“A Different Kind of Baptist Church”

First Baptist Church of Morehead strives to be a different kind of Baptist church. While we still champion historic Baptist distinctives like religious liberty for all and the freedom of the individual conscience, you won’t find a lot of Baptist stereotypes here. The preaching may sometimes be loud, but it is never judgmental. To see more than six people wearing neckties on Sunday would be an occasion worth remarking upon. You also won’t find smoke machines or espresso bars, either. We aren’t stuffy, but we aren’t trendy. What we are is a scrappy and faithful group of people dedicated to the radical way of Jesus, ready to embrace you with open hearts, hands, and minds.

Our hearts are open to all who seek a place of spiritual belonging, to those who are trying to unpack their own religious baggage, and to LGBTQ+ Christians looking for a community that does not merely tolerate them but celebrates their unique gifts.
Our hands are open to work for the common good of our community, for Morehead, Rowan County, and beyond. As part of our common life together you’ll find us dedicating our labor, skills, and resources to causes as diverse as addiction recovery, environmental stewardship, public education, and artistic expression.
Our minds are open to wonder, to ask the big questions that may not always have neat answers. We read and talk and ponder together, enjoying both the journey and the destination as we plumb the infinite depths of God’s love in worship, Sunday school, and Bible studies.

More than anything, we believe that following Jesus is not merely an intellectual choice but rather a life-long commitment to the way of discipleship. If you think this church could be a source of strength and friendship on this path, please, “Come and see.”

FAQs

We gather for worship at 10:45 on Sunday mornings (you’re also welcome to join us for hot, homemade breakfast at 9:30). The service usually lasts an hour and includes prayer, scripture reading, hymn singing, special choral or instrumental music, and a sermon. It would be easy to call our worship style “traditional,” but we strive to incorporate the wide diversity of Christianity into our worshipping life — from 4th century chants to contemporary bluegrass and everything in-between.
We have ample room for parking behind the church building. From Main Street, take Maggard Place (the alley between the church and the Lewis Building) to the parking lot on your left. You can also access the lot from Second Street. Most people then use the entrances on Maggard Place to access the church.
We want you to wear whatever clothes you need to feel ready to worship. People at FBC wear blue jeans, fancy hats, overalls, shorts, and bowties. Plus the pastor usually dresses up like a 14th century lawyer! We will be delighted to welcome you however you dress.
We want your children to worship with us as well, and our general practice is for kids to start attending worship around the time they begin Pre-K. The congregation delights in the noises and wriggles, and our sanctuary has a fully-stocked worship cart available for our youngest worshippers (it’s next to the organ); they are invited to take whatever gentle, calming, and sacred tools they need with them to their pews.
For younger kids (or slightly older ones who just need a break) we have a staffed nursery available during worship as well. All our childcare workers are well-trained and have completed a background check. We’d also be happy to provide you with a copy of our child protection policy upon request.
Once you get to know us better, we’d also love to have your children join us for Godly Play (Wednesday nights) and Youth Group (alternating Sunday afternoons)!
First of all, we’re glad that you like our website; we made it ourselves! (That’s just the kind of DIY people we are.)
But for real, no, we aren’t just a slicker version of your childhood Southern Baptist church. We aren’t even a part of the Southern Baptist Convention! We belong to a national Baptist body called the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and we seek to honor historic Baptist distinctives without relying on conformity or culture wars. Following the prompting of the Holy Spirit we celebrate women in all levels of church leadership, welcome LGBTQ+ folks fully into the life of our congregation, seek transformative justice for our community, and proclaim the liberating love of Jesus to and for everyone.
And, while we’re proud of our Baptist heritage, we’re more concerned with following the radical way of Jesus than with being good Baptists, so you’ll find people from all kinds of religious backgrounds here, asking all kinds of questions, but bound up together by the most ancient and most simple of Christian confessions: “Jesus Christ is Lord.”
(But don’t worry, we can still potluck with the best of them!)
Absolutely! Our senior pastor, Aaron Coyle-Carr, would love to share a good conversation with you, especially if it involves a cup of coffee at the Fuzzy Duck. Our associate pastor, Jackson Campbell, would also love to do this.
Our Pastoral Staff contact information can be found over on the “Leadership” tab.
If you’d like to see what worship is like here before making a visit you can find recording of past services on our Facebook page. From there you can also stream services live on Sunday morning and find more up to the minute information about what’s going on at church.
If you live in Rowan County we also broadcast the service live on local access cable, channel 376.