Serving our neighbors, community, and world with open hearts and open doors for over 150 years
We live, love and serve in the spirit of Micah 6:8 – “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

We are family.

At First Baptist Waterloo, we first and foremost, respond to the unconditional love of God. As Christ’s witnesses and workers, and with the guidance and help of God’s Holy Spirit, we extend His love and care for the individual, the church, the neighborhood and our world. We honor being a diverse congregation, reflecting our community and its variety and we commit to responding to the spiritual, physical, emotional and social needs of each person. We invite all people, regardless of race, culture, gender, or sexual orientation, to unite as full participants in this Christian fellowship.

We are a team.

We team together to serve one another, from facilitating all aspects of our worship to finding ways for spiritual care, expression and growth to making connections available for all people. We team together to make sure this church building continues to support its legacy as a house of open doors for members and visitors and groups, from fixing loose door hinges to creating soul-enhancing spaces for those who use our building to stewarding our resources wisely.

We are mission-driven.

We team together in our calling as a missional church – inside our walls, inside our neighborhood, inside our community and region, and around the world.

• Locally, we cooperate with Waterloo’s 4^th Street Churches, The Church Row Historic Neighborhood and serve as a Partner in Education with Irving Elementary School in our neighborhood. We have partnered with our brothers and sisters of the Waterloo Chin Christian Fellowship, the Burmese refugees who have resettled in Waterloo. They use our sanctuary on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. and some of our members have been working with them to learn the English language and help with other needs.
• Nationally, we are part of a greater team, the American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA), one of the most diverse Christian protestant denominations and fourth in size of about 25 Baptist groups in the United States. ABC-USA comprises 1.6 million members with 5,800 local congregations in 37 regions across the United States and Puerto Rico. To read more about our denomination’s history, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Baptist_Churches
• Regionally, we team with Mid-American Baptist Churches, in serving Iowa and Minnesota.
• Internationally, we team with American Baptist International Ministries, a society of Christians founded in 1814, which supports, sends and celebrates the work of mission.