CAMBRIDGE — When it comes to church membership, First Baptist Church of Cambridge Pastor Chris Colbert would rather have 10 “sincere God lovers” than 10,000 “nominal pew sitters.”
Since coming to Cambridge from Monmouth County, New Jersey in September 2022, Colbert has aimed to “cultivate sincere and mature followers of God.”
“So we’re creating a community of intimate, committed, loving, sacrificial family members who want to help each other to that goal: To know and love God. To renew our minds in the whole word of God in an environment of community-wide, intergenerational, mutual discipleship,” he said.
For Colbert, this goal is first and foremost. And although he sees the church’s growth as something that is up to God, it is clear that membership has changed since Colbert’s arrival. When Colbert arrived in Cambridge, there were no children at First Baptist Church of Cambridge, he said.
“We’re small, but we have several families with multiple kids, he said about the church today. “We have multiple generations. And we’re diverse.”
Congregant Steve Merrick, who has been a member for 10 years, said that seeing children in the church always puts a smile on his face.
“If you get (children) on the right path, then they will have a tendency to follow that through their life and pass that on to someone else,” Merrick said. “Once the children run out, that’s it. There is no future.”
Merrick said there are now more children at the church than there were 10 years ago.
Merrick, who was on the committee that nominated Colbert to be pastor of the church, describes Colbert — along with his wife, Danielle, and their three children — as God-centered, energetic, knowledgeable, sincere and loving. He said that since Colbert’s arrival, he has noticed more sincerity, compassion and love among the congregation.
“I believe it’s (Colbert) and his nature,” Merrick said about the reason for this increase.
Colbert said he is excited about the “healthy, sincere” group of congregants at the church.
“Everybody — as (much) as they possibly can — they participate in everything,” he said. “So we’re little, but it’s a family.”
Throughout the week, the church hosts study sessions, meals and services. On Wednesday at 6 p.m., there is a study and prayer. Every other Friday, a Homeschool Hikers group gets homeschool families outside and exploring. On Sunday mornings, church-goers can attend an adult Sunday school before the 10:30 a.m. service. And on the first Sunday of the month, the church hosts a potluck after its service.
Colbert hasn’t always been a pastor. He said it wasn’t until three years ago that he was called to ministry. At that time, he was an audit manager in Manhattan.
On his commute from New Jersey to Manhattan, Colbert would “binge” listen to Pastor John Piper’s Romans sermon series. And although Colbert had always been passionate about consuming theology, he said the series caused him to experience a shift.
“It really struck me,” he said. “And for the first time, I had a very deep and sustainable affection for God that I have not ever had. And I became very passionate then about sharing that.”
When it came time to make a decision on where to serve, Colbert said one of the major factors for choosing Cambridge was need.
“We believe that there was tremendous need here,” he said. “It was a much older church. It was a small church. ... There were no children. And a church is just, practically in God’s providence, not sustainable if you don’t have every generation.”
Colbert’s wife Danielle, who he calls Dee, remembers crossing the Frederick C. Malkus Bridge toward Trappe after visiting Cambridge for Colbert’s final meeting as a candidate. It was raining.
“Like it was hard to see,” Colbert said.
As they drove over the bridge, a “full” and “gorgeous” rainbow became visible.
“We’re not superstitious,” Colbert said. “But we do believe God sovereignly speaks and works through all things. ... We thought it (was) like a nice little bow on our experience here.”
To learn more about First Baptist Church of Cambridge, visit https://www.fbccmd.com/ or call (410) 228-4943.
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