Gardiner First Baptist Church

About Us

Gardiner First Baptist Church is a local church in Gardiner, ME. Expect music styles such as traditional hymns, contemporary, and passionate reverent. You might also find programs like community service, children's ministry, adult education, faith and work, and disability. by FaithStreet

Vibe: Casual, Down to Earth, Downtown, Friendly, Multigenerational, Neighborhood-focused

Programs: Community Service, Faith and Work, Adult Education, Disability, Children's Ministry

Music: Passionate Reverent, Traditional Hymns, Contemporary, Praise and Worship

Denomination: American Baptist Churches USA

Contact Information

Phone

207-582-4747

Website

http://www.fbcgardiner.org

Our Services

Service Times

Sunday

11:00am: Casual Dress, Blended Worship

What to Expect

What are services like?
First Baptist Church of Gardiner is a friendly and caring congregation. Our worship team strives to lead the congregation in whole-hearted Spirit-led praise music featuring guitars and song leaders. Our worship music blends contemporary music and traditional hymns played on a pipe organ. Sermons are biblically based and seek to inspire people to know and love God through Christ, understand and apply the Scriptures in order to live out our faith in our daily lives. Most of our members dress casually.

What is the community like?
Our congregation is multi-generational and active in the community. We worked with other congregations in Gardiner to start a program called Food for Thought which provides food for school children to take home for the weekend. We also take turns with other congregations preparing and serving food on Sunday evenings in front of Christ Church across from the Gardiner Commons.

What if I'm not a Christian?
We welcome you to join us and would invite you to explore whether or not you would like to become a follower of Christ without being pressured. We would welcome learning about you and would encourage you to raise your questions and doubts whether in a Bible study or one-to-one with our pastor or congregational leaders. While we believe strongly in Christ and seek to grow in our knowledge and love of Him, we appreciate dialogue with people who are curious about our faith.

Leadership

Ken Smith

Pastor Ken Smith (Kenneth W. Smith) is passionate about helping people to know God's great grace and love through knowing and following Jesus. Ken relates comfortably with people, and has a down-to-earth, humorous, and conversational style of biblical teaching and preaching that engages and inspires. He believes God offers hope, forgiveness, and new life to anyone who responds to Jesus Christ in faith through the Holy Spirit’s guidance and power. Ken has served as a pastor for over 30 years and as pastor of First Baptist Church of Gardiner since 2021. He has a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Gordon College (with minors in English, History, and Philosophy), and Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. In 2003, the Evangelical Homiletics Society (EHS) recognized Ken for his paper "Preaching the Psalms," which showed how pastors can use the inspired design of the Psalms in their sermons to help people draw closer to God. In addition to serving as a pastor for over 30 years, Ken has worked as a laborer and in elder services case management. He served as a board president of a large soup kitchen and food pantry in the greater Boston area, and in volunteer leadership positions for the American Baptist Churches. Ken worked as a part time hospital chaplain from 2015 to 2021 after completing a chaplain residency at Bridgeport Hospital in May, 2014. Ken enjoys good conversation over coffee, disaster relief construction, football, bicycling, archery, reading, writing, and being with family. His family roots are on the mid-coast of Maine. He and his wife Elisabeth live in Gardiner and have been married for 30 years. Together they have six nieces and nephews.