First Baptist Church of Bessemer City, NC is actively seeking a Pastor.  This individual must have a minimum of six years preaching and at least a seminary degree. We are looking for a Pastor that has the following qualities: Soul Winner, Preaching ability, good teaching skills, strong in Family Ministry, along with other duties. If you meet these  qualifications and want to become part of our Church Family send your Resume to:

First Baptist Church of Bessemer City

Attention: Eugene Bumgardner, Chairman, Pastoral Search Committee

P.O. Box 397

Bessemer City, North Carolina 28016

First Baptist Church Bio Information

First Baptist Church of Bessemer City, North Carolina was established in 1897.  We are associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, and the Greater Gaston Baptist Association.  The church has served Bessemer City and the surrounding area with a wonderful ministry.  We have had very faithful members over the years and have been blessed with excellent Pastors.  The church has had a number of our members to serve in ministries at other churches.

We have a beautiful sanctuary, educational building (which serves our Sunday School) and our Family Life Center (built in 2000), which contains the Pastor’s study, Secretary’s office, Conference Room, and a Multi-purpose room which contains a carpeted Gym/Dining area, Full Kitchen, and Stage.  This area has been used for many community and church activities, including the Greater Gaston Association’s Annual Fair Meetings at various times.  We have a 25 seat Bus being used for  activities for both our adult and youth/children ministries and activities.  Among the activities are visits to sing at nursing homes, taking trips to see plays and other group activities.  We also have a van that is used in our Van Ministry; bringing a number of children to both our Wednesday night services and our Sunday Services.

The church also has a Childcare ministry with a Four Star Rating and an excellent staff.  First Baptist Bessemer City has many other ministries, including a Youth Group Ministry which meets weekly. They go to camp at Fort Caswell each year, and they have also gone to  Mississippi and Virginia on Mission trips.  We also have active RA and GA and Mission Friends programs which also meet weekly.  We reach out to our home bound and nursing home members on a regular basis, and also to people in need throughout our community through a Benevolence Committee Mission (providing food and other assistance).

We have an Interim Pastor at this time and he is excellent at preaching, teaching and running the everyday business of the church. Our Sunday School has an average attendance of about 70.  During our morning worship service we will average about 80- 100, and Sunday evening we will average about 30.  We have two Prayer/Bible Study services on Wednesdays, (one morning and one evening) with each service averaging about 15.  First Baptist has a choir, praise team, and a hand bell choir; they present an Easter and Christmas Cantata.      The doors at First Baptist are always open to those who want to come and worship and for those who would wish to join in our fellowship.

Recent facts:  First Baptist Church of Bessemer City, North Carolina was established in 1897, below is the information for the past three years 2008 thru 2010.

2010
Total Membership – 562, Additions – 4, Baptized – 2,  Deceased – 5,  Moved – 5
Sunday School Enrollment – 105,  Average Attendance 70,  AM Service 70
Bible School – 133, Music – 48, Church Missions Project – 58, W M U -53,  Brotherhood -25
2009
Total Membership – 569, Additions – 13, Baptized – 8,  Deceased – 8,  Moved – 7
Sunday School Enrollment – 105,  AM Service 90
Bible School – 112, Music – 43, Church Missions Project – 62, W M U -54,  Brotherhood -21
2008
Total Membership – 574, Additions – 11, Baptized – 11,  Deceased – 8,  Moved – 4
Sunday School Enrollment – 119,  Average Attendance 62,  AM Service 90
Bible School – 120, Music – 46, Church Missions Project – 73, W M U -55,  Brotherhood -24
About our area:

The citizens of Bessemer City are very proud to be known as “The City with a Heart”. Bessemer City is located in Gaston County.  The people of Bessemer City are
known to be a caring and helpful to others, they come together in hard times and help each other.  Bessemer City benefits from its location, being 5 miles west of Gastonia, 25 miles from
Charlotte, N.C. and Rock Hill S.C.  It is located on Interstate 85 and can access Interstate 40 via Highway 321 to Hickory.  Southridge Business Park is located in Bessemer City, it contains three large businesses: Dole Fruits, Advanced Drainage Systems and Hunter Douglas Blinds and plenty of available property, with water, sewer and natural gas, making it available for growth.  FMC  Lithium Corporation is located on the west side of the city (it is the largest producers of lithium in both North and South America).

The history of Bessemer City goes back to 1754, when King George II made a land grant to James Ormand and Adam Meek. The Ormand Mining Company was established by James Ormand
and was operated until the mid-19^th Century.  During the 1840’s, cotton, corn and whiskey production were the major contributors of the economy.  The area known as Bessemer City was purchased
from the Ormand family by Sir Henry Bessemer who invented the “Bessemer Process” which was used for smelting iron. The city was named in his honor, and incorporated on March 6^th, 1893.

We have a number of nearby attractions to visit and enjoy.  One of Gaston County’s parks is located in Bessemer City, with four baseball fields, a football /soccer field and a picnic shelter; we also have a Community Center and Pool.  Other attractions include: Gaston County Museum of Art and History, Historic Rural Hill Farm, Schielle Museum, Kings Mountain State and National Military Park,
Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, Crowder’s Mountain State Park, Paramount’s Carowinds Water and Theme Park, Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Moss Lake.  We are located four hours from the Atlantic  Ocean and just a little more than an hour from the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The overall point of my sermons this month has been to redefine Thanksgiving from a Biblical perspective. I began by describing Thanksgiving as a compound word. Most people think of “thanks” as the key word. Yet grammatically speaking, thanks seems to act more like an adverb describing the action word (verb) giving. When we look at it this way thanksgiving becomes an act of giving. We give thanks to God. So our messages became a study of giving from the Scriptures.

We talked about the widow’s mite and how her giving became an expression of her faith in God. She gave everything she had even though she could have kept back some. She demonstrated her total dependence upon God. When we give thanks to God, we too are expressing our total dependence upon God. God wants our giving to reflect our faith and trust in Him. I told you that I had seen a Widow’s might. This time I meant might (as in power) not might. If we are to experience the life changing power of God then we too must totally depend upon Him.

That led us to II Corinthians and the question about giving so we can get. There are many so-called preachers who use these verses to convince people to give them money with the idea that the more you give the richer you will get. This is found no-where in an honest study of these verses. God never rewards sin and greed is always a sin. God is looking for people who happily give because they know that what they have came from God; they know that whatever they need God will provide; and so they give like everything depends upon God. As they do, they discover that everything really does depend upon God and that He is always faithful and true!

It is my hope that as you celebrate by giving thanks, you will commit yourself and your family to trusting God for everything. He loves us and has promised to supply not only our needs, but wonderful blessings that go far beyond material possessions.

Becky and I thank God for each of you. Your kindness and blessings to us during the year encourage and enable us to serve not only you, but our Lord Jesus too. We wish for you a blessed time of celebration with your family. We look forward to continue our thanksgiving as we celebrate the season of Advent. We love you.

- Pastor Chuck & Becky