LOS BANOS, CA — First Baptist Church of Los Banos invites the community to join the pastor, his family and members for its 77th anniversary on Sunday, September 15, 2024.
“We’re celebrating 77 years of ministry to the city of Los Banos,” said Senior Pastor, Dr. Michael Neverson. “The theme is ‘It’s Our Season to Grow’, from Galatians chapter 6 verse 9.”
That verse reads, “Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.”
“We’re excited we’ve been in the community for 77 years,” the pastor continued. “God is making some changes within our congregation, to be used to reach out to a community that has been allowed to become biblically illiterate. We are trying to reach out and share the gospel as the Apostle Paul did on his journeys.”
Neverson is a bi-vocational pastor as he also works for a semi-conductor firm working with engineers to get new products introduced and into manufacturing.
Betty Muldrew, a devoted and committed member of the church, said, “We are a Bible-based church. We are proud to still be standing; worshiping and praising God in Spirit and in Truth this long and look forward to 77+ more years.”
“At the current time, our members are few,” Muldrew added.
First Lady Mishelle Neverson said she and the pastor “have been here eight years. We came from Virginia by way of Atlanta.”
Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., the church has been at the same location at 809 D Street for its entire lifetime.
“We have photos of people putting their names on the bricks used to build the church,” Mishelle shared.
The church’s general theme and mission is to “Love and Save Souls.”
“We feed the homeless, the needy and less fortunate,” the first lady said. “We had a youth group, best in town. We pray to have it again. We offer prayer time through Zoom from 11AM – Noon Monday through Friday, Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. and church service at 11:00 a.m. and we have Bible Study on Wednesday nights from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.”
Mishelle said the church is holding a donation contest among members for the anniversary celebration.
“Everyone in our church is raising funds from the state they’re from as a competition for the building fund and on the anniversary the winner who has raised the most funds from their home state will be announced,” she stated.
About his time as senior pastor of the long-time church, Dr. Neverson said, “I’ve been teaching folks how God intended for us to come together. Now it’s easier to go out and share with others.”
He uses the Kings James and New American Standard Bible versions to teach the congregation out of, “that God expects us to understand His Word to know why we’re here. We’re just ambassadors.”
Asked about his vision for the church and the Los Banos community, Dr. Neverson said, “As our relationship with Christ grows and we develop a better understanding of His Word then we share it with others while growing with the strength of God.”
“I liken it to Joseph,” he continued. “Wherever he went, in whatever circumstance, everyone knew he was touched by God. If our relationship is strong, then we’ll be able to touch the community in ways we can’t even imagine.”
The anniversary celebration is open to the community to attend and begins at 3:00 p.m. at 809 D Street in Los Banos.
“77 is a special number – 7 decades of completion and 7 years of completion of service for the community of Los Banos,” Pastor Neverson added.
To learn more about First Baptist Church visit www.facebook.com/Jesussavingsouls209 or call (209) 826-3780.
