A Downtown Church Built Around a Citywide Vision
First Baptist Church of Salem sits at 395 Marion Street NE in the heart of Salem, Oregon. The congregation describes itself with a single sentence that hangs over everything it does: "Bringing people into a life-changing relationship with God and each other as a church for the city that reaches the world for Christ." From the church's three weekend services to its summer Upward Basketball league, its after-school Midweek Kids clubs and its short-term mission trips to the Dominican Republic, that phrase is the thread tying the program together.
The building houses the auditorium, the CLC classroom wing, the Northblock youth space, the worship arts platform, the Higher Grounds coffee stop, and a library that opens early for morning prayer. Across the parking lot sit the garages where Boy Scout Troop 2 meets and First Lube Plus, a shop connected to the church's ministry footprint. The church office keeps weekday hours of 8:30 to 4:30 and can be reached at 503-364-2285 or fbc@fbcsalem.org.
Three Weekend Services, Contemporary and Family-Friendly
Salem First Baptist runs three identical weekend services in the auditorium, all in a contemporary style with biblical teaching. Saturday evening worship begins at 6:00 PM. Sunday services are at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Children are a deliberate part of weekend worship: at the 9:00 hour, SFB Kids classes are open for ages 0 through 5th grade, while the 10:30 hour offers classes for ages 0 through 3rd grade. The 4th and 5th grade class, called The Bridge, meets only during the 9:00 hour. The 10:30 service is livestreamed on YouTube for those who want to follow along at home or watch later.
SFB Kids: Counting the Weeks Until Graduation
Children's Ministry at Salem First Baptist is one of the most thoughtfully built programs on the campus. Director Stephanie Thorp leads a team that counts out the weeks from birth through high school graduation to set goals for each phase. Sunday mornings are organized around four classrooms:
- Base Camp (pregnancy through age 2) meets at 9:00 and 10:45 and focuses on safety and trust, the first building blocks of faith.
- Discoverers (preschool) meets at the same hours and teaches three foundational truths: God Made Me, God Loves Me, and Jesus Wants To Be My Friend Forever. Recommended resources include the Jesus Storybook Bible and The Big God Story.
- Explorers (kindergarten through 3rd grade) introduces children to reading the Bible on their own, with the Adventure Bible NIrV as the recommended reader.
- The Bridge (4th and 5th grade) meets only at the 9:00 hour and is the launch into adolescence. Preteens serve in younger classes, can be baptized if they choose, and go on overnight retreats. Resources include Passport to Purity and The Jesus Bible NIV.
The midweek program is built around Awana-style clubs that run from 6:30 to 8:00 PM on Wednesdays for kids age 3 through 5th grade. Cubbies is for potty-trained 3 and 4 year olds. Sparks covers kindergarten through 2nd grade and rewards memory work with Sparky Bucks redeemable three times a year. Truth and Training (T&T) takes 3rd through 5th graders deeper into Scripture with worship, lessons, and small group time. The program runs a separate leadership team for each club, and all volunteers are background-checked and trained.
Fusion: Middle School Students
Middle schoolers, 6th through 8th grade, gather under the name Fusion. The program is gospel-centered, neighbor-loving, disciple-making and culture-shaping. Fusion meets on Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 8:15 and on Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:10, where the small group time is the heart of the hour. Each grade has gender-specific student leaders, and parents can sign up for the parent snack team to support the weekly gatherings.
The calendar is anchored by two annual retreats (fall and spring) and a yearly photo and video recap that families look back on for years. Parents who want text updates can text FUSION to (833) 931-8614. Student Ministries Middle School is led by Jonathan Patterson.
Thrive: High School Students
The high school ministry, Thrive, exists "to incite wonder, provoke discovery, and fuel passion" in teenagers. The big weekly gathering is Tuesday Night Thrive from 6:30 to 8:45 PM in the Youth Room CLC 429. Students can expect games, laughter, worship, food, an encouraging message grounded in Scripture, and gender- and grade-specific LifeGroups afterward. Thrive also meets Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:10.
Camps and retreats are a regular rhythm. Camp H2O is the yearly summer camp, with a long-running video and photo archive going back nearly a decade. Thrive also runs local and international mission trips, including a recent team to the Dominican Republic with TIME Ministries, a long-time SFB partner. Caleb Ivanitsky leads the high school ministry and can be reached for parent questions or scholarship support.
