First Baptist Canton

Building Relationships That Last Forever

By Michelle Martin

For George Anderson, pastor of First Baptist Canton, the Church is about more than just religion. Christianity is about relationships, the most important being the relationship with God, he says. God wants to have a relationship with us thats why He gave His Son to die for us. As a Christian myself, I want to help others have a relationship with Christ, too.

Anderson has served as pastor of First Baptist Canton since 1998, when the church was still located in Downtown Canton. In 2005, the church moved to its new facility at 1 Mission Point, near the new Teasley Middle School, off of Reinhardt College Parkway. Were blessed in this location, he says. It is very easy to get to, and the 74 acres give us room to grow. But, were not very visible. A lot of people are moving into this area, and we want to reach as many as we can. We want people to know First Baptist Canton is here for them and has lots of great programs to minister to them.

First Baptist Canton offers three Sunday worship services: The Tradition, featuring traditional hymns, piano and organ, at 8:15 a.m.; The Journey, featuring contemporary music led by a worship band and praise team, at 9:30 a.m.; and The Gathering, featuring a blend of traditional and contemporary music led by the worship choir, orchestra, worship band and praise team. First Baptist Canton is not the typical, stuffy church some might expect, Anderson says. When people come for the first time, many are surprised to see so many familiar faces from school, work, neighbors, around town. We want First Baptist Canton to be warm and inviting, where people feel accepted and can connect with others.

With an average Sunday attendance of 1,000, First Baptist Canton also offers individual Sunday School and Bible Study classes (for all ages) to help people connect more personally and grow spiritually. It can be hard for people to feel connected in a large church, Anderson says. Sunday School is the backbone of our ministry. Those small groups bring people together and help them build meaningful relationships that last.

Adult classes include singles, young adults, seniors, and other groups for different life stages. Our classes and different groups take an active role in ministering to the needs within the church, Anderson says. They recognize where there are needs in the church as well as in the community   and come together without any prompting from church leadership to schedule hospital visitations and collect money, food, clothes or whatever the need is. The deacons also minister to widows with special programs and events throughout the year. In addition, BLADE mens ministry meets once a month at 5:30 p.m. in the church fellowship hall, and weekly in individual small groups, for a time of Bible Study and encouragement.

First Baptist Canton offers a variety of age-related activities and programs for children, from preschoolers to youth. Jump Street on Sunday mornings is a special childrens worship for grades K-5, featuring praise songs, skits, videos, games, and interactive Bible lessons. On Wednesday nights, childrens AWANA Clubs use Bible stories, games, and fun activities to emphasize missions and scripture memory. Children can earn AWANA bucks based on scripture memory, attendance and invited friends that can be used to purchase toys, games and candy in the AWANA store. And, the childrens choir puts on special childrens musicals twice a year. For young people in middle and high school, the student ministry offers Sunday morning SURGE activities and worship, including a youth band, as well as Wednesday night SURGE, Disciple Now weekend camps, summer camps and missions. For many families, the childrens programs are the key factors in choosing a church, Anderson says. They want their children to have the opportunity to learn about God through fun activities in a safe environment. Many parents have told us that they knew First Baptist Canton was the church for their family because their kids couldnt stop talking about it and couldnt wait to go again the next Sunday morning!

Local and international missions are a big emphasis of First Baptist Cantons community outreach. The church hosts a number of different programs throughout the year to minister to local families in need, including the annual Family Fun Day at Heritage Park; Give a Kid a Chance-Cherokee each July; Feed My Sheep monthly food assistance; teen-led service projects; and missions teams to countries in Africa, Europe, Latin America and South America. In addition, First Baptist Canton has supported an orphanage in Peru for 10 years sending a full-time missionary to serve there year-round, along with college interns and missions teams in the summer. We felt it was important to not just go there for a period and leave, but to build a relationship with the people, Anderson says. We wanted to help raise the orphan children of Peru in a Christian environment. We wanted to help change the Peruvian community, and Christian values are the only way to change a community for good.

Whether across the world or here in the Canton community, Pastor George Anderson wants First Baptist Canton to be known not just for teaching the Bible but for showing the love of Christ. We want people to know, see and experience firsthand that First Baptist Canton is a church that cares about all people and wants to help them build relationships in their families, in the community and, most important, with Christ.

Sunday Worship
8:15, 9:30 & 11:00 a.m.

Sunday School
9:30 & 11:00 a.m.

Childrens Awana
Beginning August 28, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Mission Point Christian Academy Preschool & Mothers Day Out
Beginning August 18
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

First Baptist Canton
1 Mission Point, Canton
770-479-5538
FBCCanton.org