© 2013 by First Baptist Church of Hillsville, Virginia, All Rights Reserved. Visiting and selecting a new church can be a trying experience when you come in “cold,” with no prior knowledge of the environment.  The purpose of this page is to provide you with information to make your visit easier and more comfortable.  Below is a series of questions, answers and links.  If your question is not here, please contact us. Click on a question below to go directly to that question and response, or scroll down to browse all questions. To print these five pages on standard 8.5” x 11” paper, click here to view the document in PDF format, then click on Print.  A free download of Acrobat Reader for PDF files is available here.  If you cannot print for any reason or have special requests such as larger print, please let us know. LOCATION, DIRECTIONS AND CHURCH MAP Where is FBC? Where can I find driving directions to the church? Once at the church, where do I park? Which door should I enter for the church office?  church service?  Sunday School? How do I find my way around the church complex interior? Where are restrooms?   I see only one floor in the photos (below), with possibly an attic also.  Is that right? Does the church have an elevator? Is there an exterior entrance to the basement level? Is there an exterior entrance to the Fellowship Hall? Is there an exterior entrance to the top floor? What’s on each floor? Where is the nursery? Is there adult supervision in the nursery? Is the nursery near the sanctuary? SERVICES, SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BIBLE STUDY What worship services are available? What Sunday School classes are available?  When do they meet? Are there activities on Sunday evening? Is there a separate Bible Study each week? CHURCH GOVERNANCE AND BELIEFS, SALVATION, PASTORS AND SERMONS ARCHIVE How is the church governed? Where can I find a statement of church beliefs? How can I be saved? How can I learn more about the visions, plans and concerns of the pastors?  Where can I read, hear and/or view past sermons? GETTING INVOLVED How can I learn more about the various church ministries? Are there particular ministries that especially need additional volunteer support at this time? LOCATION, DIRECTIONS AND CHURCH MAP Where is FBC?  We are located in Carroll County in southwest Virginia, in the Town of Hillsville at 1401 North Main Street (highway US 52 North).  Click here for a map showing Hillsville. Back to Questions Menu Where can I find driving directions to the church?  See our Maps and Directions web page here. Back to Questions Menu Once at the church, where do I park?  In the church photo to the right, North Main Street is shown in the lower left corner.  The church is located on the east side of North Main Street, facing the street.  You may park in front of the church or on either side, but the parking on the south side is limited and several spaces are reserved for disabled members and visitors.  Additional spaces for disabled parking are available adjacent to and south of the front entrance double doors.  Back to Questions Menu Which door should I enter for the church office? church service?  Sunday School?  There are several entrances to the church complex, and none leads to a dead end.  Any point in the church can be reached from any entrance. To visit the church office, the most convenient entrance for those who are able to negotiate steps is the single front door to the north of the double front doors that lead into the sanctuary.  See photo to the left.  Those who need to avoid steps can enter through one of the south side doors.  (See sanctuary entrances below.) The most convenient entrances into the sanctuary are the double front doors or the south side doors.  The south side doors are wheel chair accessible.  See photo to the right.  Entry into the sanctuary can also be gained by using the Office entrance, then entering through an interior sanctuary door to your right. The most convenient entrance for a Sunday School class depends on the class.  Classes are located on all three floors of the church complex.  See the FBC Wayfinder discussed in the next question. Back to Questions Menu How do I find my way around the church complex interior?  The FBC Wayfinder was created for this purpose. The old fashioned way works too - ask somebody! Back to Questions Menu Where are restrooms?  There are separate men and ladies restrooms on each floor.  On the main floor, there are restrooms in the sanctuary foyer, just inside the front double doors, and in the back of the church adjacent to the elevator.  In the basement there are restrooms just inside the rear, covered basement entrance and also in the kitchen (west) end of the Youth Center.  On the top floor there is one set of restrooms along the corridor, between the two sets of stairs down to the main floor.  See the FBC Wayfinder, which shows restrooms in blue. Back to Questions Menu I see only one floor in the photos above, with possibly an attic also.  Is that right?  No, there are actually three levels: a basement (not shown above), a first or “main floor” with the entrances indicated above, and a second or “upstairs” level above the Office entrance and running the length of the church. Back to Questions Menu Does the church have an elevator?  Yes, there is one elevator serving all three floors, B, 1 and 2.  It can accommodate a wheel chair.  All floors are also accessible by stairs.  The diagram to the right shows the main floor location of the elevator in the rear of the church.  The three exits (entrances) circled in green are wheel chair accessible.  