Our People | Our History | Our Mission and Vision | Our Staff
Our People
As you can see on any Sunday morning, our congregation is a mix of all ages and many backgrounds. Many of our people have known each other for years and years. They grew up together right here in the village, and some have been members of our church their entire lives. They have a rich appreciation for our area, the River, and what it means to be a community together. Others, like our pastor and his family, moved to our area a few to several years ago and found the people of the First Baptist Church to be a warm, friendly and welcoming people. Some have chosen to live in Clayton because they found a new family when they joined our church.
To
our people, church is not something to attend, it is a family, a community
of faith. We come together because we believe God has called us here. We have
trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and received His forgiveness and new life. We
come together to worship, learn God's Word, meet each other's needs, enjoy
each other's friendship, and reach out to more people who need God's love.
We believe God has created something special here at the First Baptist Church,
and we are more than willing to share our lives with you as your share your
life with us.
Our History
The Society of the Clayton Baptist Church was organized in 1840, composed of local believers who previously had worshipped in LaFargeville. They met for several years and shared facilities with the Clayton Methodist Church until they completed the current building on the park in 1847. The church records include many wonderful details about the early days of the church, including the fact that some members came to church in the winter in horse drawn sleighs. There is record of a baptism that took place in the River through the ice on Christmas Day in 1850.
The
structure on John Street is the original building. The pews, pulpit furniture
and tin walls are also original. The church survived two fires, one (lightning)
that took the steeple, and another (baptistery heater) which took the roof.
In the 1940s the men of the church dug out the basement for a fellowship hall.
The rooms to the south side front and back (library, pastor's office) are
also additions. The Estey pipe organ was installed in 1934.
Our church has always been an American Baptist Church, tracing its historic roots through the original bodies of Baptists in America. We hold to a reasonable faith that avoids a stiff literalism that turns into legalism, or a liberalism that leaves us with no certainty to our faith. We seek to understand and apply the Scriptures as they were originally intended, believing that the God of Creation can work miraculously in human affairs.
We are a mission-minded church. Not only have we a long-standing history of supporting the mission efforts and offerings of our denomination, we personally engage in local and international missions by sending teams out for short term mission projects. We are a leader in missions support in the North Country. In recent years God has called several leaders out of our church into full time or bi-vocational ministry. Currently there are five pastors serving in the North Country who came out of the Clayton church.
We are a cooperative church. We have always believed that we are a part of the larger work God is doing, not only in our denomination, but also among all Christian denominations and churches. For this reason we continue to work cooperatively with the other Christian churches of our area to support outreach and ministry. Through the Clayton Council of Churches we support the Clayton Food Pantry and participate in joint Vacation Bible Schools, ecumenical services and programs.
Our Mission and Vision
The First Baptist Church functions according to a purpose driven church model. Based on the clear teaching of the New Testament (Acts 2:42-47) we believe that the church exists to carry out five purposes: worship, outreach, discipleship, fellowship, and ministry. These are the essentials of what it means to be a New Testament Church. We are guided by three statements: A Mission Statement, A Purpose Statement and a Vision Statement.
Our
Mission
Celebrating God's Presence through Worship
Communicating God's Word through Outreach
Incorporating God's Family through Fellowship
Educating God's People through Discipleship
Demonstrating God's Love through Ministry
Our
Purpose
To bring people to Jesus and
membership in His family,
develop them to Christ like maturity,
equip them for their ministry in the church
and life mission in the world,
in order to magnify God's name.
Our
Vision
We believe that God has called our church,
the First Baptist Church of the 1000 Islands,
to reach the Thousand Islands Region for His Kingdom.
Our Staff
Jim
Lewis
Our pastor is Dr. D. James Lewis, formerly of South Florida (where it's warm
year round). Pastor Jim grew up in a mainline Protestant church where he learned
about the Christian faith, but never knew about salvation through personally
receiving Christ. At the age of sixteen he was invited to a youth meeting
at the First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, where he heard the Gospel
and received Christ that very night. In 1976 he received a B.A. in Religion
from Palm Beach Atlantic College and went on to receive both his Master of
Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy (Biblical Studies, Old Testament) degrees
from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Pastor
Jim met his wife Bobbi in college at PBA. They have been married since 1973
and have two daughters, Deborah and Meghan. Bobbi is an elementary school
teacher. Pastor Jim came to Clayton first in 1989 and served our church for
six years. In 2001 the church extended the call to him a second time (our
pastor has been recalled!) and the Lewises returned to Clayton to serve the
Lord here again.
Tom Augliano
Tom Augliano has been active in our church for many years as an ordained deacon.
He served as LIFE Group Pastor for two years and is now Associate Pastor,
sharing in the teaching, preaching and visiting duties of the pastorate. In
addition to training leaders and coordinating the discipleship ministry, Tom
teaches Discovery 201 on Spiritual Maturity. A high school history teacher,
Tom lives in Clayton with his wife Nancy. They have three children.
Cheryl
Gray
Our Church Secretary is Cheryl Gray. Cheryl has served our church for several
years, managing the office and doing the countless tasks required to make
the operation run smoothly. She is involved in our One on One Discipleship
Ministry and is a team leader in Celebrate Recovery. Cheryl and her husband
Bud live in Clayton with one daughter at home.
Steve
Dawes
Steve Dawes serves as sexton, keeping the physical plant in good repair. Steve
is also the leader of the Sozo Youth Ministry that meets weekly to bring the
Gospel to and disciple youth in our community. Steve and Julie also live in
Clayton and have three boys.
