One hundred and ninety-four years ago, God planted a vision in the hearts of a group of people to birth a church in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since 1831, First Baptist Church has held the common goal of “pointing generations to Jesus.” Today, that vision has not changed. Our church remains committed to glorifying God by making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ for the joy of all nations (cf. Matthew 28:18-20). We want to see generations of people in our neighborhoods and throughout the nations treasure Jesus as Lord and Savior. 

While we celebrate what God has done in the history of First Baptist Church, we’re excited about what God is doing in our current season of ministry. Today, we have an incredible opportunity to expand the disciple-making ministry at FBC. On September 7, our Leadership

Council is launching a new ministry campaign called, “Connecting Generations to Christ (CGC).” The CGC vision is rooted in Psalm 78, where the psalmist prays that coming generations might “set their hope in God” (Ps. 78:7). 

To enable future generations to become and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, we want to make some improvements to our church facility. Based on the feedback we received during the vision study, we’re planning to reconstruct and enclose our current breezeways. In reconstructing the two breezeways, what I’m calling “connectors,” our desire is to: 

  • 1)    Better connect with people on our campus. 

    As many of you are aware, the current breezeways are in desperate need of repair. A recent structural engineering survey revealed critical issues that need to be addressed within the next six to twelve months. Constructing the new “connectors” not only addresses the deteriorating breezeways but will provide infrastructure to link our three buildings together, allowing children, students, adults, and seniors to have better internal access and external security while on our campus. 

  • 2)    Better connect with people in our community:

    I believe the strongest investment we can make in our community is to give everyone an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. The proposed “connectors” will provide better access for all people as they will include two new elevators and improved campus entrances that meet current ADA accessibility standards. Thus, the project will better enable the disabled and elderly to join us for worship services, bible studies, and fellowship and outreach events, providing us more opportunities to connect with people in our community.   

As our Leadership Council is excited to share this vision, we have planned a few key dates of which you’ll want to be aware. On Sunday, September 14, we are planning a church-wide fellowship meal, followed by a “town hall” meeting so you can see the direction we’re headed with the project. At that time, you will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. Although our church voted on June 9, 2024 to “begin implementing the proposed project and accompanying capital campaign,” our Leadership Council wants to provide a final opportunity for the church to vote on the design and dollar amount of the project. Therefore, we will be holding a special-called ministry meeting at the end of the worship service on Sunday, October 5, for a church vote. If the church vote is affirmative, we are hopeful that construction can begin no later than summer of 2026.