A Regional Church on Main Street in Hurricane
First Baptist Church of Hurricane sits on Main Street in Hurricane, West Virginia, a growing part of Putnam County where the towns of Teays Valley, Hurricane, and Milton overlap. The congregation describes itself as a regional church, intentionally sized and resourced to reach beyond its own zip code into the surrounding counties. The building itself reflects that purpose: a technologically developed sanctuary for worship, classrooms for Bible study and lay leadership training, a counseling and prayer center, and a recreation area for fellowship and ministry. The church's stated hope is that the Hurricane area will look noticeably different in ten to fifteen years because of a Christian influence increasingly felt in homes, businesses, schools, and civic life.
A Mission Shaped Around Making Disciples
The mission of First Baptist Church of Hurricane is to bring people to Jesus Christ, develop them to Christ-like maturity, and equip them for ministry and their life mission to the glory of God. Members enter into a written covenant, commonly accepted among Baptist churches, in which they commit to walk together in Christian love, advance the church in knowledge, holiness and comfort, sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline and doctrines, and contribute cheerfully to the support of the ministry, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel. The covenant also calls members to maintain family and personal devotions, religiously educate their children, seek the salvation of their acquaintances, abstain from the unscriptural use of alcohol or any substance harmful to the Christian walk, watch over one another in brotherly love, and, when they move away, unite promptly with another church where they can carry out the spirit of the covenant and the principles of God's Word.
The congregation affirms the authority of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments and receives the New Testament as the all-sufficient basis of doctrine and practice. Leadership is held to the qualifications set out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and is shared among the Senior Pastor, the Council of Shepherds, and the Diaconate of Deacons and Deaconesses, along with the pastoral staff.
Two Services, One Family: Traditional and Contemporary Worship
Sunday at First Baptist is anchored by two distinct worship gatherings, with Sunday School running in between. The 8:50 a.m. Traditional Service gives the congregation a more classic setting, while the 11:00 a.m. Contemporary Service is led by a contemporary worship leader and offers a different musical and atmospheric style. Both Sunday services are livestreamed, as is the 6:30 p.m. evening service. The Wednesday evening service, also at 6:30 p.m., rounds out the weekly gathering rhythm and is livestreamed as well. Worship is offered under the oversight of the Director of Music Ministries, who holds a Master of Arts in Teaching with a music emphasis from Marshall University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in voice and piano from Judson University, alongside a dedicated contemporary worship leader and a team of pianists and organists.
Sunday School for Every Age
At 10:00 a.m., graded Sunday School classes meet across the campus. Children in K through 5 use Bible Studies for Life curriculum from Lifeway, designed to teach biblical truths applicable to everyday life. Youth meet by grade in the youth room, and adult classes round out the hour. The Sunday School hour is positioned as the church's primary small-group discipleship hour and feeds directly into the two morning worship services.
Preschool and Children: From the Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Children's ministry at First Baptist is organized in two coordinated departments. The Early Childhood Ministry serves infants through preschoolers, including four- and five-year-olds. Each child is given an ID tag that includes current information, and the matching tag is required for pick-up. Surfaces and toys are disinfected frequently, and the volunteers aim to teach three basic truths at every age level: God made me, God loves me, and Jesus wants to be my forever friend. Lessons are taught through hands-on activities, music, games, and laughter, with an emphasis on developmentally appropriate learning.
The Children's Department serves K through 5th grade with the mission of helping children grow to love Christ, learn Christ, and live Christ. Children's Worship is offered during the 8:50 a.m. service, with children dismissed after the fellowship greeting, and runs for the entire 11:00 a.m. service. On Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 during the school year, AWANA provides discipleship and evangelism for children ages 3 through 5th grade, with the goal that each child come to know, love, and serve Christ. Wednesday Night Live, also called WNL, meets at 6:30 p.m. and gives K through 5th graders the chance to put faith into practice through skits, drama, and musical productions.
Lift Youth: A Foundation for Sixth Through Twelfth Grade
Lift is the youth ministry for students in grades 6 through 12, drawn from schools across Teays Valley, Hurricane, and Milton. The ministry's mission is to build a Christ-centered foundation in young people's lives through service, devotion, and worship. Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m., students gather by grade for Bible study in the youth room, working through age-appropriate topics. Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m., the youth room hosts a youth-style worship service with music, videos, games, and a pastor-led Bible study, and students regularly share testimonies or special talents. Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. are set up as a small-group setting: middle schoolers meet in the fellowship hall and high schoolers in the youth room, each led by an adult leadership team working through topics relevant to the pressures and mission fields students face today.
