About Us
What we believe
- Baptists believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God and the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and practice. Every believer is encouraged to read and interpret Scripture with guidance from the Holy Spirit.
- There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
- Baptists practice baptism only for individuals who have made a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism is done by full immersion in water, symbolizing the believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Our staff
- Pastor: Rev. Mike Howard
- Deacons: David Brown, Joe DeLoach, Travis Deal, Doug Tyson, and Dean Stone
- Treasurer: Kevin Bruner
- Clerk: Lacey Waters
- Pianists: Krista Stone and Alice Deal
- Organist: Ginny Bruner
- Sound and Media: Jasper Stone, Lance Brennan, and Dillan Waters
Church History
Excelsior Baptist Church is believed to have been established in 1864. Land for the present site was sold to the church by Frank J. Ingraham and Remer Franklin in 1884. Remer Franklin sold three-fourths of an acre for $17.50 and Ingraham sold one acre and one-fourth for $35.50.
The original structure was a two-story wood-frame building, and the second story was the meeting place for a Masonic Lodge. The building was painted white; had wooden shingles; and a steeple and belfry. On Sunday morning before preaching, the bell was rung by means of a rope which hung down to the first floor; it could be rung on either floor.