On a corner of Thirteenth and Tyler in Amarillo sits a brick and stone church that has watched the Texas Panhandle grow up around it for nearly a century and a half. Founded in 1889 with sixteen charter members and now carrying the motto Many Faces. One Faith., First Baptist Church has become one of the largest Baptist congregations in the region, distinguished by its five international worshipping communities, a thriving student center called The Loft, a weekday preschool, and a missions footprint that sends more than a tenth of its weekly attendance abroad each year.
Five Languages, One Sanctuary Block
The clearest expression of the church's motto is found on the second floor of the International Ministry Center, where several congregations gather in their own languages each Sunday. The Laotian congregation, pastored by Boon Vongsurith, meets for Sunday School at 10:00 a.m. and worship at 11:00 a.m., with a Wednesday prayer meeting in the FBC Chapel. The Vietnamese congregation, pastored by Timothy Vo, gathers at 9:00 a.m. for meditation, 9:45 for Sunday School, and 10:45 to noon for worship, with evening visitation at 5:00 p.m., and adds a full midweek schedule of Bible study, English class, baptism class, and choir practice held on Zoom and in person.
On the first floor, an East African ministry led by Pastor Ferdinand Ntandikiye serves speakers of Kirundi with Sunday School at 8:00 a.m. and worship at 10:00 a.m. The Karen congregation, pastored by Rainbow Gold, has Bible study on the FBC main campus at 9:30 a.m. and worship at 11:30 a.m. at 617 N. Buchanan Street. A Congolese (Banyamulenge) congregation, led by Pastor Antoine Nkurunziza of Good News Preaching Church, gathers at noon at the Buchanan Street Chapel. Many of these worshippers join one of the two English worship services after their own gatherings, and the International Sunday School department meets from 9:45 to 10:45 in Room 101 with groups in Sudanese, Arabic, Karen, English, Spanish, and Korean.
A Sunday in Three Movements
For those arriving for English-language worship, Sunday unfolds in three coordinated movements. The day opens with worship at 8:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, the same hour that the Sunday morning service is broadcast live on KZBZ Channel 10.2 (Channel 6) and streamed online. Bible study for all ages fills the 9:45 hour, with classes for preschoolers through senior adults meeting across the campus. A second worship service follows at 11:00 a.m., and an evening service at 6:00 p.m. closes the day, the same hour the service is broadcast live on MIX-FM 94.1 in Amarillo. The 10:00 a.m. service also airs on KFDA Channel 10 (or Cable Channels 12 and 112).
Children's programming runs alongside each adult hour. Extended session care for preschoolers from birth through age four is offered at 8:15 to 9:30 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:00 a.m., with Sunday School for birth through kindergarten from 9:45 to 10:45. Parents attending evening ESL classes and other activities can leave their children in Sunday evening care.
The Story on Tyler Street
First Baptist's roots run back to the spring of 1888, when Amarillo had roughly 150 citizens and worshippers of every denomination shared a single union chapel known as Parker's Chapel. In September 1889, sixteen charter members organized the First Baptist Church of Amarillo inside that building. By the next summer they had completed a thirty-six by sixty-foot wood-frame sanctuary at 500 Pierce Street, a structure that still stands on the northeast corner of the present campus. The church called its first pastor, Rev. George Walter Capps, in 1891.
Innovation came early. In 1902, Rev. Anderson E. Baten organized a Baptist Young People's Union, only the second such ministry in the entire Southern Baptist Convention at the time. By 1904 the church had grown to 343 members and its mission offering had reached $508.20, a precedent for the generous cooperative giving that still defines the congregation. In 1907 Pastor Robert F. Jenkins led the church to plant Second Baptist Church in north Amarillo, the first in a long line of church plants that would come to include the East Side Mission (1910), Bushland (1914), River Road (1938), Victory and Immanuel (1940s), Paramount (1954), Buchanan Street Chapel (1994), and High Plains Community Church (1998).
By 1908 the original building could not contain the growing body, and the congregation moved to a new facility at Ninth and Polk. That building was outgrown within twenty years, and in August 1926 the church voted to buy land at Thirteenth and Tyler. The half-million-dollar sanctuary was dedicated on August 3, 1930, and has been described by building experts as "The Perfect Church." Through the dust bowl years that followed, the congregation survived by cutting staff salaries and leaning on the gifts of faithful members.