Compas Young Adults, Life Groups, and the VIPs
Compas is the ministry for young adults ages 18 to 30, providing a doorway into the broader life of the church during the years after high school. Life Groups extend that small-group approach across the rest of the congregation, giving adults a way to study and pray together outside the Sunday morning schedule. For older adults, the VIPs serve those 55 and older, with fellowship opportunities led by the Pastor of Senior Adults, while JR VIPs extend similar fellowship to those 40 and up.
Upward Basketball
Each season, Upward Basketball welcomes families with children in kindergarten through 8th grade to participate in basketball or cheerleading. Upward is a national recreational sports league with a structured, character-building approach, and First Baptist hosts the local program as an outreach into the surrounding community.
First Baptist Academy: A Christian Preschool on Campus
First Baptist Academy operates as a Christian preschool program on the church campus, offering an early morning drop-off, an afternoon extended care option, and a summer child care program. The Academy shares space and ministry philosophy with the church's Early Childhood Ministry, and is led by a dedicated director who has taught in Putnam County Schools and at First Baptist Academy before stepping into the role. Registration details are handled through the Academy directly.
The Pastoral Team and Staff
Jeff Davenport has served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hurricane since 2016. A native of Hansford, West Virginia, and a graduate of WVU Tech with degrees in industrial relations and labor studies, economics, and political science, Pastor Jeff signed with the Kansas City Royals as a first baseman before sensing a call into full-time ministry. He went on to earn an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Trinity Theological Seminary and an honorary Doctor of Divinity, and brings more than thirty years of full-time ministry and more than twenty years as a senior pastor. His favorite scripture is Romans 1:16, and he often says his favorite thing about FBC is the team he serves with and the loving people of the church, and that the church is in West Virginia.
Jerry Losh serves as Pastor of Senior Adults, overseeing the VIPs ministry. A Clarksburg, West Virginia native, Jerry holds a B.A. in sociology from Fairmont State University and a Master of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He first served First Baptist as a Youth Minister, later led the Baptist Campus Ministry as State Director for West Virginia, and returned to focus on ministry to senior adults. His favorite scripture is 1 John 1:9.
Danielle Stewart directs the Children's Ministry, having served at First Baptist since 2011. A University of Kentucky graduate in communications, she previously worked as a promotions producer at WDKY TV in Lexington before raising her family and volunteering in children's ministry. Her favorite scripture is Jeremiah 29:11.
Lindsay Thorner directs the Preschool Ministry and has been on the FBC team since 2014. A Hurricane native, she holds a degree in management technology and business administration from Marshall CTC, grew up as the daughter of a bi-vocational pastor, and has served as a lead teacher in early childhood education in Colorado and as a dance instructor. Her favorite scriptures are Isaiah 40:11 and Psalm 30:8-12.
Beth Davenport directs Music Ministries. Originally from Ironton, Ohio, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in voice and piano from Judson University and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a music emphasis from Marshall University, and teaches music at Lakeside Elementary in Hurricane. She has more than thirty-two years of church music experience and has been on the FBC staff since 2016.
Tony Nutter leads Contemporary Worship Music each week, a role he has held since 2012. A South Charleston native, he leads the contemporary team, helps train the next generation of worship leaders at FBC and with the WVBC, and has played in the Christian band Essential Element during the same period.
Angie Hayslette directs First Baptist Academy, having served at the church since 2001 in children's ministry, Upward Basketball, ReCess Ministry, and as a volunteer. A Nashville, Tennessee native, she holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Middle Tennessee State University and has taught in both Putnam County Schools and at First Baptist Academy. Her favorite scripture is Joshua 1:9.
Worship That Travels Online
For those who cannot be on Main Street in person, the 8:50 a.m. Traditional Service, the 11:00 a.m. Contemporary Service, the 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening service, and the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening service are all livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Past services are archived for later viewing, and giving is available online through the church's giving platform.
A Church Built on Main Street, and Open to the County
First Baptist Church of Hurricane's vision is plain in the way it talks about itself: a regional church with a God-exalting worship, a counseling and prayer center, classrooms for Bible study, a recreation area for fellowship, and a heartbeat for Putnam County and the counties that border it. The members covenant to walk together, to grow up into Christ, to disciple their neighbors, to support missions at home and around the world, and to send one another out as missionaries from the local church into their workplaces, schools, and homes. The Sunday morning rhythm of traditional worship, Sunday School, and contemporary worship, the Wednesday evening service, and the layered ministries for preschoolers, children, students, young adults, adults, and senior adults all exist to serve that single aim.