In the family tree of Christianity, Baptists branch from the Seperatist movement of the English Reformation. The first formal Baptist church was established in 1609. And though there are many churches today that are all but "Baptist" in name (most non-denominational churches for example and even some other denominations), Baptist churches have historically held to eight distinctives which can be explained using the acronym BAPTISTS.
In addition to these, First Baptist is also...
Theologically-reformed (or reformational)
One of the most significant events in Western history is the Protestant Reformation that officially began when Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of the Wittenburg Chapel for public discourse on October 31, 1517. That act led to an eventual break from the Church of Rome concerning the issue of justification or how one is made right with God. The rally cry of the reformation became known as the Five Solas (Latin for "only"). We are saved (justified) by GRACE alone through FAITH alone in CHRIST alone for the GLORY OF GOD alone according to SCRIPTURE alone. Since salvation is God’s work for God’s glory, the recovery of these truths also brought a renewed emphasis on the biblical doctrines of predestination and election or God’s sovereignty in saving a people for himself as well as God’s general sovereignty over his creation and human events.
Elder-led
Though the word pastor and elder are interchangeable, when the word elder shows up in the New Testament it’s often in the plural form meaning there was a group or a team of biblically qualified men leading the church, rather than just one. And though this has fallen on hard times in various churches and at various points, there is strong support for the understanding that this is the apostolic pattern for the churches they established. Because of the congregational nature of the New Testament church, rather than functioning as an executive board that "calls the shots" this group of men lead the church spiritually as "under-shepherds" of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Complementarian
The Bible tells us in the very beginning (Genesis 1:27) that God created man in his own image. It then says "male and female he created them." That means that men and women are both made in the image of God and have equal dignity, worth, and value. But equal doesn't mean the same. God created men and women with obvious differences in anatomy and physiology. He also created them with different callings. God has called men to lead (husbands in their homes, pastors in the church) and called women to lovingly help and support the leadership of their husbands and pastors respectively. In addition, there are other distinctions between men and woman which are hard-wired into them from Creation so that when men and women live out their uniquely masculine and feminine callings and God-ordained roles to the glory of God they complement one another and everyone flourishes.
High view of church membership
In many churches, membership is nothing more than a name on a piece of paper. And even though official church membership isn't specifically mentioned in the New Testament, the community life that meaningful church membership is supposed to facilitate is. Membership in a local church implies a covenant relationship between church members involving accountability and care. It also defines, according to Hebrews 13:17, who is caring for one's soul and what souls the pastors of a particular church are going to give an account before God for. Therefore, being a member of a church is important and carrying out the relationships that church membership defines is important as well. And that can't happen if one is simply a name on a sheet of paper.