FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF ALHAMBRA DISCOVER THE JOY 101 S. Atlantic Boulevard

24 Pages·2014·8.48 MB·English

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF ALHAMBRA
DISCOVER THE JOY

101 S. Atlantic Boulevard
Alhambra, CA 91801
[phone]
Table of Contents

Church Vision and Mission 1

Our Past

Our History 2-3

Senior Pastors 4

Our Present

Information on Members and Attendees 5-7

Finances 8

Governance 9

Current Staff 10

Programs, Ministries & Events 11-20

Our Future

Our Top Strengths 21

Our Future Challenges 21

The Pastor We Seek 22
VISION STATEMENT

SHARING the Good News of Jesus Christ

SHAPING a loving and caring body of Christ’s followers

SHOWING the diversity of our community

MISSION STATEMENT

Going into our community and reaching people for Jesus, teaching them
to be fully committed disciples of Christ through:

Authentic Worship focused on believers connecting with God as we corporately
worship Him.

Effective Bible Teaching centered in Christ’s commands and the whole
Word of God.

Spirit Controlled Witnessing sharing our faith in the power of the Holy
Spirit, leaving the results to God.

Experiencing Community establishing a small group ministry that
teaches the members of the group to share and care for one another.

A World View of Missions beginning in our own multi-cultural
community as well as mission trips and financial support to
missions around the world.
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OUR HISTORY

The church had its humble beginnings on October 16, 1887 when a group of Baptists
met at Stimson's Hall, located at the northwest corner of First and Main Streets. It was re-
solved to start a church with the name of First Baptist Church of Alhambra; where first year
meetings were held at various locations such as the First Baptist Church of Pasadena.
Initially in 1889 the church shared its first pastor, Rev. T. L. Crandall, with a Baptist
Church in South Pasadena. That year the church purchased a lot for $600 at 100 North First
Street and constructed its sanctuary for $2100 in 1889. Alhambra's population was less than a
thousand people when incorporated in 1903 and developing the necessary economies of scale
to support growth posed challenges for the new church. The First Baptist Church then merged
with Immanuel Baptist Church, located at 20 South Atlantic Boulevard in 1916. Its new name
was Alhambra Baptist Church.

Alhambra was to experience its first major growth period during the 1920's as its popu-
lation grew to 29,000. The city more than doubled its size from an initial 1,545 acres in 1903,
to over 3766 acres. The Alhambra Baptist Church shared in this dramatic growth and expanded
to a new sanctuary at its current location at 101 S. Atlantic Blvd. The new building was dedicat-
ed in 1925 and contained a sanctuary with balcony, classrooms, and offices. The structure still
stands today and houses the church's multipurpose facility known as the Family Life Center.
As Americans returned from the global odyssey of World War II and started families,
religious faith assumed a new significance for many and church membership rolls nationwide
expanded. During this period Sunday morning worship attendance at Alhambra Baptist would
grow to 800. In 1953 the decision was made to return to the former name of First Baptist
Church of Alhambra (FBCA), spiriting new building campaigns. A new building with classrooms
and a Fellowship Hall was dedicated in 1951. The church's current sanctuary, with the tall
landmark steeple, was constructed in the late 1950's and dedicated on October 9, 1960. And
with more recent refurbishing, the sanctuary now seats 750 including the balcony.
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In October, 2012 the First Baptist Church of Alhambra celebrated its One Hundred Twenty-
Fifth Anniversary. During the celebration Pastor Hamby expressed his confidence that the
church would hold as true to the Word of God for the source of our core values for the next
125 years, as it has in the past. The church now numbers more than 450 active members and
draws over 400 worshipers for its Sunday morning services. Services are translated into
Spanish and Mandarin along with being televised to the adjacent senior care center at
Atherton Baptist Homes.
“Our church reflects the population of our city now. There is great diversity in its
many languages and countries represented,” says Dr. Doris Graves, a physician and 40 year
plus member of the church. Recently First Baptist hung flags in the sanctuary foyer
representing all the different national heritages of its congregation. In all, thirty-eight
different national flags are currently displayed.
Dr. Leland A. Hamby has been the Senior Pastor for the past 13 years and leads a
ministerial staff of six pastors. The church also has a day care center which provides full and
part-time programs during the week. The church is affiliated with Transformation Ministries,
which is an association that unites 173 churches through Christian doctrine and missionary
activities in the western continental United States and Hawaii.
For the majority of years that the United States has existed, First Baptist Church of
Alhambra has been a significant institution in this city. As the Church has expanded over the
last 126 plus years, it reminds us that its history parallels the growth of the city and our
nation. And today, as many Christians would note, our Church is actually celebrating an
anniversary of over two thousand years.

