BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FIRST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH OF BUCKEYE, ARIZONA

            What would become the First Southern Baptist Church of Buckeye, Arizona, was begun in 1925 by three women and their young daughters meeting in a town hall, complete with jailhouse in the rear, to pray, sing and study the Bible. Five years later, numbering about thirty people, the group built the church’s first meeting place out of river rock hauled from a nearby dry riverbed during the day, mostly by the church’s women. The “Rock Church” served the group until 1959, at which time it was razed to make way for a much larger church building on the same site. An educational building and fellowship hall were constructed in 1953. Both buildings have been renovated over the years to meet existing needs and to increase the comfort and convenience. In 2005, the sanctuary was expanded to accommodate 500. The church property also includes a tree-shaded park and ample parking space.

            The church has had twenty-one full-time senior pastors in its 85-year history who have led the congregation through depression, wars, financial challenges, and the many other challenges of an ever-changing society. Pastoral tenures have ranged from a single year (in the early years) to 16 years.

            As the small town of Buckeye began undergoing major growth in 2002, increasing from 5,000 to its current 50,000 (2010), the congregation made the decision to remain at its current, quiet residential site and to begin major outreach efforts to take the Gospel message into the new neighborhoods.

            The church now has a membership of approximately 800 and is a “full service” church with graded Sunday morning Bible studies, a vibrant youth group, Wednesday night children’s programs, as well as women's and senior adult ministries and  prayer groups which meet at various times during the week. The church also sponsors a fully-staffed week-day preschool.

            FSBCB currently has a full-time pastoral staff of three- the senior pastor, an associate pastor, and a pastor to students. Other staff members a worship leader, a minister to children, a maintenance manager, two secretaries, and a custodian.

            The church cooperates with the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, Estrella Baptist Association and Truckstop Ministries International. It sponsors partly or wholly various new works in the many recently-constructed and far-flung housing developments in the rapidly-growing Buckeye area.

            The membership, once composed predominately of farmers and people in farm-related occupations, now includes people of all walks of life including nuclear plant engineers, teachers and school-related workers, local business people and retirees. There is no dominant age group in the church and the membership ranges from people who have been members for over 50 years to many who have recently joined.

            Our current pastor, Artie Woodcox, came in 2003 as the church’s 21^st pastor.

            The church has a hard-bound published history, Light in the Desert, written in 2005 by a long-time member and publishes a monthly e-mail newsletter, Crossties.