• In early 2000, a group of individuals from Aberdeen First Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Southern Pines, Sandhills Baptist Association and the Baptist State Convention had a vision to establish a mission church which would serve Pinehurst, North Carolina and the surrounding area. They established a steering committee to explore the possibility of planting such a church.
• In 2001, several members from each of the sponsoring churches volunteered to become the first congregation of this new church and the First Baptist Church of Pinehurst was officially formed. In October of that year, David Marks became the pastor. 
• Over the following seven months, financial arrangements were made, a small plot of land was purchased and a small building was constructed. The first Sunday worship service occurred in the new facility on June 9, 2002. Sixty-nine worshippers were in attendance.
• Membership grew rapidly and in 2004 fourteen acres of land in a prime location was purchased and construction began on a multipurpose building. The building was dedicated in March 2006. It included a sanctuary, classrooms, choir room and administrative areas. Since then, a fellowship hall, large kitchen, additional classrooms and 5 acres of land have expanded our campus. By God’s faithfulness we now enjoy a 19-acre campus with 30,000 square feet of building and facilities. 
• Over the years, First Baptist Church of Pinehurst has continued to grow and each period of growth has brought improved facilities, expanded Sunday School programs, Senior, Adult, Student and Children programs, Missions, Sunday Worship, and much more.
• We can’t wait to see what God has next!

Membership

The current active church membership is 320. Attendance numbers in 2019 prior to COVID averaged 330 for Sunday worship and 213 for small group Sunday school classes. Average attendance for Wednesday night meal and prayer meeting is over 100. As COVID wanes, attendance numbers have nearly recovered and we are confident that they will be at or above 2019 numbers in the coming months of 2022.

Finances

First Baptist Church of Pinehurst is debt free. Giving has increased every year of our existence, including 2020 and 2021 during the tough COVID years. Operating expenditures for 2021 came in under budget and giving for 2022 as of April is ahead of budget. 

Except for the promise of eternal life for those who believe, we at First Baptist Church of Pinehurst are like every other church and every other person in the world--we don’t know what the future holds. What we do know is that God wants us to continue leading people to love Jesus. That knowledge drives us to constantly look toward the future and search for ways to touch the lives of more and more non-believers—here and around the world.  At the same time, we want to expand our capability to nurture and encourage every member of our congregation to become more Christlike in their life’s walk.

Our 19-acre church campus is ideally located in an area that is experiencing amazing growth. As the population grows, we expect our church membership to grow with it—perhaps at an even faster rate! That possibility has motivated our Strategic Planning Committee to engage the services of an engineering firm to study our campus and help us design a facilities expansion plan that will enable us to do what we believe God is leading us toward. The committee has given that firm some broad ideas to consider:

• Expansion of the current sanctuary to 1,000 seats
• Construct an education building that would support a larger Sunday School population and might also serve as a pre-K through elementary school.
• Construct a family life/gymnasium/youth facility.
• Recommend outdoor recreation facilities and provide diagrams of their location on the campus.

Campus facilities are not the only thing that church staff and members of the church council are contemplating.  There are a number of other ideas that we are moving towards:

1. Making a conscious effort to become a more diverse church in terms of a congregation that more closely resembles the makeup of the community.
2. Encouraging in-home/off campus small group Bible study
3. We have a large group of active senior adults and need greater focus on church sponsored activities for that important segment of our congregation
4. Expanding our already active missions program.
5. When our membership reaches somewhere between 500 to 1,000, consider a church church plant. 
6. Greater emphasis on nurturing youth and young families.
7. As covid fades and membership increases, consider increasing the church administrative staff to keep up with the workload.

1. Pinehurst is a village located in the southern part of Moore County, North Carolina.  The village was originally established in 1895 specifically as a resort community with its own electrical power and telephone service (major marvels of the time!) and an elegant inn. Today, a large portion of Pinehurst is identified as a National Historic Landmark District owing to its landscape design and the close relationship it shares with the history of golf in America.
2. Pinehurst, officially known as “The Village of Pinehurst”, has a population of approximately 18,000 people. Aberdeen, Southern Pines, and Whispering Pines are municipalities adjoining Pinehurst.  Collectively, these four communities have a total population of over 46,000 people which is almost half of the people in Moore County. Another 10-12,000 people outside of these communities live within a 20-minute drive of the church. 
3. The United States Golf Association has made Pinehurst the recurring home of both the men’s and women’s US Open championships. Numerous professional level golf courses in the area attract many golfing retirees.   
4. Five minutes away from First Baptist Church Pinehurst is a large, ever-growing regional medical complex (one hallmark of a vibrant economy).  This complex has brought into our area a host of young professionals and has prompted our excellent community college to add a full-fledged nursing program.  
5. Fort Bragg, one of America’s largest military bases, is nearby and is the source of many active duty and retired military families in our area.
6. Our central location in the state puts you just 2 hours from the ocean and 3.5 hours to the mountains.
7. In the rare event you cannot find what you need in the Pinehurst area, Raleigh, NC, capital of our state, and Fayetteville, NC are large cities located less than 90 minutes from Pinehurst. 
8. We are blessed with a mild climate, ample opportunities for personal and family recreational activity, high quality school systems, and state of the art medical facilities. You will love it here!