First General Baptist Church
We began our journey as a church in 1950 at the corner of Drew and Oak street in Willow Springs. In 1997 the church stepped out on faith and built a 10,000 sq ft facility at our present location. The congregation grew from 50 to 250 over the next 7 years. In 2004 we started construction on our family life center, affectionately known as "The B.A.R.N." (Born Again Red Necks) Construction was completed and we began utilitzing the new space in the fall of 2005. We are very pleased to say that there is no debt on the facility.
Our Senior Pastor is Scott Williamson. Pastor Scott and his wife Jackie have two children. Nici is married to Coatney Wiese and are active members of our church. Chelsea is a senior at Willow Springs High School. Scott and Jackie have been marreid since 1980 and have been life-long members of FGBC. Pastor Scott become the Senior Pastor in 1998 after having spent 10 years as a mission pastor from FGBC, starting the Cabool General Baptist Church.
Our Associate Pastor (retired) is Sid Williamson. Brother Sid and his wife Delores served as the pastors of FGBC for 13 years prior to the present pastor. Sid is the son of the founding pastor of the church. He and his wife have enjoyed over 50 years of ministry together.
Associate Pastor in charge of Youth is Pastor Justin Duddridge. He and his wife Cheri have three children. Brice, Tessa and Owen, and have served the church since the spring of 2006. Pastor Justin grew up as a third generation member of FGBC. Cheri moved to Missouri during her teenage years and was part of the Cabool General Baptist Church.
Kids On The Move is led by Sister Dee Dee Stolba. She and her staff have the most dynamic children's ministry in the area. From the launch of Kids On The Move on Easter of 2006 to Easter of 2007 her team saw over 150 children give their hearts to Christ.
"Turn Life" is our Junior High Ministry and is led by Stacy and Tibby Renshaw and Melissa Price. This ministry is brand new and is geared toward 6th through 8th graders.
"Married Life" is our marriage enrichment ministry and is led by Scott and Cathy Stilley. This ministry meets on Sunday evenings at 6PM and is designed to build strong marriages by teaching biblical standards for marriage and parenting and better communication skills among couples.
We are located at 2507 Railroad Drive.
Our PO Box is 222
Our Phone number is 417-469-2709
We are part of the General Association of General Baptists headquartered in Poplar Bluff Mo. www.generalbaptist.com