…First Baptist Church has served the community of South Boston, VA as a body of believers who affirm Christ's love for all.
As fellow journeyers in walking with Christ, we hope that you will join us as we seek to praise and worship God, be the hands and feet of Christ to all, and create an environment in which our foremost desire is to be the presence of Christ to the world.
Senior Pastor Bill Boelte is a born and bred Virginian, and while his engineering career gave him the opportunity to work around the world, he is happy to have landed back in Halifax County where generations of his family are from. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Virginia and a Masters in Christian Ministries from Liberty University. In his spare time he enjoys hunting, hiking, reading, and watching mystery shows with his wife. He is passionate about mission work, and has been on mission trips to Bolivia, Chile, Liberia, and southwestern Virginia. Bill and his wife Sarah are the parents of four children and seven wonderful grandchildren.Together they enjoy working to strengthen and build God’s church in South Boston and Halifax County. Pastor Bill also currently serves on the Missions and Evangelism team of the Dan River Baptist Association.
Zach Bradsher is a native of Roxboro, North Carolina and joined the staff at First Baptist, South Boston in June of 2024. Prior to that, he attended Mercer University, where he received his Master’s of Music degree in Choral Conducting. His undergraduate studies were at Campbell University, where he studied Church Music. Zach has a passion for education, both musical and spiritual, which led him to First Baptist, where he would have the opportunity to do both with the musicians and youth. In his free time, Zach enjoys pursuing various musical endeavors, playing video games with his friends, and spending time with his family.
Chastity Simmons-Talbott joined our staff in the spring of 2018. She was born in Halifax County, graduated from George Mason University, and lived in Northern Virginia and Charlottesville for over 20 years. She and her husband Joe have three spunky, endlessly capable young daughters. Chastity has an intense passion for ensuring that children understand kindness, compassion, joy, and gratitude. She is a fireball of ideas and has endless enthusiasm for teaching children about the care of God's world. Chastity is an advocate for friendship and fellowship, which make churches and communities stronger and better. She is eager to welcome children into our church family.
Mary Tucker Irby is a native of South Boston. She is the mother of two boys, Edward and Watkins, and wife to Scott Irby, also a native of the area. Mary Tucker went to Mary Baldwin College and taught in Staunton and Halifax County for ten years before coming to First Baptist Weekday School in 2005. She is dedicated to providing a safe, nurturing environment for children ages two – 5th grade. Mary Tucker enjoys reading, flower gardening, spending time with her children, and teaching Godly Play.
Nancy and her husband Tommy have been married for 45 years and live in the Elmo community. They have two daughters, Rev. Tracey Allred and Cathy Pulliam, and 5 grandchildren, Susanna, Jay, Andrew, Hallie, and Jake. Nancy is very family oriented and loves being a "Nana." She and her husband are active members of Arbor Baptist Church and are also members of the Toby Creek Gospel Band. Before coming to work at First Baptist, she worked for the Halifax County Public School System for 39 years, retiring in 2009.
We know that visiting a church for the first time can be daunting. We hope we can answer a few questions ahead of time to make you feel more at ease.
We want you to feel comfortable at FBC. You will see men wearing a coat and tie or khakis/jeans and a casual shirt. Women wear slacks or dresses usually. God looks at the heart and soul, not the outer attire.
As you pull into the driveway at FBC, there is ample parking behind the church, with some handicapped parking beside the front entrance.
There are three main entrances. You may enter the Sanctuary through the doors facing North Main Street. There are also doors at the portico entrance on the side of the church that lead into the foyer behind the Sanctuary. From the parking lot behind the church, there is a ground level entrance into the education wing, with an elevator and stairs at the end of the hallway.
We do not want to embarrass our visitors by singling them out. We do have pew cards for you to fill out if you so desire.
We provide care for infants through pre-kindergarteners in the nursery (located down the hall from the foyer entrance). For older children, we offer Children’s Church, when the children leave the sanctuary following the Children’s Sermon for special activities and care.
We do tend to be somewhat traditional in our worship style. We use a piano and organ but also have video screens and audio. We like to involve children in our worship service when possible. Click here to learn more.