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SENIOR PASTORS

Rev. JOHN HERITAGE 1888
Rev. T.L. CRANDALL 1889-1891
Rev. URIAH GREGORY, D.D. 1892-1893
Rev. S.K. DEXTER 1893-1896
Rev. M.R. WOLF 1897-1899
Rev. THOMAS N. LORD 1899-1906
Rev. F.W. BENJAMIN 1907-1908
Rev. DURHAM 1908-1909
Rev. BRITTON ROSS 1909-1910
Rev. J.F. MOODY 1911-1912
Rev. H.O. MEYER 1913-1914
Rev. JOHN H. CLIFFORD 1914-1916
Rev. CHARLES G. MOSHER 1916-1919
Rev. CARLTON L. KIRK 1919-1928
Rev. WALTER I. FOWLE, D.D. 1929-1931
Rev. HORACE W. COLE, D.D. 1932-1942
Rev. LESLIE EADS, D.D. 1943-1950
Rev. WILLIAM PRIGGER, JR., D.D. 1951-1956
Rev. HAROLD W. SWEEZEY, D.D. 1957-1969
Rev. EARL L. RILEY, Th.D. 1970-1978
Rev. ARLYN THIELENHAUS, Ph.D. 1979-1980
Rev. EMMETT PARKS, D.D. 1982-1985
Rev. LLOYD H. NEWLIN, D.D. 1986-1990
Rev. LEE M. MCDONALD, Ph.D. 1991-1999

Rev. LELAND HAMBY, Ed.D. 2001-2014

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CURRENT DEMOGRAPHICS of MEMBERSHIP and ATTENDEES

AGE
12 Years + under 28
13-18 Years 33
19-25 Years 46
26-34 Years 73
35-44 Years 71
45-54 Years 67
55-64 Years 99
65+ Years 142

Source: FBCA Computerized Database, January 31, 2014

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Ethnicity

Asian 36%
Black 3%
European (Anglo) 21%
Hispanic 25%
Other 15%

Source: FBCA Self Identification on Church Survey, November 2013

Note: Within FBCA membership there are first generation immigrants from
more than 40 countries. Also, there are more than 20 different first language
speakers within FBCA membership.
CURRENT MEMBERS ACTIVE SINCE…

Before 1950 2
1950-1959 7
1960-1969 6
1970-1979 18
1980-1989 12
1990-1999 61
2000-2013 369
Total 475

Note: Approximately 77% have joined in the past 13 years.
Source: FBCA Computerized Database, January 31, 2014

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PAST 12 YEARS MEMBERSHIP HISTORY
Weekend Wor-
Active
ship Attend- Members Members Member Change for
Year ance Membership Baptisms Added Lost the Year

2002 302 475 11 50 32 18
2003 353 478 12 25 22 3
2004 329 476 19 45 37 12
2005 334 521 35 66 56 10
2006 347 556 31 66 30 36
2007 353 568 24 48 38 10
2008 366 566 21 37 37 0
2009 417 580 41 61 43 18
2010 444 590 39 55 45 5
2011 465 614 37 62 38 24
2012 431 639 41 59 36 23
2013 421 473 33 51 *204 153

*Note: 2013 role reveals adjustment for rollover of 192 members to inactive roll
for at least 1 year. Source: 2013 Membership Report

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FINANCES

PAST 12 YEARS GIVING HISTORY

Giving Year 2002 2003 2004

Year-To-Date $409,858.00 $458,413.00 $522,422.00

Giving Year 2005 2006 2007

Year-To-Date $581,217.00 $590,000.00 $625,000.00

Giving Year 2008 2009 2010

Year-To-Date $645,136.00 $593,485.00 $631,527.00

Giving Year 2011 2012 2013

Year-To-Date $651,358.00 $631,726.00 $631,026.00

Note: Giving Contributions provide approximately 60% of the annual expense budget; giving
units of the church membership averages $1,300 annually.
Approximately 40% of the annual expense budget is generated by rental income of our
property from: church organizations, schools-education, cell sites and neighboring businesses.
The annual budget for 2014 is approximately $1 million.

Property and Assets

First Baptist Church of Alhambra owns eight parcels of land at or adjacent to 101 S. Atlantic
Blvd., Alhambra, California. This land, with other fixed assets of buildings, equipment and
vehicles, is currently valued at approximately $14.5 million. All of these fixed assets are
owned free and clear of debt. First Baptist Church is entrusted with approximately $1.5
million in endowments which are only used for their specified and designated purposes.

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