The Garage: Young Adults on Sunday Mornings
For 18 to 28 year olds, The Garage meets Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:15 at Northblock 5 Bay. The format is breakfast, conversation, and a short message from Pastor Tyler Hanke. The series is also podcasted on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so members can keep up during the week. A Philippians study written by young adults in the ministry is available to download.
Women's Ministry and Mom2Mom
Kristi Pierce leads Women's Ministry, which offers four weekly Bible studies during the September to May season. Tuesdays bring a 9:30 AM study of Leviticus and Numbers and a 6:30 PM walk through the third chapter of every New Testament book. Wednesdays have a 9:30 AM study of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ($51 for materials) and a 6:30 PM study of Psalms ($16 for materials). On Thursdays, a 10:00 AM small group studies how the men and women of the Bible finished their lives.
Mom2Mom runs on the 1st and 3rd Fridays from 9:00 to 11:30 AM and welcomes expectant mothers through moms of 1st graders. The cost is $50 for the year, safe and trusted childcare is provided, and mornings include food, coffee, prayer and conversation. A monthly newsletter and Facebook group keep the wider community of moms in touch.
Men's Ministry and Boy Scout Troop 2
Men's Ministry gathers for Thursday Nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the 5 Bay on Northblock. The format is fellowship, Bible study and prayer, with no sign-up required. Two Tuesday night Bible studies for men run in parallel during the week: Romans in Room 422 and Acts in Room 423.
Boy Scout Troop 2 is run under Men's Ministry as a dad-and-son program. It is explicitly not a drop-off troop. Dads mentor their own sons and invest in other boys, focusing on rank requirements, camping adventures, leadership training, merit badges and service projects. The troop camps one weekend a month year-round and a week in summer. Boys ages 11 to 17 meet Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the garages behind First Lube.
Community Groups, First Hour Classes, and Small Groups
Salem First Baptist operates two parallel small-group systems. On Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:15, First Hour Classes meet in the CLC wing. Offerings include:
- Epic: multigenerational, Room CLC 426, led by Jeff Poush
- The Orchard: multigenerational, Room CLC 422, led by Dan and Vicki Barram and Bob and Brenda De Vyldrere
- His Friends: age 60 and up, Room CLC 420, led by Jim Umstead and Mark Goetz
- Becomers: age 55 and up, Room CLC 424, led by Steve Lawrence and Jim Weil
- Young Marrieds: at the NorthBlock Glass Showroom, led by Dustin and Haley Purnell
- Connections: multigenerational, Room CLC 422, led by Gary Derickson
- Overcomers: single women, Room CLC 423, led by Gina Beggs
- Sojourners: Boomers, Room CLC 424, led by Mark Sybrant
- Drop-Ins: age 60 and up, Room CLC 426, led by Jim Cunningham
Outside Sunday morning, small groups meet throughout the week across the city and are managed through Church Center. Marriage mentors are also available to walk couples through specific seasons.
Prayer Ministry
Prayer is treated as foundational at Salem First Baptist. The church maintains a regular weekly rhythm of prayer times:
- Sunday morning prayer from 8:20 to 11:30 in the Library covers both services.
- Monday evening prayer runs from 6:45 to 7:45 PM.
- Thursday morning prayer at 8:00 AM focuses on the nation.
- Muggins is a once-a-month prayer covering the youth and their leadership, held on the first Monday from 9:15 to 11:00 AM at the home of Kerri Hanke.
During the missions conference, short-term trips, Christmas programs, and Holy Week, additional prayer times are scheduled. Members are also encouraged to use the High Five Card, a pocket-sized list of five people they want to see come to faith, and to pray weekly for those names.
Worship Arts and the Media Ministry Team
Nathan Collins leads the worship ministry. The platform involves instrumentalists and vocalists, a full orchestra (strings, brass, percussion, bells), special-event teams for weddings and funerals, student ministries worship, and scripture reading. The Worship Arts values are spelled out as Upward (singing to God), Inward (drawing the congregation closer to God), and Outward (serving newcomers investigating Christ).
The Media Ministry Team runs audio, projection, and video. The video team manages the YouTube livestream of the 10:30 service and produces media for services and church communications. Higher Grounds, a coffee stop open from 8:30 to 10:30 every Sunday morning, is a volunteer-run barista ministry that builds community in the lobby.
