Communication: A Gift from God

It may have been where or what or who it was about. The announcements and news in the First Baptist Church ‘Builder,’ over the years, have reflected the life and times of the church, community, the nation and the world. It has been ‘the tie that binds!’ “

The above quote is from a very well-done history project, published in 1995, by the Youth of FBC. They were unaware that, prior to the “Builder,” several other publications had kept the congregation informed, challenged and encouraged.

Originally the Sunday Bulletin was used for this purpose. However, it eventually became obvious that the church members wanted more information than the Bulletin could accommodate. In 1922, the church began publishing the Bereograph to help keep the people more informed. But in the early 1940s as we entered WWII, the war began creating a need for even more news. In 1941, the Party Line became the church’s new source of information; later the publication was renamed as the Equipper, the forerunner to the The Baptist Builder.

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In 1950, The Baptist Builder got its name due to the excitement and enormous interest and talk of a new building. However, this talk was distracting from more spiritual matters and the “Builder” was used to turn back the church’s focus.

The plan worked well and obviously, keeping the people informed in writing had been a good idea. The beautiful sanctuary was built, and the publication served as a unifying element for sixty-six years. Information makes partners.

For posterity and your enjoyment, your History and Archive Ministry Team has begun posting, on this website, a majority of the thirty-four hundred “Builders,” representing more than thirty-four hundred work hours. However you will occasionally find some missing. This is because we do not have them in our archives, if you find a “Builder” we have not published please share it with us. They are fun to read and you will learn a lot of interesting facts along the way. Enjoy!