Upcoming Events
You are invited to come to the special Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in our beautiful sanctuary on Wednesday, December 24th at 6:30 PM.
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You are invited to come to the special Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in our beautiful sanctuary on Wednesday, December 24th at 6:30 PM. Meet our new Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Deanna Swilling, as she inspires us with the joyful spirit of Christmas and the wonderful message of the birth of the Christ Child. We encourage families to attend along with the general public, church members, guests and friends. And we welcome all visitors to the area and Exeter area students. Come and experience the meaning and hope this day brings to the world. Most of all, we at FBC Exeter, wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
There is a Christmas Musical concert entitled “On This Very Night” on Sunday, December 14 at 3:00pm
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Want to get an early start in capturing the spirit of Christmas? On Sunday, December 14 at 3:00 in the afternoon, we are hosting in our sanctuary at FBC Exeter a Christmas Musical concert entitled “On This Very Night”. “A Christmas Musical” is created by Karla Worley, arranged & orchestrated by Lari Goss, and will be presented on the 14th by the combined choirs of First Baptist Church, Salem, NH and Exeter, NH. The concert will be presented again at FBC in Salem, NH on December 21st at 6:00 PM.
On December 21st at 10:30 AM, our Christmas Sunday Service & Birthday Party for Jesus will be held.
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On Christmas Sunday morning, December 21st at 10:30 AM, our Christmas Sunday Service & Birthday Party for Jesus will be held at our church in Exeter. The church service will be held in our sanctuary as usual, and the Christmas Party for Jesus will follow downstairs in the church vestry. We welcome all of you to celebrate the peace, joy and hope this season brings. Please join with us on this day and for other Christmas programs and events so that you will feel the meaning of the Savior’s birth.
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Sunday Schedule
Sunday School - 9:15 AM
Morning Worship - 10:30 AM
Fellowship Hour - 11:45 AM
(Coffee Hour Monthly)
Office Hours
Monday - Wednesday
9 AM - 12 PM
Bible Study
Tuesday - 10:15 AM
Prayer Meeting
Wednesday - 6:30 PM
The Corner Shop
Wednesday & Saturday
8:30 AM - 12 PM
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Announcements
Exeter First Baptist Church Welcomes New Pastor
Rev. Dr. Deanna J. Swilling
Exeter First Baptist Church Welcomes New Pastor
Rev. Dr. Deanna J. Swilling was called officially as the permanent Minister of the First Baptist Church of Exeter on Sunday, September 26 by vote of the church membership. Previous to this time, Pastor Swilling had served as Interim Minister since she was appointed to that position on August 17. Church members remain excited with the pastoral experience, leadership and care the Rev. Dr. Deanna Swilling will continue to bring to the church in downtown Exeter.
Rev. Dr. Deanna Swilling has a wide range of education and experience in pastoral ministry, teaching and writing. Before entering the Christian ministry, Rev. Swilling also had experience as a registered nurse. She has more recently been the Coordinator of Admissions for the Doctor of Ministry Department at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Hamilton and Boston, Massachusetts. She and her husband, the Rev. Dr. William Swilling of the Baptist Church of Salem, NH, have three grown children and one granddaughter. Together, they have been a ministry team having served for many years in Newburyport, Massachusetts among other locations in the greater Boston area.
Rev. Deanna Swilling earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1989 from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA, graduating Magna cum Laude and having been awarded the President’s Scholarship. She then earned her Doctor of Ministry Degree is 2001 from Gordon-Conwell of South Hamilton. Rev. Deanna Swilling has extensive writing accomplishments having developed “The Connection”, a national newsletter of the American Baptist Churches of the USA in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She has written articles, books, and group study and Adult Discipleship materials for various churches including Grace Chapel of Lexington, Massachusetts. She is presently seeking publication on a book on church leadership based upon her doctoral study focus on “Ministry in the New England Context”.
The Rev. Dr. Deanna Swilling brings to Exeter a joyful spirit and a joyful heart and describes her calling to Exeter First Baptist Church, above and beyond her many accomplishments and skills, as “being a “Pastor”. The church is located downtown Exeter on the corner of Front Street and Spring Streets. Visitors are always welcome to attend.
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History of FBC Exeter
Church Property
During the more than 200 years of proud history, there have been several houses of worship to serve members and friends of Exeter First Baptist. The church was formed in the year 1800 in a home with a dozen members. Following this, there was a small church building located on lower Water Street. Then, as the membership grew, a larger building was built on Water Street which is now the site of a historical site in downtown Exeter. In 1871, plans were underway to purchase the present lot on the corner of Spring and Front Streets, and our present brick church building facing Front Street was completed in 1876 and dedicated in June of that year. Read More
The attractive church sanctuary with a traditional rear balcony seats now about 500 people without using the balcony. A church library is located on the sanctuary level which can be used for meetings and adult Sunday School in addition to maintaining and referencing Christian reading materials. Years ago, this used to be the Pastor’s Office. Now the Pastor’s Office is located on the lower level next to the Church Secretary’s Office. There is a convenient access to these offices from Spring Street.
The versatile church vestry is located on the lower level and can also be accessed from Spring Street. The vestry area seats a large number for dinner and program activities, is maintained in excellent condition, and is adjacent to a full service, well equipped kitchen. The church vestry can and has been used for Sunday morning worship when it might be either too hot in the summer or too cool in the winter for comfortable worship in the large sanctuary. For Church School Sunday School classes, there are four available rooms located on the lower level with a small room available for the nursery as well. Also, the church vestry itself or sections of it can be used for church school or opening sessions of the church school. The upstairs church Library has been used for the adult class in recent years.
Ministers in the History of First Baptist Church, Exeter
Twenty-seven ministers have been called to serve to Exeter First Baptist Church since the year 1818 when its first pastor, the Reverend Ferdinand Ellis was called. Following are those ministers who have served:
1800-1818 - Laity
1818-1828 - Rev. Ferdinand Ellis
1828-1832 - Rev. John Newton Brown
1833-1834 - Rev. John Cannon
1834-1837 - Rev. J.G. Naylor
1837-1838 - Rev. Noah Hopper
1840-1845 - Rev. T.H. Archibald
1848-1850 - Rev. E.J. Harris
1851-1853 - Rev. James French
1854-1856 - Dr. Franklin Merriam
1856-1861 - Rev. James J. Peck
1861-1871 - Rev. Noah Hopper
1871-1894 - Rev. John N. Chase
1895-1914 - Rev. Ansley E. Woodsum
1914-1917 - Rev. Herbert F. Cawthorne
1918-1920 - Rev. S Walter Schurman
1921-1934 - Rev. John. L Clark
1935-1945 - Rev. Howard P. Weatherbee
1946-1953 - Rev. Edwin H. Shuman
1954-1954 - Rev. William Norman
1955-1960 - Rev. Donald B. Morris
1960-1969 - Rev. Harry G. Ford
1970-1975 - Rev. Everett R. Scruton
1975-1985 - Rev. Jerry Miller
1986-1996 - Rev. Walter T. Steenson
1997-1998 - Rev. Richard Hyman
1999-2008 - Rev. Jamie S. Moynihan
2008-Present - Rev. Dr. Deanna J. Swilling
We are further grateful for interim and supply ministers and ABCVNH region Executive Ministers who have faithfully served our church in recent decades including Rev. Edward Cuthbert, Rev. Dr. Robert W. Williams, and Rev. Dr. Louis A. George.
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