Under Pastor J. Howard Williams (1936 to 1940), the church developed the largest Baptist Training Union in the Southern Baptist Convention; Williams later became president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After A.D. Foreman (1941 to 1949) and Carl Bates (1950 to 1959) grew the membership beyond 6,000, Winfred Moore guided the church for thirty years beginning in 1959, retiring in the 1989 centennial year. Ben E. Loring followed (1991 to 1994), and the current pastor, Dr. Howard K. Batson, arrived in September 1995. Under Dr. Batson's leadership the church has restored the sanctuary, chapel, fellowship hall, Family Life Center, and education space, and extended the congregation's reach into Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, China, Romania, Slovakia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
The Loft: A Place Built for Students
On the eastern edge of the campus, a new building called The Loft has reshaped ministry for seventh through twelfth graders. Open Tuesday through Friday from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m., The Loft is designed to function as a Christian hangout, a study space, and an event venue long after Sunday and Wednesday have ended. Student Sunday School meets on its floors from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m., and on Wednesday nights the Loft holds the church meal at 5:00 p.m., youth mission groups at 6:00 p.m., and PrimeTime at 6:45 p.m. D-groups meet in homes throughout the week.
The Loft also houses children's ministry classrooms on lower floors and links the campus to the Park Central retirement community via a sky bridge over Harrison Street. Residents of Park Place Towers, Moore Assisted Living, the Harrington, and the Continental can now walk from their residences to the sanctuary without ever stepping outside, a tangible expression of the church's commitment to its Heritage Ministry for senior adults.
Heritage, College, and the Generations Between
The Heritage Ministry, led by Minister of Pastoral Care Corky Holland and Associate Minister Jordan Washer, gathers retirees, grandparents, and active seniors for Bible study, fellowship, recreation, mission service, and monthly events. Its logo carries a stylized "H" with a pillar and capstone drawn from the sanctuary's architecture, a visual reminder that senior adults are the pillars of the congregation. The Wednesday afternoon First Singers choir (for adults 55 and older) rehearses at 1:00 p.m., and the Handbell Ensemble rehearses Mondays at 6:15 p.m.
College students meet on the fourth floor of The Loft for College Hour Bible Study at 9:45 a.m. on Sundays, then gather for Challenge Groups during the school year on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Young adults meet on Wednesday nights at 6:00 p.m. in Rooms 406 and 408 of The Loft for Midway, a worship and Bible study gathering named for its midweek place in the week. A regular podcast, social events, retreats, and a year-round lineup of Young Adult Live gatherings round out the ministry.
Adult ministry at the church spans every stage. Sunday morning Bible studies cover singles, couples, parents, empty nesters, and caregivers, with weekday afternoon and evening studies offered through the week. A seven-week Sunday afternoon study called Bridges helps adults connect Sunday worship to Monday work, meeting at 4:30 p.m. in Loft 408 with childcare available. MOMS (Mothers on Mission) gathers twice a month, both Wednesday mornings from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. on the third floor of The Loft and Sunday afternoons from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. on the first floor for working mothers, with Mentor Moms, guest speakers, devotionals, and crafts.
Men's ministry, called M6:8 in reference to Micah 6:8, anchors men in Bible study on Sunday mornings and opens service opportunities in teaching, leadership, the Jail and Prison Ministry, the Intercessory Prayer Team, and Disaster Relief. Women's ministry offers an annual retreat, weekly Bible studies in homes and at the church, and fellowship events throughout the year.
First Steps Preschool and the Children's Wing
First Baptist operates its own weekday preschool, First Steps, directed by Tara Pike. Mother's Day Out meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for babies through two-year-olds. Preschool for three, four, and five-year-olds runs Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and a transitional class for fives bridges preschool and kindergarten. The program uses the WEE Learn Bible-based curriculum, maintains two teachers per classroom, keeps all teachers certified in First Aid and CPR, and follows Amarillo ISD weather decisions.
On Wednesday evenings, Kids Midweek serves first through sixth graders from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. with music from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. and missions from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Childcare is provided until 7:30 p.m. for parents who are teaching or attending Midway Worship, and until 8:15 p.m. for those in the adult choir. Preschool choir and Mission Friends meet on Wednesdays as part of the same midweek rhythm. Upward Sports basketball leagues are offered seasonally through the Family Life Center.
Midweek: Meal, Music, and Missions
The Wednesday evening rhythm at First Baptist begins with a family meal at 5:00 p.m., after which the building fills with the sounds of choirs and classes. Preschool and children's choirs rehearse from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. Kids Midweek follows at 6:00 p.m. Youth Missions Groups and PrimeTime begin at 6:00 and 6:45 p.m. respectively. The Sanctuary Choir rehearses from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. with childcare provided, and Midway Worship, the band and vocal team that leads the young adult gathering, rehearses at 5:30 p.m. before its service.
Music: From Sanctuary Choir to Sanctuary Orchestra
Music at First Baptist reaches from the preschool choir through the 100-voice Sanctuary Choir and the Sanctuary Orchestra. Graded children's choirs are open to three-year-olds through sixth graders, with a Youth Choir for seventh through twelfth graders that rehearses Sundays from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and travels on a yearly summer mission trip. Adult ensembles include the Sanctuary Choir (Wednesday nights), First Singers (Tuesday afternoons for adults 55 and older), and the Handbell Ensemble (Monday evenings). The Midway Worship band leads the Wednesday night young adult gathering. Choirs and ensembles lead in worship services and serve in missions throughout the year.
