We affirm The Baptist Faith and Message, including the following key beliefs:

• The Bible — The Holy Bible was divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to human beings. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.
• God — There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
• Salvation — Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who repent and believe. There is no salvation apart from repentance of sin and personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
• Baptism — Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior.
• The Church — A New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.  

To read The Baptist Faith and Message in its entirety, click here.

We cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Missouri Baptist Convention, and the Black River Baptist Association. 

Beginning in 1883, Reverend M.V. Baird began to preach in Kennett once a month. For four years, he preached in a two-story house south of the downtown square. After much prayer, seven Baptists from the area organized the First Baptist Church in Kennett on October 2, 1887. Reverend Baird served as the first pastor.

Construction on the current sanctuary was completed in 1920. Educational buildings were added in 1953, 1960, and 1973. In 2001, the church purchased 28 acres on the corner of the South By-Pass and Southwest Drive and constructed a Family Life Center there in 2009.

In the 1940’s, First Baptist Church started multiple mission churches in Kennett, three of which continue to exist today—Southside Baptist, Ely Baptist, and Third Street Baptist.  

Twenty-five men have pastored First Baptist Church since 1887, including Don McGuire (1979-1994), Ed Jansson (1995-2017), and Steven Scherer (2019-present). Bill Hook has served as our worship leader since 1980.

While God’s hand has been upon our church since its inception, we are excited about where He is taking us in the present. Building upon the rich legacy of those who have gone before us, our aim is to maintain a faithful, gospel presence in Kennett, pointing those in our community to Jesus.

Our mission is the Great Commission. Jesus gives His missional mandate to His followers before He ascends to heaven: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). We want to help those who are far from God experience the life-changing grace Jesus offers to all who follow Him.

To help us carry out our purpose, we aim to keep grace, community, and mission central in all we do.

• Grace — none of us are deserving of what God has done for us in Jesus.
• Community — we need others and others need us as we follow Jesus together.
• Mission — we want to spread the love we have received by sharing, serving, and living with gospel intentionality.

The Bible describes the local church as a family. If you would like to formally commit to membership at our church and become part of our family, contact Pastor Steven and he’ll help walk you through the process.