We, as the church body, dedicate ourselves to being witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world in accordance with the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:19-20). We pledge ourselves to be obedient to God’s commands and shine as beacons of light sharing the truth of Gods glory to our neighboring and abroad communities. We are committed to growing our church family by being disciples and making disciples through the adequate teaching of God’s word, so that they may know His unceasing peace and love. We will serve our communities gladly by loving God and loving others, which Jesus proclaimed is the greatest of God’s holy commandments.

What We Believe

We uphold the following doctrines of the evangelical church:We believe that the acquiring of salvation from our sins is by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.We believe in the complete truth, authority, accuracy, and trustworthiness of God’s inspired Word, the Bible.We believe in one God manifested in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (The Trinity).We believe in the full humanity and full deity of Jesus Christ.

Our Staff

Transitional Pastor - Keith Fultz

Pastor Keith and Kathy are originally from Indiana.
They ministered in the Detroit, Michigan, Phoenix, AZ, and Redondo Beach, CA before serving at CACC in 1982 as a music minister. After completing Fuller Theological Seminary in 1985 they started a church in the southwest of Bakersfield. The congregation merged back with Chester Avenue Community Church and Keith and Kathy have served as Pastor since 1990. ​
They are parents of three daughters. Two live in Bakersfield and one is a missionary in Thailand. They have four grandchildren. Three boys and one girl. ​
Kathy is a retired school teacher and is presently serving as secretary for the church. She enjoys detective movies and the outdoors. She likes spending time at the beach eating fresh fish. ​
Keith is an outdoors man. He enjoys playing golf. He brags about shooting his age on his 70th birthday. He enjoys multi day hikes in the High Sierras. He has hiked up Mt. Whitney 21 times and has completed hiking the John Muir Trail in 22 days. He is a musician and plays bass and leads the Worship Team. He enjoys most kinds of music and plays and movies. He has been known to play some video games, as well. ​
They are very excited about what God is doing at and look forward to getting to know you at First Baptist Church..
JIM LANNON
DEACON/TREASURER
JOHN WICHMAN
WORSHIP LEADER

A Brief History of First Baptist Church

Our Church began in 1958 with 35 families and the Reverend Ellis Tiffany. Five acres was purchased on the corner of Downs and Dolphin. The adjacent unfinished Church of Christ facilities was bought and used during renovation. In 1961 the church elected to affiliate with American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest under the missionary status. By the year 1969 the education facility was constructed and renovation of sanctuary by adding narthex and baptistry was completed.
In the year of 1975 the congregation celebrated God's movement in our midst by becoming a self-supporting American Baptist Church. In the early eighties the church with full ABW support went into another renovation project. The construction of the Anna Brosom kitchen and office space in south end of education facility. Also, the expansion of the old sanctuary for much needed seating space. And as the church grew with God so did the need for more space. In July 1990 the new sanctuary was completed. 1994 saw more expansion by adding of the Rorick's children education wing.
Today we are affiliated with Transformation Ministries under the leadership of Transition Pastor Keith Fultz and Transition Past Brody Hart

ministries

Library​ - The library in the education wing is available for anyone to use.
Arts and Crafts - Enjoy working on your project, learning a craft, or just fellowship with fellow crafters. Open to all, Beginners or experienced welcome.Non Flex Saturday of each month at First Baptist Church at 9:00 am - For information, contact Janet Lanterman (760) 382-4382
​​The Women's Center High Desert The Women's Center High Desert is a nonprofit organization providing a network of services relating to domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse for Eastern Kern county and surrounding counties. They are here to educate the public and community agencies to heighten awareness regarding primary prevention of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse and to reduce the risk of victimization. The center is located at 134 S. China Lake Blvd. For information, contact Erin Higgins at 760-301-4941.
Pregnancy Care Center​ The Pregnancy Care Center is a licensed medical center affiliated with the Right to Life League of Southern California. PCC is a nonprofit organization serving our local community since opening its doors in 1993. Services include pregnancy testing, ultrasound, referrals, pre and post abortion counseling, and education.The center is financed exclusively by charitable donations. As a fund raiser for PCC, First Baptist collects loose change between Mother's Day in May and Father's Dy in June to fill baby bottles. For information contact Erin Higgins at 760-301-4941.
Veterans Stand Down The Veterans Stand Down is a community event to help provide jobs, food clothing, services and referrals for Veterans benefits for those in our community who have unmet needs. Once a year we have a booth at the Veterans Stand Down and will need volunteers to help man the booth. Please plan on attending or offer to volunteer to help this day.
​ABWE International - Togo, West Africa ABWE began working in Togo in 1974 and now has more than 100 missionaries working in this small West African country. ABWE founded Karolyn Kempton Memorial Christian Hospital in 1985, and sought to bring physical and spiritual health to south Toga. Thousands of lives have been saved through this high-quality medical ministry. Beyond the hospital compound, missionaries use community health outreaches, mobile clinics, and nurse training to engage and minister in the country.
 In 2015 ABWE missionaries opened a 43-bed medical center called the Hospital of Hope in the northern part of Togo. The hospital saw more than 10,000 patients in the first few months of operation and serves as an important ministry platform with an impact that reaches into several countries. Offering is taken by designation in offering envelopes. For information about ABWE and the TOGO Ministries, contact Garon and Susan Harris - garon.susanharris@abwe.cc