By Ruth Scovill,
When Scott Maxwell became the new pastor of the First Baptist Church, he was actually coming back to the Iron County area. Scott graduated from the Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998. His first church was the Red Hills Southern Baptist Church in Enoch. At the time, that congregation was meeting at now-SUU, and working on buying land for a new church. While Scott was attending seminary, he had put himself through school by working with a home design company which designed and built upper-end homes. They had won many awards in home shows, and one of their prize-winning homes was actually purchased by John Wayne’s widow and her second husband. With the skill set that he had gained at that job, Scott designed the new church building for Red Cliffs Southern Baptist Church, including a nice stage area that can accommodate a band and worship team.
The Maxwell family left the Cedar City area for Oklahoma to help care for extended family, but they always had the wish to return to the Cedar City area, and felt they would eventually retire here. After leaving Oklahoma, they served a congregation in California briefly before they had the opportunity to return to Utah to take a congregation in Vernal, and then in Roosevelt. From there, they were invited to take the pastorship at First Baptist Church in Cedar City.
The Utah congregations have been small, and Pastor Maxwell has been serving bi-vocationally, where he works part time for the church, and part time in other fields. Besides his home design work, he has worked as a systems administrator in Iron County. While in Vernal, He taught students with severe and profound learning disabilities in the Uintah School District as a certified Paraprofessional. He has also worked as a school bus driver. His wife is an English teacher at Cedar Middle School, where his daughter also teaches.
The congregation at the First Baptist Church is small but growing. Pastor Maxwell is complimentary of his congregations, noting his admiration for the hard-working members and for their determination to grow the church. An example of this is the congregation’s year round commitment to the Samaritan’s Purse, a service project that provides boxes containing basic necessities and small gifts to children in need throughout the world. A few of the women in the church oversee collecting needed items through the generous gifts of congregation members, and assembling the boxes. Last year, they provided about 150 boxes.
The Baptist Church is evangelical, meaning that they strive to share the gospel message with others. Maxwell would like to see the church sponsoring some fun activities at local parks with other evangelical churches in the area, so that members of the community could come to hear the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and enjoy each other’s company. Maxwell feels strongly that sharing the Gospel should never be a pushy thing. He feels that if you have a message or experience that you want to share with someone else, it is important to ask their permission to share. That way they will be more willing to listen and receive and will not be turned off.
Maxwell shared a favorite quote: “You won’t see a change in a person’s character until you see a change in a person’s heart. The only way to see a change in a person’s heart is if they have a personal encounter with the gospel”.
There is a very grassroots feeling to the Southern Baptist Church. They really respect free-agency and the importance of the individual coming to their own understanding of things. The Pastor does not tell the members of the congregation what to do.
2024 is a convention year. Every year congregations send three to five “messengers” to the national convention to give their input into the direction that the church as a whole should be going. The congregation votes on the messengers, but they do not tell the messengers what to do or say. The messengers speak from their own consciences at the convention, and then bring back what they have learned to share with the congregation.
If you would like to know more about the First Baptist Church, visit The Baptist Faith and Message https://bfm.sbc.net/. Or better yet, visit Pastor Scott Maxwell and the First Baptist Church, 324 West 200 North. Services are Sunday at 11:00.
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Meet Scott Maxwell, Pastor of the Cedar City First Baptist Church4 min read

By Ruth Scovill,
When Scott Maxwell became the new pastor of the First Baptist Church, he was actually coming back to the Iron County area. Scott graduated from the Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998. His first church was the Red Hills Southern Baptist Church in Enoch. At the time, that congregation was meeting at now-SUU, and working on buying land for a new church. While Scott was attending seminary, he had put himself through school by working with a home design company which designed and built upper-end homes. They had won many awards in home shows, and one of their prize-winning homes was actually purchased by John Wayne’s widow and her second husband. With the skill set that he had gained at that job, Scott designed the new church building for Red Cliffs Southern Baptist Church, including a nice stage area that can accommodate a band and worship team.
The Maxwell family left the Cedar City area for Oklahoma to help care for extended family, but they always had the wish to return to the Cedar City area, and felt they would eventually retire here. After leaving Oklahoma, they served a congregation in California briefly before they had the opportunity to return to Utah to take a congregation in Vernal, and then in Roosevelt. From there, they were invited to take the pastorship at First Baptist Church in Cedar City.
The Utah congregations have been small, and Pastor Maxwell has been serving bi-vocationally, where he works part time for the church, and part time in other fields. Besides his home design work, he has worked as a systems administrator in Iron County. While in Vernal, He taught students with severe and profound learning disabilities in the Uintah School District as a certified Paraprofessional. He has also worked as a school bus driver. His wife is an English teacher at Cedar Middle School, where his daughter also teaches.
The congregation at the First Baptist Church is small but growing. Pastor Maxwell is complimentary of his congregations, noting his admiration for the hard-working members and for their determination to grow the church. An example of this is the congregation’s year round commitment to the Samaritan’s Purse, a service project that provides boxes containing basic necessities and small gifts to children in need throughout the world. A few of the women in the church oversee collecting needed items through the generous gifts of congregation members, and assembling the boxes. Last year, they provided about 150 boxes.
The Baptist Church is evangelical, meaning that they strive to share the gospel message with others. Maxwell would like to see the church sponsoring some fun activities at local parks with other evangelical churches in the area, so that members of the community could come to hear the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and enjoy each other’s company. Maxwell feels strongly that sharing the Gospel should never be a pushy thing. He feels that if you have a message or experience that you want to share with someone else, it is important to ask their permission to share. That way they will be more willing to listen and receive and will not be turned off.
Maxwell shared a favorite quote: “You won’t see a change in a person’s character until you see a change in a person’s heart. The only way to see a change in a person’s heart is if they have a personal encounter with the gospel”.
There is a very grassroots feeling to the Southern Baptist Church. They really respect free-agency and the importance of the individual coming to their own understanding of things. The Pastor does not tell the members of the congregation what to do.
2024 is a convention year. Every year congregations send three to five “messengers” to the national convention to give their input into the direction that the church as a whole should be going. The congregation votes on the messengers, but they do not tell the messengers what to do or say. The messengers speak from their own consciences at the convention, and then bring back what they have learned to share with the congregation.
If you would like to know more about the First Baptist Church, visit The Baptist Faith and Message https://bfm.sbc.net/. Or better yet, visit Pastor Scott Maxwell and the First Baptist Church, 324 West 200 North. Services are Sunday at 11:00.

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