Indiana.  That struggle and that conversation is a good one to have because we are learning to evaluate what works in our church and what does not.  We are constantly discussing how we need to reach our community and the best ways to complete that work.  We are looking for people to join our church who have a passion for Jesus.  While this church is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, USA,  that is not what truly defines us as a church.  What defines us as a church is our understanding that we serve Jesus Christ where we work, play and live.  We are called to love our neighbors and to care for them with our gifts and talents.

Now maybe you just read all of this and said, “I don’t know Jesus Christ and what was he all about!”  Let me share some scripture with you from the gospel of John, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  God’s whole plan for sending Jesus into the world was so that the world might be restored back to him.  We want to invite you to worship with us and I want to challenge you to consider how the Lord is working in your life.

In His service,

Pastor Bill Secrest