What We Believe
We affirm the Holy Bible as the inspired word of God and the basis for our beliefs. This church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of the Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000. We voluntarily band together as a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation to all mankind. The ordinances of the church are believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
The Scripture
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, truth without any mixture of error, written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that is has supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and conduct for all who follow Christ.
The Trinity
We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Father
We believe God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of human history according to His purposes. He is perfect in character, power, knowledge, and love. God is Father in truth to those who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the scriptures. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God, and is now our High Priest.
The Holy Spirit
We believe the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, convict people of sin, regenerate those who believe, and indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the Christian for Godly living and service.
The Nature of Humanity
We believe all people are created in the image of God and therefore every person has worth and value. The image of God in humans also enables each person to experience a personal relationship with God. However, every person has forfeited that relationship because each one, according to his or her sinful nature and by acts of his or her will, has rejected God.
The Salvation of Humanity
We believe salvation from sin is provided by God only through the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for our sins, and that salvation is available as a free gift of God to all who repent of their sin and trust in Christ as Lord and Savior.
The Security of the Believer
We believe that all true believers by virtue of their faith in Christ are kept secure in Him forever. True believers will experience temptations, doubts, and times of unfaithfulness to Christ but will ultimately persevere in faith.
The Conduct of the Believer
We believe that a Christian is to live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow humans; that his conduct should be blameless before the word; that he should faithfully use his possessions to serve and honor God; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the goal of full maturity as a disciple of Christ.
The Church
We believe a New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers who voluntarily band themselves together on the basis of shared commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord, to one another as fellow believers in Christ, and to continuing His saving mission in the world. The local church is a self-governing body operating under the Lordship of Christ with pastors and deacons as its scriptural leaders. We also believe that New Testament speaks of the Church as the body of Christ which is composed of all the redeemed of all the ages.
The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus institute the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be observed by all believers until His return. Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to symbolize their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper commemorates the death of Christ through the symbols of bread for his body and the cup for his blood. We believe the ordinances are not necessary for salvation but as acts commanded by Jesus they are essential expressions of Christian commitment.
Last Things
We believe in the personal, visible, and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to reign as King over all. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead and the judgment of all people by Christ in righteousness following His return. Following judgment the believer will enter into everlasting joy in heaven with the Lord, and the unbeliever into everlasting punishment in hell apart from the Lord.
June 2017 constitution and bylaws
Baptism
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
Baptism is symbolic.
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized in to Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we to may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
Baptism is for believers.
Those who accepted his message [believed the good news about Jews] were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:41)
Baptism is commanded.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Baptism is by immersion.
The meaning of the Greek word Baptizo indicates immersion. It means to dip or plunge under the water. Lidell Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford 1951), vol. 1, pp. 305-06
The symbolism of baptism suggests immersion. Only by immersion of the believer can the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ be portrayed.
The New Testament practice suggests immersion.
Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (John 3:23)
Immersion was the common practice of the church until the 3rd Century A.D.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. (Matthew 3:16)
This church will receive for baptism any person who has received Jesus Christ as Savior by personal faith, who professes Him publicly at any worship service, and who indicates a commitment to follow Christ as Lord.
Articles of Faith
- That there is only one true and living God, revealed to us as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the same in essence and equal in every divine perfection. Deuteronomy 6:4
- That man was created holy, innocent and happy, but by the disobedience of one, man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-5,12
- That the only way of salvation is by grace through faith in the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:8-9; 1 Peter 2:24
- That it is the duty of all men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Romans 10:9; Acts 16:31; Matthew 28:20
- That nothing can separate true believers from the love of God, but that they will be kept by His power through faith unto salvation. John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18, 19
- That Christian Baptism is administered only by immersion of believers in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that Baptized believers are entitled to partake of the Lord’s Supper, after examining their heart. Matthew 28:19,20; Romans 6:1-5; Acts 2:41,42; I Corinthians 11:23-28
- That there will be a general resurrection of the dead, and a general judgment when all mankind will be judged according to their deeds, that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Romans 13:13,14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-14; Romans 10:9-13
- That the Christian ministry is a divinely appointed means for the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, and that it is the duty of all Christians according to ability to contribute to its support. I Corinthians 12:4-11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Acts 6:2-4
Giving
We believe tithing to be 1/10 of your income that belongs to the Lord.
Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, How are we robbing you? In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse your whole nation because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:8-10)
Tithing tests your:
- Stewardship
- Trust/Faith in God
- Obedience
Tithing is an act of worship, and not just a means to pay the light bill.
Offering envelopes may be found in the worship center foyer, and in racks on the back of each pew in the worship center. Envelopes may also be picked up from the church office during the week or you can give online.
With the exception of online giving, an offering envelope must be used if you would like to have a record of your contributions at the end of the year. The envelope must have the first and last name and the amount of the donation.
3 Ways to Give
In Person | By Mail | Online Giving
GIVE ONLINE
The Lord's Supper
This church will observe the Lord’s Supper every month and this church body practices open communion for all people who have accepted Christ as their Savior.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
Our Objectives
To be a church, composed of baptized believers who share a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
To be a redemptive body in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit by:
- Growing toward Christian maturity through worship
- Witness
- Education
- Ministry
- Proclaiming the gospel to the whole world
- Applying Christian principles to man and society that God’s purpose may be achieved.