Get to Know Us | FBC Benicia

Our Beliefs

At FBC, we embrace a gospel-centered approach to ministry and believe the good news of Jesus Christ should shape everything we do as a church.

We hope to continually point you to the good news of God’s love and grace found in Jesus Christ. This is not just a starting point for the Christian faith but the beginning, middle, and end. We hope you'll notice this immediately on a Sunday morning as our service, especially our preaching and teaching, aims to point you to Jesus.

The Bible has plenty to say regarding how we should live, what we should and shouldn't do. As important as these commandments are, we must remember that they are not a way to earn God’s forgiveness and favor. Instead, we must seek to follow God’s Word out of the joy and gratitude for all He has done for us.

Our statement of faith is a clear expression of orthodox, historic Christian beliefs and convictions. It is written in a way that majors on the majors while leaving room for believers to hold different positions on secondary issues. You can find it in full below.

Our Bylaws

Our Constitution

Scripture

The Bible is God's unique revelation to people. It is the inspired, unfailing Word of God, and the supreme and final authority on all matters upon which it teaches. No other writings have such divine authority.

God

There is only one God, creator of heaven and earth, who exists eternally as three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is fully God yet each is personally distinct from one another.

Humanity

The main message of the Bible is that God loves people and invites them to live in communion with Himself and in community with each other.

God gives salvation and eternal life to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and in His sacrifice on his or her behalf. Salvation cannot be earned through personal goodness or human effort. It is a gift that must be received by humble repentance and faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Jesus

Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless human life, willingly took upon Himself all of our sins, died, rose again bodily, and is at the right hand of the Father as our advocate and mediator. He will return to complete history and to fulfill the eternal plan of God.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, draws people to Christ, and indwells all believers. He empowers them to live Christ-like lives and gives them spiritual gifts in order to serve the church and reach out to a lost and needy world.

Eternity

Death seals the eternal destiny of every person. At the final judgment, unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. Believers will be received into God's loving presence and rewarded for their faithfulness to Him in this life.

The Church

Spiritual unity is to be expressed among Christians by their acceptance and love for one another. This love crosses ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, national, generational, gender, and denominational lines.

The local church is a congregation of believers who gather together for worship, prayer, instruction, encouragement, mutual accountability, and community. Through it, believers invest their time, energy, and resources to fulfill the Great Commission.

Our Story

In 1942 a small group of Christian believers met in a trailer court and organized the First Baptist Church of Benicia. On October 22, 1942, FBC held their first service in the Eagles Hall until property was purchased on East Second St. A tent was erected on the property where meetings were held as the building was built with the assistance of many volunteers. The total cost of the building was approximately $20,000 when completed in 1947.

FBC continued to thrive and grow over the decades. Pastor Marshall Luckey came in 1971 and helped lead the church faithfully, including the initiation of Project Move Ahead with God- a step of faith to transition to a new location. In 1978, the congregation voted to sell their property and purchase land on Southampton Road, a rapidly growing area in need of a neighborhood church. Pastor David Clark then served from 1979-1991. We moved into the new church on Southampton Road, Boys Brigade and Pioneer Girls began for students Kindergarten to 8th grade, with our students bringing their friends to club once a week. In 1988, Pastor Clark brought Pastor Scott Henning on as our first official Youth Pastor! In 1989, our church raised enough funds to build the Fellowship Hall.

Pastor Scott Henning served as Youth Pastor until 1992 when our congregation voted to call him to be Lead Pastor of FBC. He served as Lead Pastor until December of 2015. Pastor Scott's fingerprints are all over FBC to this day, including our ministry to Benicia Middle School and the Red Awning Cafe. After a year of transition in 2016 with interim Pastor Mike Anderson, the church called Pastor Matt in early 2017 as Lead Pastor.

As important as pastors and buildings are, the real story of FBC is about God’s work in Benicia through the *people* of the church. Ephesians 4:11-13 says that church leaders are to equip the *people* of God for ministry. So we remember how God has used the people of FBC over the years to share the gospel and love our city in Jesus’ name. We celebrate the generous giving and financial contributions of so many who have gone before us, to purchase and pay for this property we enjoy today, to support the annual budget, and our missionaries. We celebrate those who have prayed for this church and our witness here in Benicia.