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Mission Statement A body of baptized believers whose mission is to win people to Jesus Christ, to disciple them, and to minister to them through education, fellowship, and service, in order to bring each member to spiritual maturity. The Bible We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired Word of God in the original autographs (1), that it was written by men controlled by the Holy Spirit (2), and therefore without error. It is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. (1) II Tim. 3:16-17 (2) II Pet. 1:20-21 The Trinity We believe in the Trinity of the Godhead; there is one God(1) eternally existing in three equal but distinct persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2). (1) Deut. 6:4 (2) Matt. 28:18-19; II Cor. 13:14 God the Father We believe in God, the Father, and rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men(1), that He hears and answers prayer (2), and that He saves from sin and eternal damnation all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (3). We believe He has a paternal relationship to believers only(4). (1) Dan. 2:21; 4:17 (2) John 15:16 (3) John 6:44; 3:16,18 (4) Rom. 8:15; John 8:41-44 God the Son We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son(1), born of a virgin (2), sinless in His life (3), who atoned for the sins of the world by His death, burial, and bodily resurrection (4). We believe in His ascension into Heaven (5), His perpetual intercession for His people (6), His personal coming in the air for His church (1), and His return to earth at the close of the tribulation to establish his millennial kingdom (8). (1) John 3:16 (2) Matt. 1:23 (3) I Pet. 2:21-22 (4) I Cor. 15:3-4 (5) Acts 1:9 (6) Heb. 7:25 (7) I Thess. 4:13-18 (8) Rev. 19:11-16; Rev. 3:10 God the Holy Spirit We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit (l) who convicts (2), regenerates (3), baptizes (4), indwells (5), seals (6) and fills (7). We believe Spirit baptism takes place at the time of regeneration (8) and that the filling of the Spirit is manifested by the fruits of the Spirit rather than by any specific spiritual gift(9). (1) Acts 5:3-4 (2) John 16:8-11, 14:26 (3) Titus 3:5 (4) I Cor. 12:12-13 (5) I Cor. 6:19-20 (6) Eph. 1:13 (7) Acts 4:31; Eph. 5 (8) Acts 10:44-47, 11:16 (9) Gal. 5:16; Acts 4:31 Creation We accept the Genesis account of creation, and believe that man came into being by direct creation of God, and not by evolution. (1) Gen. 1 & 2; Col. 1:16; John 1:3. Spirit Beings We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless angels (1). One of these, though created holy by God sinned through pride thereby becoming Satan, the Devil, the enemy of his Creator, leading a host of angels in rebellion against God (2) . He became the god of this age and the ruler of all the powers of darkness and is destined to the judgment of an eternal punishment in the lake of fire (3). (1) Col. 1:16; Heb. 12:22 (2) Ezek. 28:12-17; Rev. 12:7-9 (3) II Cor. 4:3-4; Eph. 2:22; Rev. 20:10; Eph. 2:22; Matt. 25:41 Mankind We believe that all men are sinners by nature (l) and under the condemnation of God (2) . The only remedy for this condition is Holy Spirit regeneration through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as payment for one's sins (3). We believe regeneration is the irrevocable act of God, thus securing the believer for all eternity (4). We believe the Bible does not teach that God created any person for the purpose of condemnation (5) (1) Eph. 2:3; Rom. 3:9-20; 5:12 (2) John 3:18, 36 (3) I Pet. 1:18-22; John 3:8, 14; Heb. 9:22 Rom. 8:35-39; John 10:28-29 (5) John 3:16; II Pet. 3:9 Final Destinies We believe that the souls of believers in Christ do at death immediately pass into His presence (1) and there remain until the resurrection of the body at the rapture when. soul and body reunited shall stand before Christ to be judged of their Christian works for the giving of rewards, and they shall then be associated with Christ forever in glory (2). The souls of unbelievers remain after death in burning Hell until the final resurrection at the end of the millennium for judgment; the result of this judgment will be that all will be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power(3). (1) II Cor. 5:6; Phil. 1:23 (2) II Cor. 5:10; I Cor. 3:11-15; I Thess. 4:13-18 (3) Luke 16:19-20; II Thess. 1:6-9; Rev. 20:11-15 The Church We believe in the Church (1), a living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head (2) and of which all regenerated people are members (3). We believe that a local church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ (4), baptized by immersion after an acceptable confession of faith (5) associated for worship, work and fellowship (6), and having two offices, pastor and deacon (1). We believe that to these visible churches were committed, for observance throughout the church age, the ordinances of baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper (8), and that God has laid upon these churches the task of witnessing to a lost world to accept Jesus Christ as Savior (9), and of building up the saints in the faith once for all delivered (10). (1) Matt. 16:18 (2) Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:16; Eph. 4:15. 5:23 (3) I Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 5:30 (4) Acts 2:41-42; (5) Acts 10:47-48 (6) Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:25; (7) Phil. 1:1; (8) Matt. 26:16-20; Rom. 11:23-26 (9) Acts 1:6; Matt. 26:16-20 (10) Eph. 4:7, 11-16; Jude 3. Separation We believe that separation is a doctrine as well as a practice and that the separation principle runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. We believe that true spiritual fellowship is the result of a common faith and practice. We believe there are four aspects of Biblical separation. Political separation - the separation of the local church from the state Personal separation - the separation of the believer from worldly pursuits that are in opposition to serving God. (Josh. 24:15; Eph. 5:15-18; I John 2:15-17; II Cor. 6:14-7:1; Titus 3:10; John 10:11). Ecclesiastical separation - the separation of the church from apostasy. Each local church is independent and autonomous and must be free from interference by any other ecclesiastical authority. We believe we are to reprove apostates rather than recognize them to rebuke rather than to reason with them, to reject rather than to receive or unite with them. This includes but is not limited to the World and National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. (II Cor. 6:14-17; II John 10-11;'II Tim. 4:2-4). Practical separation - the separation of the believer from an erring brother. We believe that we must separate from those who continue in disobedience to the Word of God, but with a desire for, and a goal toward, restoration of the believer to full fellowship. (II Thess. 