Welcome to First Church

First Free Will Baptist Church was established in 1951 by a small group of Godly men who had a burning desire to start a church in Florence, SC. For over 70 years, First Church has continued to have that desire to reach out to the Florence community and the world.  Join us today as we worship among a family of believers growing in faith and truth to impact the world for the cause of Christ. 

What We Believe
We believe in three Gospel ordinances:

   - Baptism
   - The Lord's Supper
   - Washing of the Saints' feet

We believe the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant Word of God.

We believe that men are saved, live, and are kept by faith.

We believe in tithes and offerings as a means of supporting the church.

We believe in the pre-millenial return of Christ on earth.

The Bible

We use the King James Version Bible. We believe that the Old and New Testament is supernaturally inspired, so that it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and preserved by God in its verbal and plenary inspiration, so that it is a divinely authoritative standard for every age and every life. (Matthew 5:18; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21)

Salvation

We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ’s death fully accomplished justification through faith and redemption from sin. Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8-9) and bore our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). On the third day after His death, Jesus physically rose again, demonstrating His victory over sin and death (Romans 14:9; 1 Corinthians 15).We believe salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

 

The Church

We believe that the true Church is composed of all persons who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit through saving faith in Jesus Christ; that they are united together in the body of Christ of which He is Lord and Head; and are commissioned for the God-given tasks of worshiping, fellowshipping, teaching, evangelizing and exercising the spiritual gifts. (Acts 2:42,47; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23-24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2)

We believe that the establishment and continuance of the local church is clearly taught in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

We believe that the local church is autonomous and free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)