About us
Church History
First Baptist Church of Ralls was established in 1891 in Old Emma as Emma Baptist Church. The congregation later moved to Ralls and changed its name to the First Baptist Church of Ralls in 1915. Our current house of worship was finished in 1956 and the educational wing dedicated in 1968. Throughout the years our passion has been to see people from all over the world come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Our Mission & Vision
Our mission is to know Jesus and make Jesus known. To carry out that mission, our vision is to love God and others through intentional, relational ministry. Aligned with the Texas Baptists’ GC2 Strong initiative, we are committing to live at the intersection of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission: walking with Jesus and inviting others to join us in a relationship with Him.
We believe that the two "GCs" can never be separated. If we truly love God we will want more people to know Him and worship Him. If we truly love people, we will want what is best for them: a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, who loves them deeply and offers them eternal life.
Over the next five years, we will actively invite our community to join us in pursuing Jesus. We will do this by anchoring our church in four core values:
Core Values
Deep Bible Study
2 Timothy 3:16–17; Psalm 119:97; & Ezra 7:10.
To love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we must know Him through the pages of Scripture. The better we know Jesus, the more we will be driven to make Him known.
Intentional Prayer
Colossians 4:2; Ephesians 6:18; 1 John 5:14; & John 15:5
Prayer is an expression of our dependence on and love for God. Praying for others is also an expression of love for them. Recognizing that we can do nothing apart from God’s power, we commit to praying for Jesus to be known in the Ralls community and for spiritual awakening in our nation and across the world.
Gospel-Centered Worship and Expository Preaching
2 Timothy 4:1–2; John 4:23; 1 Corinthians 2:2; Acts 20:27.
We worship by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, focusing our attention of Jesus Christ who is the perfect reflection of God the Father. In singing, preaching, and every other aspect of worship, we commit to keeping the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for us at the center of our worship because it is the heart of the Bible. We proclaim the full counsel of God, seeking to unpack the meaning of each passage and show how it points to Jesus so that we may be equipped to boldly and accurately share the message of eternal life found in Jesus Christ alone.
Life-on-Life Discipleship
Matthew 28:19–20; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:2
Because we love our neighbors, we commit to building relationships with people that God brings into our paths. By sharing our lives and inviting others into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we will multiply disciples who will also adopt the same lifestyle of inviting others into their walks with Jesus
Meet our staff
Will Perry
Lead Pastor
Toby Hamilton
Minister of Music
Anthony Castro
Minister of Youth
Gary Doolittle
Church Administrator
Suzy Byrd
Financial Secratary
What We Beleive
We affirm the Holy Bible as the inspired word of God and the basis of our beliefs. This church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of The Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000. We voluntarily band ourselves together as a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation to
lost mankind. The ordinances of the church are believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Our Affiliation
First Baptist Church of Ralls is an autonomous congregation under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and the Lubbock Area Baptist Association.
Our Church Covenant
Having been led as we believe by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God and this assembly most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, doctrines, and discipline; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, and the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our behavior; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the excessive use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage; to use our influence to combat the abuse of drugs and the spread of pornography; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.