FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF STEINHATCHEE, INC.
STEINHATCHEE, FLORIDA

I am so thrilled that you have taken time out of your busy schedule to visit the website of First Baptist Church.  If you are new in our community we welcome you.  If you are searching for a church home, we pray that you will come visit with us.  At First Baptist church we know that God has called us to be "A Lighthouse on the Gulf."  We desire for our church home to provide a place for us to focus on exalting Jesus Christ through worship. At our church but we focus on three things we are working to accomplish as "A Lighthouse on the Gulf".  We want to be obedient to Christ and fulfill The Great Command and love Him with all of our being.  Our church is also striving to fulfill The Great Commission in our local community as well as globally through Faith Promise Missions. The area of focus for us is The Golden Rule.  This is done through our daily lifestyle as we treat others the way we want to be treated. Again, we are so blessed by your visit our website and we would love to meet you face-to-face.  If you have any questions feel free to contact us by clicking here or call our church office at (352) 498-2108.  We look forward to getting to know you! We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person; equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains the Evil One until God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and righteousness; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer. We believe repentance and faith are solemn obligations, and inseparable graces wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger and helplessness and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession and supplication for mercy. At this same time we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confess Him as our only and all-sufficient Saviour. Of Missions The command to give the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable and this commission was given to the church.  Matthew 28:18-20: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Mark 16:15: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Luke 24:47: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."  John 20:21: "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my father hath sent me, even so send I you."  Acts 1:8: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." A comparison may be made with the office of a bishop (preacher or pastor).  Mark 16:15 states, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  The great commission commands every Christian to “preach the Gospel”.  The word “preach” is “kerusso (kay-roos'-so);” and means “to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel):”  Every Christian must practice the proclamation of the Good News, but the office of a preacher is reserved to those who are called and meet the criteria found in 1 Tim 3:1-7.  Preaching or proclaiming is the practice, but the term “bishop” reveals the office.  Always remember the office of a servant (deacon) and the office of a bishop (preacher) are exclusive. (See I Timothy 3:1-12; Titus 1:5-9) We believe that such only are the real believers as endure unto the end. Their preserving attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors. A special Providence watches over their welfare and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation. Scriptural giving is one of the fundamentals of the faith. II Corinthians 8:7: "Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also." We are commanded to bring our gifts into the storehouse [common treasury of the church] upon the first day of the week. (Mal. 3:10)  I Corinthians 16:2: "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." Abraham gave a tenth part of all he had. This was four hundred years before the law and was confirmed in the New Testament when Jesus said, "These ought ye to have done" (Matt. 23:23).  Leviticus 27:30 tells us that the tithe is the Lord's.  Malachi 3:10: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”  In the New Testament, the common treasury was the church. Acts 4:34,35,37: “...And brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet... Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers and those who oppose us.  We are to deal with those who oppose us, graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly.  God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice.  Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions.