Our Mission
First Baptist Church is devoted to proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world while discipling believers toward spiritual maturity and Christlikeness.
We are a gospel-centered, Bible-believing church anchored in the unchanging truth of God’s Word.
Located in the historic waterfront community of Keyport, New Jersey, First Baptist Church is a multigenerational church nurturing the spiritual growth of individuals and families in every season of life. Through the bold, faithful preaching of God’s Word, we desire to see lives transformed, believers strengthened, and Christ glorified in all that we do.
As a church, we gather each Sunday for our morning worship service at 10:00 AM. Throughout the week, we offer a year-round Adult Bible Study, Weekday Prayer in the sanctuary, men’s and women’s fellowship groups, and children’s activities such as Truth Trackers. These gatherings provide opportunities for all ages to fellowship with one another and grow in their walk with Christ.
We invite you to join us and experience the sincere care of a church committed to walking alongside you and your family.
Our Heritage
From generation to generation, the gospel is still good news.
We rejoice in a heritage made possible by the twenty-six Christians who, in 1840, were willing to undertake the responsibilities and labors of founding First Baptist Church. Through God’s faithfulness, we have opened our doors nearly every Sunday since, gathering around the same unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ for more than 186 years. The milestones below tell part of that story.
Before 1840
There were just a few Baptist families among the early settlers of what would later be known as Keyport. Before establishing a church, prayer meetings were conducted in homes, and these were known as Baptist Prayer Meetings. Often, they were conducted by Samuel Sproul, who was later licensed to preach by the church at Middletown. Services were also conducted on pleasant Sunday afternoons in a grove, and on alternate Sunday evenings in the schoolhouse on Church Street. As a result of these meetings there were a number of converts.
What We Believe
We believe the Word of God is our sure foundation, revealing the glory of God, the work of Christ, and the hope of salvation.
01
Authority of Scripture
We believe that all words of the original Old and New Testament Scriptures were inspired by God and thus inerrant (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Matt. 5:17-18). We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the complete word of God and the final authority of our faith and life (John 14:26; 16:13; Prov. 30:5-6).
02
Interpretation of Scripture
We believe that the method of interpretation to be used to understand the Scriptures is the consistent use of the literal, historical, and grammatical method, which results in a dispensational view of Scripture (John 1:17; Eph. 3:2-10; Col 1:24-25).
03
Doctrine of God
We believe that there is one and only one true, living, and personal God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10-11). He is totally in control of the universe, which He created and maintains (Heb. 11:3; Col:1:15-17; Eph 1:11). He is perfect in all His attributes (Matt. 5:48). We also believe in the Trinity, i.e. that God exists in three co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Isa. 48:16-17; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1,14; Acts 5:3-4).
04
Doctrine of Christ
We believe that through the miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary (Matt. 1:18). We believe that Christ is true God (John 1:1,14; Phil. 2:6-11; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20) and true man (John 1:1,14; Matt. 1:18-25); and is the only and sufficient mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:14-17). We believe in the vicarious and substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins (Rom. 3:25; 5:8-9; 1 Pet. 2:24), His bodily resurrection from the grave (1 Cor. 15:3-5; Matt. 28:1-10; Acts 13:30-31), His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), and His present intercession for the saints (Heb. 7:25-8:1). We believe in Christ's personal, visible and premillennial return to earth with His saints to establish His universal reign of righteousness (Acts 1:6-11; Matt. 24:26-27; Zech. 14:3-5; Rev. 19:11-20:6).
05
Doctrine of Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity (Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:6,11; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:26). We believe that the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 12:13), and at that moment gives each believer a spiritual gift as He wills (1 Cor. 12:7-20) for the edification of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:7), and at that moment He seals and permanently indwells all believers (Eph. 2:13-14; Rom. 8:9). We believe that sign gifts of the Spirit do not exist today. These include the gifts of apostle, prophet, healing, tongues (Eph. 2:20; Rev. 21:14; 1 Cor. 15:7-8; Mark 16:17-20; Heb. 2:3-4). We believe God does heal today, but that no member of the Church today has been given that gift. We believe that the gift of tongues in the Scriptures was always human languages, and never a private prayer language (Acts 2:4-11; 1 Cor. 12:7; 14:13-19,22).
06
Doctrine of Sin
We believe sin to be anything contrary to the character of God (Rom. 3:23). Some sins specifically condemned by Scripture and injurious to the body of Christ include homosexuality, fornication, adultery, idolatry, witchcraft, strife, drunkenness, gossiping, and lying (Gal. 5:19-21; Rom. 1:27-32). We believe that the first man, Adam, was directly created by God in His image and likeness and as such was created sinless (Gen. 1:26-27,31). We further believe that through a voluntary act of disobedience against God, man fell from that original state, forfeiting his fellowship with God and incurring the penalty of physical and spiritual death (Gen. 3:6-7; Rom. 5:12; 1 Tim. 2:14). The consequence is that all mankind (except Christ) are born sinners (Rom. 5:12). Each person is unable apart from God's grace to please God (Rom. 3:10-11; 8:8; John 6:44). Each is responsible to respond to God's invitation to salvation (Acts 17:30; Rev. 22:17).
07
Doctrine of Salvation
We believe Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's salvation, and that on the cross Christ took on Himself the sins of all mankind and died in our place (Acts 4:12; 1 John 2:2; 1 Pet. 2:24; John 3:16-18). We also believe eternal salvation is the free gift of God, apart from works (Eph. 2:8-9), and is possessed by all who, by God's grace through faith, received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior (John 1:12). We believe that salvation once possessed can never be lost or forfeited (1 Pet. 1:3-5; Eph. 1:13-14). Scripture describes man's salvation as being past, present, and future. It is past in one's moment of salvation (Eph 1:13; Heb. 10:10), present in the sanctification process (Heb. 10:14; 1 John 3:3), and yet future in that the believer will be glorified (Rom. 8:30; 1 John 3:2). We believe that Christ calls us to a life of loving service in thought, word and deed toward all humanity to the glory of God.
08
Doctrine of The Church
We believe that the universal Church, which is the body of Christ by the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit, began at Pentecost and is comprised of all persons who have put their saving faith in Christ. (1 Cor. 12:13; Matt. 16:18; John 14:16-17; Acts 2:4,38; 11:15). We further believe that Israel and the Church are distinct, and that God has a plan for each (Rev. 21:12-14; Rom. 11:11-12,15, 25-32). We believe a local church is a body of believers associated for worship, fellowship and instruction for action (ministry including evangelism) within the Church and out in the world (Eph. 4:11-16; 2 Cor. 5:20). We believe baptism and the Lord's supper are Christ's only ordinances to the church and that believers are to be obedient in regard to both (Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). We believe baptism is a step of obedience whereby the believer is immersed in water to identify himself with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and his desire to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-5). We believe the Lord's Supper is a provision of bread and cup, used to represent the body and blood of Christ, and that it is a commemoration of the Lord's death until He comes, and should always be preceded by the believer's solemn self-examination (1 Cor. 11:28-31).
09
Doctrine of Future Things
We believe that Christ will return, for His Church, before the Tribulation and with it afterward, to establish an earthly thousand-year reign (1 Thes. 4:13-5:11; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-20:6; John 14:2-3), thus fulfilling promises God made to the nation Israel (Rom. 11:25-29; Jer. 23:5,8; 31:31-37; 33:15-16; Isa. 11:3-9). After this, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, and then the unsaved will be resurrected and judged at the Great White Throne of God, and afterwards cast into the Lake of Fire prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41), and is also the eternal dwelling for all who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Dan. 12:2; Rev. 20:11-15; 22:15; Luke 16:22-23). The saved will spend eternity in their resurrected bodies in the new heaven and new earth in the presence of Christ in His Kingdom of righteousness (Rev. 20:6; 21:1-22:5).
Church Leadership
Senior Pastor
Steve Schroeder
Pastor Steve and his wife Bobbi spent the last seven years in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he pastored the Jakarta International Baptist Church. For the twenty years before that, Pastor Steve and Bobbi worked with Pastor Bill and Kit Schroeder, planting New Life Baptist Church in Naperville, IL. His education includes a BA in Bible, a Master’s in Pastoral Studies, and a doctorate in Applied Theology. Pastor Steve and Bobbi have six children and almost twenty grandchildren. Pastor Steve loves to be outdoors riding his bike and doing outdoor activities or projects as well as being indoors preparing for Sundays. He also serves teaching pastors in Indonesia with World Hope Ministried International. As a team, Pastor Steve and Bobbi have committed their lives to Christ to serve Him, shepherding His people and discipling believers in their faith.
Deacon
Dr. Thomas E. Kalb
Tom Kalb has faithfully served our congregation since 2005, serving as senior pastor through 2021, and today as a deacon. Prior to assuming the pastorate, he served for 13 years as the Teaching Leader for the Men's Bible Study Fellowship class in Middletown, NJ. Tom graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Certificate in Graduate Studies. Before seminary training, he earned his doctorate in Chiropractic from New York Chiropractic College. His M.S. Degree in Computer Science is from Stevens Institute of Technology, while his B.S. in Mathematics was conferred by NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He is married to Nancy, and they have been blessed with 3 daughters, who are now all married, and 9 grandchildren.
Deacon
Nick Pesce
Nick Pesce is the owner of NP Construction Inc. in Hazlet, NJ. He has been a contractor for over 35 years and works primarily with plumbing and mechanical construction. Nick is married to his wife Carol and has been faithful in his Christian life. Nick has been a faithful member of First Baptist Church for 30 years, where he is a vital part of the maintenance of our church building and in the functions of the church’s ministry.