Upward Basketball
Upward Basketball is one of the church's largest community-facing programs. Open to boys and girls from kindergarten through 6th grade, the league emphasizes sound basketball skills, sportsmanship, teamwork, integrity, and hard work, alongside biblical virtues. Every child plays equal time and is coached with positive affirmation. The league has grown from 115 to over 1,000 kids across twenty-two years.
Registration runs September 1 through mid-October at $120 per child, which includes 12 weeks of practice, 8 games, a uniform, a car magnet, and an end-of-season gift. Player Evaluation Nights are held across October at Salem First Baptist and Salem First Nazarene, with parent orientation offered at the same time. The leadership team can be reached at upward@fbcsalem.org.
Missions: A Church for the City That Reaches the World
Missions sit at the center of the church's identity. Salem First Baptist supports a long list of global workers and partner organizations including WorldVenture, TIME Ministries, and Brazil Restoration Ministries. Global partnerships include:
- Church planting: The Walkers, The Barros, The Calvas, Mark and Taylor, Jason and Sarah
- Pastoral: Nate and Sara
- Equipping: Mark and Karen Wagner
- Evangelism: Reid Saunders
- TIME Ministries: Kris and Cindy
- Brazil Restoration Ministries: Steve and Shannon
Local partnerships include YWAM Salem, Awana, Child Evangelism Fellowship, and several campus ambassadors. Each year the church sends multiple short-term teams to support long-term workers, with scholarship applications available for those who feel called. The annual Church for The City Christmas Offering and the Serve Salem event focus the congregation's heart on Salem itself. A Perspectives course is offered periodically to help members explore God's heart for the nations.
Center for Health and Healing
The Center for Health and Healing exists to enable Christians to thrive personally, spiritually, mentally, and physically. Its mission is to prepare the people of the church to serve with excellence, biblically, and with practical tools. The Center hosts ongoing classes and support ministries including GriefShare and marriage mentoring.
Capital Christian School and Sonshine Christian Day Care
First Baptist's campus includes Capital Christian School, a Preschool through 5th grade program that pairs academic excellence with a Christ-centered atmosphere. Sonshine Christian Day Care operates alongside the church for younger children. Together they make the church a destination for the whole family, from infant care through elementary school.
Beliefs: Baptist Doctrine Rooted in Scripture
Salem First Baptist's doctrinal statement is a classic Baptist affirmation built on the inerrancy of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and sanctification, salvation by grace through faith alone, and the eternal security of the believer. The two ordinances are believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. The church affirms the priesthood of every believer, the autonomy of the local church, and the separation of church and state. The doctrinal summary closes with a presentation of the gospel: Christ's death and resurrection as the only sufficient payment for sin, and eternal life as a free gift received by faith.
The church's stated values are worship, biblical training, prayer, mission, discipleship, grace-based community, family affirming ministry, excellence, generosity, and cultural relevance.
Leadership
Mark Hanke serves as Senior Pastor. Jeff Poush is Associate Pastor and teaches the Epic adult Sunday class as well as preaching regularly. Steve Hunter serves as Executive Pastor. Jim Cunningham oversees Care and Evangelism and preaches the High 5 vision for personal outreach. Nathan Collins leads Worship Arts. Tyler Hanke pastors Young Adults through The Garage. Caleb Ivanitsky leads Student Ministries for high school, and Jonathan Patterson leads Student Ministries for middle school. Stephanie Thorp is Children's Ministry Director, Kristi Pierce directs Women's Ministry, and Sean Pierce directs the Communications and Technology team.
How to Connect, Give, and Listen
Sermons are organized both by date and by book of the Bible, including long series through James, Ephesians, Isaiah, Nehemiah, Habakkuk, and more. The podcast feed is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Pastors teach through books of the Bible at a steady, verse-by-verse pace, with messages often tied to specific texts like Habakkuk's "From Why to Worship" trilogy and a James series titled "Pressure Treated" and "Forgiven People Forgive."
Giving is handled through the Church Center app, by texting an amount to 843-21, by check mailed to the church office, or by in-person drop in the wall-box slot near the office or the lobby outside the sanctuary. The Church Center app also handles event registration, group signups, and the church calendar. The Good Neighbor Plan is the church's main outreach tool for members: a list of practical steps for praying for, caring for, and sharing faith with the eight closest neighbors and the five friends on the High Five Card.