Local Missions and Refugee Welcome
First Baptist describes itself as one of the top five Texas Baptist churches in missions giving out of 5,000 congregations. Locally, the church operates or partners with ministries that include the Perkins Community Center (a food and clothing ministry serving 300 to 500 people each month), the Agape Center for mental health consumers, Christian Men's and Women's Job Corps, ESL classes through International Friends (which draws more than 300 students from sixteen countries), the Hemmed in Prayer sewing ministry, Mission Amarillo, Buckner Family Place, Hope Welcome Center, CareNet Crisis Pregnancy Center, Habitat for Humanity, Faith City Mission, High Plains Food Bank, Gideons International, and Sharing Hope and Patsy's Place.
Because Amarillo is one of the largest refugee-receiving cities per capita in Texas, refugee ministry is woven into the life of the church. International Friends ESL classes meet Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and Sunday afternoons at 4:00 p.m., with teachers, greeters, mentors, and van drivers all needed. Welcome Teams commit to a refugee family for four to six months, helping navigate resources and friendship. Welcome Kits of new household goods are assembled for arriving families, and Fostering Hope, a separate FBC ministry, provides care boxes each semester for college students who have aged out of foster care.
Jail and Prison Ministry teams from the church serve at the Randall County Jail and the TDCJ Clements Unit, and at the Neal Unit, leading a discipleship curriculum for incarcerated men on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. Disaster Relief volunteers operate a self-contained 32-foot shower and laundry unit (the only one in Texas certified for handicapped use), deployed by Texas Baptist Men to responses including Hurricane Katrina relief, the West, Texas explosion, the Moore, Oklahoma tornado, and fires in Fritch and Colorado. A 4 Amarillo mission week each summer partners the church with three other downtown congregations to host evening Bible story, craft, recreation, and meal programs at Wills Elementary and San Jacinto Elementary.
Global Missions and Mission Trips
Each year more than 10 percent of the church's average weekly attendance leaves the country on short-term mission trips. Recent annual destinations have included Bangladesh, Guatemala, Zambia, Central Texas disaster relief, and Phoenix for high school students. The church supports missionaries and indigenous pastors in Mexico (Edmundo Valenzuela), the Texas-Mexico border (Pablo Serrano), Rio de Janeiro (Don and Angie Finley), Uganda (Mike and Sharol Shutts, Anthony and Misti Shelton), South Africa (Daniel and Sky Scott), Hungary (Larry and Melinda Ewing), France (Shane and Sherri Park), North Africa and the Middle East (John and Juliet S.), Poland (Bryan and Stacey Intemann), and Asia (Angela P.). It also partners with the International Mission Board, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Baptist World Alliance, Baptist University of the Americas, Truett Theological Seminary, Women's Missionary Union, and Compassion International.
What First Baptist Believes
The congregation affirms that God is the creator of all things, all-powerful and all-knowing; that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Lord and that salvation is by grace through faith in Him; that the Holy Spirit works in the lives of all believers; and that the Bible is God's Word and the authority for faith and life. Each church is autonomous and self-governing, acknowledging Christ as its head. Believers are priests before God but are called into Christian community as the body of Christ. The church affirms a call to Jesus' mission, to reach out around the world in both words and deeds, and holds that church and state should remain separate with religious liberty for all. The congregation affirms the doctrinal statements set forth in "The Baptist Faith and Message" as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1963.
Recreation and the Family Life Center
The Family Life Center is open Monday and Tuesday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Wednesday from 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and again from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Membership is open to FBC members and Sunday School class members. Amenities include an indoor jogging track, cardio room, weight room, and steam room, plus senior men's and women's exercise classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, yoga on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Equipped Yoga combining scripture, meditation, and movement on Monday evenings.
Giving, Media, and Staying Connected
Online giving is available through the Shelby Giving platform, by texting any gift amount to 806-391-7205, or at a kiosk in the financial secretary's office. Two endowment funds, the Church Property Endowment and a missions endowment, allow members to give in lasting ways, including stock, real estate, or personal property. Sunday worship is broadcast live on KZBZ Channel 10.2 and on KFDA Channel 10, and on MIX-FM 94.1 at 6:00 p.m. Video messages, audio messages, sermon series, and message notes are available online, and a free Right Now Media account gives every member access to thousands of Bible study videos. The Reporter newsletter and The Journal, a periodical for Heritage Ministry, keep members informed.
Visiting First Baptist
The church office is located at 1208 South Tyler Street and is open during the week at 806-373-2891. Guest parking is available on the campus, and greeters, a printed order of worship, and a Pastor's Pals children's bulletin are provided on Sunday mornings. A Guest Card makes it easy to share a prayer request or contact information, and staff members across every ministry are listed on the church staff page for follow-up questions about programming, missions, or counseling.