The basement level entrance is also wheel chair accessible and is near the elevator. Back to Questions Menu Is there an exterior entrance to the basement level?  Yes, the entrance, with a drive-through covered area useful in bad weather, is located at the north corner of the church, as shown in the photo to the left.  It is typically locked except on Sunday mornings. Back to Questions Menu Is there an exterior entrance to the Fellowship Hall?  Yes, the entrance, with a drive-through covered area useful in bad weather, is located at the east corner of the church on the main floor, as shown in the photo above left.  It is generally locked except on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Back to Questions Menu Is there an exterior entrance to the top floor?  No, entrance can be gained only by elevator or interior stairs through a lower floor. Back to Questions Menu What’s on each floor?  View the Wayfinder for the best answer to this question.  Generally the office, sanctuary, nursery and fellowship hall are on the main floor, several Sunday School classrooms and the choir room are upstairs (elevator button 2), and the youth room as well as several more Sunday School classrooms are in the basement (elevator button B). Back to Questions Menu Where is the nursery?  Enter through the Office entrance (see photo above), then proceed down the hall, passing on your left the church office, a stairwell, the library, and the Sunday School office.  The Nursery and Crib Room will be the next entrance on your left.  See the Wayfinder snippet to the right. Is there adult supervision in the nursery?  Yes, by members of the church during both Sunday church services. Is the nursery near the sanctuary?  Yes, both are located on the main floor and the nursery entrance is near one of the sanctuary entrances.  See the red ovals in the diagram to the right. Back to Questions Menu SERVICES, SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BIBLE STUDY What worship services are available?  There are two worship services on Sunday morning, the early service at 8:30 AM and another service at 11:00 AM, both in the sanctuary and each about one hour in duration.  The pastor’s message is the same for the two services, but there are differences in the services, primarily musical.  The early service features “praise music” and is more informal, while the 11:00 service is more traditional in both format and music. Back to Questions Menu What Sunday School classes are available?  When do they meet?  Sunday School for all ages is held between the two worship services, 9:45 - 10:45 AM.  A class for Briarleigh Court residents is held at that facility 9:30 - 10:30 each Sunday morning.  Click here for more information about Sunday School. Back to Questions Menu Are there activities on Sunday evening?  Generally not. Back to Questions Menu Is there a separate Bible Study each week?  Yes, in the sanctuary on Wednesday evenings 7:00 - 8:00, led by Pastor Michael Shockley.  The first Wednesday of each month, however, is reserved for the church business meeting at that time. Back to Questions Menu CHURCH GOVERNANCE AND BELIEFS, SALVATION, PASTORS AND SERMONS ARCHIVE How is the church governed?  FBC is a fully autonomous Baptist congregation that is not under the authority of any ecclesiastical body.  We look to the Holy Bible as sole source of governance, answering not to a denominational board, but to God Almighty and the will of our membership, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Nevertheless, we have found it a great joy to enter into partnerships with other Baptist Churches at the local, state, and international level.  Through these partnerships, we jointly fund and facilitate the spread of the Gospel and benevolent assistance at a level that we could not achieve alone. When God's people cooperate, greater tasks can be accomplished! Back to Questions Menu Where can I find a statement of church beliefs?  Click here for a detailed statement of our beliefs, including scriptural references.  Please be patient; this page can take 30 seconds or more to load. Back to Questions Menu How can I be saved?  Salvation comes from steps A-B-C: Admit, Believe, Commit.  Click here for details. Back to Questions Menu How can I learn more about the visions, plans and concerns of the pastors?  The pastor writes monthly letters to the congregation that provide such insights.  The most recent letter of Pastor Michael Shockley can be viewed here.  Furthermore, the pastor would be happy to share his views in person, by telephone, or by email. Contact information is here. Back to Questions Menu Where can I read, hear and/or view past sermons?  A video archive of sermons can be viewed here, and texts of sermons in portable document format (PDF) can be seen here.  The Sunday 11:00 AM worship service is broadcast by radio station WHHV 1400 AM in Hillsville. Back to Questions Menu GETTING INVOLVED How can I learn more about the various church ministries?  On the church home page here, hover your mouse over the “Ministries” tab in the horizontal menu bar near the top of the page, then click on a specific church ministry to learn more about that ministry. Back to Questions Menu Are there particular ministries that especially need additional volunteer support at this time?  Because the church is currently experiencing dynamic growth, few ministries are not in need of additional volunteer workers. Some ministries with a particularly strong need now are Youth, Sunday School (teachers), Public Affairs (DVD processing, duplication and distribution), Adult Fellowship and Vacation Bible School. Back to Questions Menu   Pastor Michael Shockley