Pastor: Dr. John W. “Chip” Sloan, Jr.
Minister of Sr. Adults: Rev. Morris Jordan
Minister of Education & Recreation: Rev. Shane Doty
Minister to Students: Rev. Jeff Johnson
Minister of Worship: Rev. Jonathan Bundon
Director of Pre-School Ministry: Mrs. Jackie Fisher

First Baptist Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention (national), the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and the Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association.  None of these organizations exercises authority over the local congregation of First Baptist Church.  The conventions, national and state, and the association are alliances of churches working in friendly cooperation under the heading “Southern Baptist.” A Southern Baptist Church is as independent as you can get and still be counted part of a denomination. 

The Southern Baptist Convention has over 16 million members who worship in more than 42,000 churches in the United States.  It exists to do missions.  Cooperatively, these churches can do more together than they could ever do independently.  Together Southern Baptists support about 5,000 North American missionaries serving the United States, Canada, Guam, and the Caribbean.  Together, Southern Baptists support over 5,000 international missionaries in 153 nations of the world.  Being a Southern Baptist fits the mission of the First Baptist Church of Kings Mountain, which is “to do the King’s business in Kings Mountain and beyond.”

In the 1870s, two families moved to Kings Mountain – Mr. and Mrs. George W. Cornwell and Mr. and Mrs. John Thomas Kendrick.  The husbands were Presbyterians and the wives were staunch, dyed-in-the-wool Baptists.  These two ladies, Mrs. Frances Cornwell and Mrs. Margaret Kendrick, were determined to organize a Baptist church in town.  Mrs. Kendrick said that she laid awake at nights crying and praying for God to establish a Baptist church in Kings Mountain.
The tears were seen by our Lord and the prayers were answered.  In February of 1890, First Baptist Church was organized with thirty six charter members.

The first Church building was begun in 1891 and completed in 1892.  Since then, the history of the Church has been marked by construction.  Having outgrown the downtown site, the Church relocated to its present site at 605 W. King Street.  Numerical growth regularly demanded new construction.  Today, the expansion continues with the construction of a new student center, educational space for three hundred, the renovation of existing space, specialized renovation of Pre-school classrooms, and the creation of a new office wing. 

The first organization of the Church was Sunday School, begun in 1890.  It has been the key to the continued and steady growth of the Church.  It is often said that “Sunday School is the foundational strategy of First Baptist Church for leading people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for building Great Commission Christians through Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship.”

The history of First Baptist Church is His-story. “For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!  Amen.”