Our History:
In the spring of 1952, First Baptist Church of Fairbanks had a vision of starting a Baptist Church in Delta Junction. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hilty drove up the Alcan from Shawnee, OK to become the first Missions Pastor for Delta. the first service were held in a tent until the building was completed on land donated by Ben Glove, in October 1952.
The Big Delta Mission officially became a self-supporting church on September 1, 1954. Fifteen people came forward to become first member of the new First Baptist Church of Big Delta. During the following years the church continued to reach out to the communities of Delta Junction and Fort Greely military base.
In the summer of 1964, the Big Delta Church purchased our present site on the Richardson Highway in Delta Junction and changed their name to First Baptist Church Delta Junction.
The Church continued to grow as a building and as a congregation. A new sanctuary was added in the summer of 1972. In 1980 there was a new Sunday school wing, new kitchen and fellowship hall. More changes were made as the need for more from was evident. Soon a bigger sanctuary which is still used today, was started. On Thanksgiving Day, 1987, we had our first service in the new sanctuary. As our church family grew we realized the need for preschool rooms, so once again we added onto the church building. Finally in 2011 we raised the roof….really! We put on the new roof and raised the ceiling in the sanctuary at the same time.
All this time our church family was growing We went from the original 15 people to over 100 attendees each Sunday. We have children’s program that are known throughout the community. Many families have started coming to First Baptist because of the children’s ministries. Since we are located at the crossroads of two major highways in Alaska, we have many visitors in the summer. We enjoy meeting new people and fellowshipping with visitors and families for abroad.
Our Vision:
In the late 90’s we met as a Church and with the help of the Holy Spirit we developed goals for our future. The number one goal was to increase and emphasize prayer. We continue to work in this area, and we are known in our community as a pray Church. We regularly have non-church people call us to request prayers. Another goal was to focus on our youth programs. In 2002, with the help of work crews from North Carolina, we started our new youth building, it was finished in 2004. We were blessed with two large donation from local businesses and congregational matching funds so we were able to complete this project without going into dept.
The Mission:
In the early 1980’s the Church branched out and started a new missions in the out lying area of Clearwater. In 2003 this Missions became the Clearwater Baptist Church, with Glen Cotton as their Pastor. The property was donated to them from us, so they too could start debt free. They continue to reach their community for Jesus to this day.
We also have a mission in the village of Tok (pronounced Toke) named Northern Lights Missions. We help support the mission with prayers, volunteers, and funds. They are reaching out to the Alaskan natives and the surrounding villages that do not have churches. The current missionaries, Jeff and Shell Sulfridge, hail from Tennessee and are excited about reaching the lost in their area. Great things are happening in Tok, and we are bless to be a part of it.
Today:
Our current pastor, Dave Becker, was called here in 2001. We continue to move forward to meet the needs of the church and our community. We offer many ministries to the community to meet the diverse spiritual needs: We have an Awana program for the children in the community, and regularly have 50-70 children attend. We also have Sunday school for all ages. Our summer programs include Vacation Bible School which ministers to all the children in our community, and we help support Camp Baldwin whish is for all children grades 1-12 in the interior. Throughout the year we will offer different programs such as a children’s choir, women’s Bible study, women’s retreats, mens miniseries, missions opportunities, family fellowship nights, and youth events. God has truly blessed us with people who are willing to step forward and volunteer for service.
Prayer:
Please remember us in your prayers, to reach our community for Jesus. There are many here in Delta Junction wo are unsaved or don’t have a church home. Pray that new people in the area will feel welcome and become part of our family. Our youth and our missions are always in need of prayer; pray that they will be effective for the Kingdom of Christ
Our church continues to look to the Leadership of Jesus Christ; unit His return, we want to busy doing His will in our community.