Spiritual Life
At First Baptist School, our main focus is nurturing each child's spiritual growth and supporting their Christian faith. We offer various services to achieve this, including weekly chapel services where students engage in worship, interact with speakers, and pray for the school and community. Our Christian Philosophy & Religion Department provides Bible classes, and our Christian Worldview Curriculum integrates the Christian faith into all academic subjects. We also provide spiritual support through a student minister and a Christian counselor on staff.
A BIBLICAL FOUNDATION
DEVELOPING A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
Spiritual Life
At First Baptist School, we nurture each child’s spiritual life, and one of our main goals is to foster spiritual growth and to support students in their Christian faith. Whether it’s meeting with our on-campus student minister, studying the epistles in Bible class, or engaging in worship during our weekly chapel services, First Baptist provides spiritual nutriment for each student.
Here’s a look at the spiritual formation services we offer:
Chapel
Lower, middle, and high school students attend chapel once a week. During this time, students engage in corporate worship; interact and learn with the speaker; and pray for our school, community, and families. Students also have the opportunity to participate in leading chapel worship or to speak during chapel.
Christian Worldview Curriculum
We integrate the Christian faith into each core academic class - whether that means examining the fine-tuning of the universe in science class, discussing the glory and fall of man in conjunction with a literary study, or examining the characteristics of a servant leader in history. At First Baptist School, we emphasize the Truth of the Gospel in every class.
Christian Philosophy & Religion Department
First Baptist School nurtures and develops students’ understanding of Scripture. In the lower and middle schools, students attend Bible class twice a week, and high school students enroll in a Bible course each year. Our Bible curriculum build upon each grade’s previous curriculum, providing a robust framework for Christian education. In the high school, the Christian Philosophy and Religion course offerings include the following: Christian Doctrine, The Life and Works of C.S. Lewis, Comparative Religions, Reasons for Faith, The Life and Philosophy of Christ, and Christian Ethics and Culture.
Spiritual Support
It is imperative to provide students with the resources they need to grow spiritually. That’s why we have a student minister and a Christian counselor on staff: the student minister at First Baptist School facilitates chapel and is available to meet with students for spiritual counseling. Our school counselor and minister holds a Masters degree in Clinical and Mental Health and Christian Education, and an undergraduate degree in Christian Studies. He has 15 years of experience in student ministry, previously taught middle school, and worked as a school based counselor with the Department of Mental Health.
Jon Durham
STUDENT MINISTER & COUNSELOR
Mr. Jon Durham returns to FBS after previously teaching Bible on our Downtown Campus. Now he servs on both campuses as the School Counselor and Campus Pastor.
Mr. Durham's educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Christian Studies from North Greenville University, a master's degree in Christian Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Liberty University.
Before joining FBS, he held various roles in local churches in North and South Carolina, including student pastor, minister of education, and associate pastor. He also gained experience as a school-based counselor with the Charleston Department of Mental Health.
Mr. Durham and his wife Kimmie, a proud FBS alum, have three children: Sami, Ada, and Elias. In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, watching sports, and enjoying a cup of coffee.