3:6,14,15; Rom. 16:17; I Cor. 5:11). Human Sexuality We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. Any employee of the church becoming pregnant or causing pregnancy as a result of consensual intercourse, outside of the marriage relationship, shall be terminated from employment. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23) We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2 I Cor. 7:10, Eph. 5:22-23). We believe that men and women' are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for, licensure and ordination by the church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12). Divorce and Remarriage We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouse's dies. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons or persons marrying divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor, pastoral staff or deacon. (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; I Tim. 3:2, 12 Titus 1:6) Abortion We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psa. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1,5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44). Missions We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20). Lawsuits between Believers We believe that Christians should not bring civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. (I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32). Giving We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. Although we recognize designated gifts we believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made whether the gift is designated or not. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:910; Acts 4:34-37; I Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; I John 3:17). Baptism and the Lord's Supper We believe that scriptural baptism is the immersion of a born-again believer in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem of our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to new life; that it is a prerequisite to church membership. We believe that the Lord's Supper is a commemoration of His death until He comes to be participated in by baptized believers, and should always be preceded by a period of self-examination (Acts 8:36-39; John 3:23; Rom. 6: 35; Matt. 3:16; Col. 2:12; I Cor. 11:23-28). Some things Baptists believe The Meaning of Church Membership When one says, "I am a member of a Baptist Church," they are saying more than they belong to some local church. It means that they have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, that their sins have been forgiven, and that they have peace in their soul. It also means they have been obedient to the commands of Christ in following Him in Scriptural baptism and uniting with His church. It also means they have found a new relationship and fellowship with other believers. Church membership should be taken very seriously and looked upon with sacredness. This organization that they have joined is a local organized body of baptized believers equal in rank and privilege. Administering affairs under the headship of Christ, united in belief of what He taught covenanting together to do what He has commanded. A local church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest institution that the world has ever known. Christ established it during His personal ministry and is it's head. He promised that He would be with it through all the ages and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. We have the great privilege of being members of Baptist Churches. They are churches with glorious beginnings. They are churches that have held true to God's Word through persecution and tribulation and whose members have been numbered among the faithful. Truly it is a privilege to be a member of a Baptist Church. Membership brings us great opportunity, the opportunity for fellowship in the best fellowship that can be found; an opportunity for Christian growth and development and training through the various departments of the Church organization; and opportunity of Christian service through the program, work and service of the church, to the glory of and in the name of Christ. Membership also places upon us an inescapable obligation; an obligation to use our time and our talents for the glory of God; an obligation to support the work in our presence, our talent, our influence, and our means. Our church will never be stronger than its membership. A membership of worldly, careless, negligent, stunned Christians will prevent a church from accomplishing much for the Lord. The need is for every member to be consecrated, trained, and enlisted in active service. Every member is under obligation to be the best member possible under the leading of the Lord, **with the philosophy that, "Every member is a minister." Each member is asked to seek a place of service through our training and enlistment programs within a reasonable amount of time. We then see that membership is not only a high privilege, but also an opportunity and demands great obligation. Too many members have not learned these things and their church means little to them and they mean little to their church. This condition must be changed. Won't you change it by making your membership count for Christ?! The foregoing statements do not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. |