First Baptist Church

1856 -2021

The purpose of First Baptist Church is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world in faithful response to God’s will.  We are to seek persons of faith in the commitment to Jesus Christ and serve the community of which it is a part.  We work cooperatively with Christians in other denominations to see the oneness in the body of Christ.

In the beginning of First Baptist Church in Council Bluffs, we first met in a grove, cabins, and then buildings.  The current church building was built in 1924 with an education wing built in 1965.

In 1881 Council Bluffs experienced a flood and the church chapel was used for a relief center which organized people to start Jennie Edmundson Hospital.  First Baptist Church was also used to start an orphanage and that became The Christian Home which is now known as Children’s Square USA.

First Baptist Church was used by the Lord to plant and start other churches in the community.  One of those churches is Walnut Grove Baptist Church.

During the history of First Baptist Church, the church has been used in the community in many ways.  The church was involved in holding classes for Roosevelt School after they had a fire there.  The Council Bluffs Schools also rented space for Title 1 Preschool in 1975.

A food pantry was started to meet those needs of the community and has operated for over 20 years.  This web site has more information on our food pantry.

While physical needs are important, there is, of course the need to meet the spiritual needs of people.  We believe that, owing to death through sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless born again.  This redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin, dying on our stead, and that He was bodily raised from the dead for our justification.  We believe that the new birth of the believer is an act of God the Spirit and comes only through individual faith in Jesus. (Please see our doctrinal statement on this web site)

At First Baptist Church, we believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the divinely inspired Word of God, the final written authority and trustworthy for faith and practice. It is to be interpreted responsibly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the community of faith.

The primary purpose of the Bible is to point to Jesus Christ, the living Lord of the Church. We are called in loyalty to Jesus Christ to proclaim the power of the Holy Spirit, the Good News of God’s reconciling grace, and to declare the saving power of the Gospel to every human being and to every human institution. We celebrate Christ’s charge to “make disciples of all nations” and to bear witness to God’s redeeming reign in human affairs.

There is a strong emphasis on supporting missionaries that are local, national, and international with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

American Baptists are summoned to this mission in common with all Christians. With the whole body of Christ, we also believe that God has been revealed in Jesus Christ as in no other.  We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord!