• Denominationally

We are an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church made up of members who are born-again, baptized, and have a desire to fulfill the Great Commission in obedience to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our wish is to Serve and Share the Savior, and to hear HIM say at the end of our lives, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

 

  • Distinctively

We are unapologetically Baptist. That means:

 

B: The Bible is our faith, rule, and practice; the only authority upon which we stand.

A: We are an autonomous, local, Bible-believing, Spirit-led church.

P: We hold to the priesthood of the believer. That means that every born-again child of God has direct access to the Heavenly Father without the need of a priest. There is “one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (I Tim. 2:5).”

T: We hold to the two offices of male leadership: Pastor and deacons.

I: Individual Soul Liberty means that each person is entitled to their own beliefs; however, to be a member of the church you must agree to abide by the constitution and covenant of the church.

S: Separation of church and state means that, though we are responsible to the state, we are not ruled by the state. The church is self-governed by Spirit filled believers who stand upon the Word of God to guide us.

T: The two ordinances of the church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is only by immersion, identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial that symbolizes the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. Neither baptism, nor the Lord’s Supper have any saving merit, but are done in obedience to the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ.

S: Saved by grace through faith, baptized by immersion, added to the local church by membership, and walking in obedience with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

  • Doctrinally

1.   The Holy Scriptures:

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God breathed. They are the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man. God has supernaturally preserved HIS word for all eternity.

(2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12-13).

 

(a.) By “The Holy Scriptures” we mean that collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which was originally and providentially preserved does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God.

(Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 8:20; Isaiah 40:8; I Thess. 2:13)

(b.) By “inspiration” we mean that God’s word is God-breathed as is indicated by the Greek word in II Tim. 3:16, theonuestos – Theos, meaning God, and pneustos, meaning breath, wind, or spirit. Inspiration, then, as defined by Paul in this passage is the strong, conscious, in-breathing of God into men. These were holy men of God who were moved to give utterance of the truth. It is God superintending HIS Word through men; and the Old Testament is therefore just as much the word of God as if God spoke every single word of it with HIS own lips, likewise with the New Testament.

It is the influence of the Spirit of God which guided and directed the Scripture writers even in the employment of the words that they used, down to the jot and tittle. God’s holy Word is as eternal, true, and accurate as God’s Himself. (Ex. 4:10-15; Ex. 34:27; II Sam. 23:1-2; Isa 8:1, 11, 12; Jer. 1:7-9; Jer. 7:27; Jer. 30:1, 2; Matt. 10:20; Acts 1:16; I Cor. 2:13; I Cor. 14:37; I Thess. 2:13; II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21; I Peter 1:10, 11; I John 1:1-3)

(c.) By “preserved” we mean that every word of Scripture given by God is kept by HIS power. It is a promise given in Scripture by an eternal, immutable, sovereign God Who cannot lie. No other book has undergone more persecution and opposition than the Bible, yet it has survived the test of time. Science, archeology, and history all bear witness to the credibility and authority of the Scriptures. The eternal Word is inseparably linked to the One and only eternal God Who supernaturally keeps every word down to the jot and tittle, proving God to be true and every man a liar, “That thou mightiest be justified in thy sayings, and mightiest overcome when thou art judged (Romans 3:4).” We believe that the King James Version is the best English translation available; the reader can study and rely upon it with utmost confidence due to its careful translation from the Masoretic Hebrew Text and the Textus Receptus Greek Text.

(Psalm 12:6-7; Psalm 33:11; Psalm 117:7-8; Psalm 119:89, 160; Isaiah 40:8; Isaiah 46:9-10; Matt. 5:18; Matt. 24:35; Rom. 15:4; I Peter 1:23-25; Revelation 22:18-19)

 

2. The Godhead:

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections, executing distinct but harmonious offices in the work of redemption. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14).

 

3. The Person and Work of Christ:

(a.) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Matt. 1:18, 20, 23-25; John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35).

(b.) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross, as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal physical resurrection from the dead.

(Rom. 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Eph.1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).

(c.) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.

(Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 7:25; Heb. 9:24; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1-2; Acts 7:55-56).

 

4. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit:

(a.) We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling, and sealing them unto the day of redemption.

(John 16:8-11; Rom. 2:13-15; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).

(b.) We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher Who assists believers in understanding and appropriating the Scriptures, and that it is the privilege and the duty of all believers to be filled with the Spirit. I further believe that the Holy Spirit always glorifies Christ and not Himself. (Jn. 16:13-14; Jn. 14:26; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 1:17-18; Eph. 5:18; I Jn. 2:20, 27)

(c.) We believe that the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-14, 28; Eph. 4:7-13)

(d.) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary until that which is perfect (the complete canon of Scriptures) is come. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Tongues were a physical language and a sign to the unbelieving Jews. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to hear and answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (I Cor. 1:22; I Cor. 13:8; I Cor. 14:21-22; James 5:16)

 

5. The Total Depravity of Man:

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which, all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but of choice; and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse. (Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 3; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Gal. 3:22; Eph. 2:1-3, 12; I Tim. 2:13-14).

 

6. Salvation:

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Eph 1: 7; Eph. 2:8-10; John 1: 12; I Peter 1:18-19).

(a.) We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born-again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; and that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel.

(Matt. 3:7-8; John 1:12-13; John 3:16, 36; II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:1; Titus 3:5; II Peter 1:4).

(b.) We believe that salvation is made free to all by the gospel. Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel. (Isaiah 55:6-7; Matt. 11:28; John 3:15-18; John 6:37; Romans 10:13; II Thess. 1:8; Titus 2:11; II Peter 3:9).

(c.) We believe that Christ justifies us in HIM through HIS finished work on the cross and the resurrection from the dead; and that justification includes the pardon of sin and the gift of eternal life on the basis of the righteousness that Christ imputes to us when we accept HIS free gift of salvation solely by faith. This means that we stand perfect and complete in HIM before God the Father. (Isaiah 53:11; Habakkuk 2:4; John 3:15-18; Romans 4:6-7, 22-25; Romans 5:1; Romans 8:1; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 3:18).

(d.) We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations for all men and are inseparable for salvation. Upon hearing the Word of God and with the Work of the Holy Spirit, man is convicted of his guilt, his danger, and his helplessness and is convinced of the way to salvation through Christ. Upon that conviction and convincing, man turns to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy while heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and openly confessing HIM as his only and all-sufficient Savior. (Isaiah 55:6-7; Luke 18:13; John 16:7-11; Acts 4:12; Acts 17:30; Acts 20:21)

 

7. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers:

(a.) We believe that all the redeemed, once they have accepted God’s free gift of salvation, are kept by the power of God and are thus secure in Christ forever. God’s gift of salvation is eternal, and as thus, no man can be plucked from the Father’s hand. Every man who comes to Christ for salvation is placed in the family of God, never to be removed.

(John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5).

(b.) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty, as an occasion to the flesh.

(Rom. 13:13-14; Gal.5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

 

8. The Two Natures of the Believers:

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the study of the Word of God which is then applied to the Christian’s life; and, that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.

(Rom. 6:13; 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9).

 

9. Sanctification

I believe that sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit to set apart a believer for holiness and accomplishing the work and will of God in their lives. It can be seen in three aspects: (1) It begins at the moment of salvation, (2) It is an on-going process that continues throughout the Christian life, and (3) It will have its final accomplishment when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, when this corruption will put on incorruption, and this mortality will put on immortality. (Eph. 2:10; I Cor. 6:19-20; I Jn. 1:6-2:6)


 

10. Separation:

We believe that all Christians should and will live a life in which there is manifested a measure of holiness which brings glory to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that separation unto the Lord from all worldly and sinful pleasure, practices and associations, and from religious apostasy is commanded by God. (Eph. 1:4; II Cor. 6:14-17; Gal. 5:24; I Jn. 2:15-17)

 

Christians should be separated in three areas: moral, personal, and ecclesiastical (church) separation.

  1. Moral separation – It is the endeavor of the Christian to be holy, separated from moral sins such as adultery, fornication, and homosexual behavior (I Peter 2:11).

  2. Personal separation – It is the act of being different from the world in our words and works (Rom. 16:17; Titus 2:14).

  3. Ecclesiastical separation – It is the act of being separate from churches which have doctrinal error or heresy (II Thess. 3:6).


 

11. Missions:

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.

(Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19-20).

 

12. The Church:

I believe that the establishment and continuance of the local independent churches is clearly taught in the New Testament. It was birthed into existence by the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2), and it functions as the body of Christ until the rapture. The church membership is to be a congregation made up of saved, baptized by immersion body of believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His will as revealed in the New Testament, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges vested in them by His Word. Independent churches are organized for the purpose of ministering Christ to the lost world, and for the purposes of worship, edification, and fellowship of believers. I believe the New Testament church is independent and autonomous; each church is free to govern itself without ecclesiastical interference. It is the responsibility of the church to follow the pattern of the New Testament, and is directly accountable to God (Acts 2:41-47; Acts 11:26; Acts 15; Gal. 1:2; Titus 1:5-11; Matt. 28:19-20; Heb. 10:24-25; I Cor. 12:27).

 

I believe that all born-again believers collectively, Jew and Gentile alike, make up a spiritual body identified in Scripture as the Body of Christ, Jesus Christ being the head of the body. This company of believers, also identified as the Bride of Christ, will be gathered and perfected at the Rapture. (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 5:25-30; Heb. 12:23)

 

  • Two Ordinances

I believe that the two ordinances given in Scripture are baptism by immersion, and the Lord’s Supper to be carried out by the pastor.

  1. Baptism by immersion of a true believer into water in the name of the Triune God in obedience to Christ, following conversion, is the only Biblical mode of baptism. It is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior, and likewise of the believer in his regeneration experience as passing from death unto life. It does not save you. Also, I reject the unscriptural teaching of infant baptism.

  2. The Lord’s Supper is an observance commemorating the death of our Lord on Calvary, partaking of grape juice and of unleavened bread as given in I Cor. 11, as often as you will until the Lord’s return. It is for believers only. Faithful self-examination should precede its observance. It has no saving merit. I reject the unscriptural teachings of transubstantiation and consubstantiation.

 

  • Two Offices

I believe that there are only two Scriptural offices of the church, namely, the pastor and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in I Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1.

 

13. Dispensationalism:

We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life, which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation (salvation has always been by grace through faith), but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. There are seven dispensations of note: Innocence, Conscience, Government, Promise, the Law, Grace (Church age), and Millennial Kingdom. It begins with a promise, sealed with a sign, characterized by a test, and ends in judgment. (Gen. 1:28; II Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; Eph. 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-27; Rev. 20:2-6)

  1. Innocence – It begins with the promise of blessing and fruitfulness. The sign is the Garden of Eden. The test is the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. The judgment is that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

  2. Conscience – This dispensation begins with the promise of the Messiah. The sign given is the sacrifice. The test is to follow and obey God. The judgment was the Flood.

  3. Government – This economy of God came in after the flood. It comes in with the promise of no more universal flood. Its sign given to man is the rainbow. Its test is to follow and obey God. Its judgment is the Tower of Babel when God confounded the languages.

  4. Promise – This is sometimes called the Abrahamic dispensation. The promise is the Messiah will come through him. The sign is the son in Abraham’s old age. The test is to follow and obey God. The judgment is slavery in Egypt.

  5. Law – This dispensation is characterized by the law. The sign is Mt. Sinai. The test was to keep the law and attract the Gentile nations to Jehovah. The judgment was at Calvary.

  6. Grace – This dispensation is sometimes called the dispensation of the Church, or Church Age. The promise given was the Holy Spirit. The sign given was the gift of tongues. The test is the Great Commission. Judgment is the rapture (we are saved from the wrath that is to come) which will be followed by the tribulation period, the time of Jacob’s trouble.

  7. Millennial Kingdom – This is the dispensation is when the promise is God’s kingdom on earth. The sign is the Second Coming of Christ to physically rule and reign on the earth. The test is to remain faithful. The judgment is the final war (When Satan is released and gathers those in rebellion for the final resistance against the rule of Christ).

 

14. The Personality of Satan:

We believe that Satan is a Person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.

(Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

 

15. The Second Advent of Christ:

We believe in that “Blessed Hope”, the personal imminent, pretribulation, and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom.

(John 14:1-6; I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6).

 

16. The Eternal State:

(a.) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.

(Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25; Rev. 20:5-6,12-13).

(b.) We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.

(Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17).

(c.) We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.

(Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:7-9’ Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).

 

17. Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality

We believe that God fearfully, wonderfully, and immutably creates each person as either male or female. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any alteration or transformation of one’s gender by any method. We believe that the term marriage is entirely defined as the uniting of one natural born man with one natural born woman, equally yoked together (believers of the same mind and in one accord) in a single, exclusive union for life, as described in Scripture. We believe that God commanded that no sexual intimacy or activity should be engaged in outside of the exclusive union of one man and one woman who are married to each other. We believe that any form of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, pedophilia, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex and HIS design for mankind. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5; Leviticus 18:1-30; Leviticus 20; Deuteronomy 22; Psalm 139:13-17; Matt. 15:18-20; Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:8-12; I Cor. 5:1; I Cor. 6:9-10, 18; I Cor. 7:2-5; II Cor. 6:14; I Thess. 4:1-8)

 

18. The Home

We believe that the institution of the home as defined by Scripture was divinely established in the beginning as the union of marriage between one naturally born man and one naturally born woman. Each family member in the family (husband, wife, and child) has distinct duties and responsibilities. The parents are to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to provide them with godly instruction through Christian example lived out in the home and formal education. (Gen. 2:18-25; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Deuteronomy 32:46; Proverbs 3:12; 13:24: 22:6; Ephesians 5:21-33; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-11; I Peter 3:1-8)

 

19. The Sanctity of Human Life

We believe that all human life is created by God in HIS image and begins at conception and is sacred to God. We believe that a child born in the womb is a living being. We believe human life is of inestimable worth in every facet, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. (Psalm 139; Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

 

20. Music

We believe that music is to be in accordance with the holiness of God. Music is not amoral, and by its very structure and presentation can either arouse base and carnal passions of man, or can minister to edify man and glorify God. God-honoring music requires the verbal message of the music to be doctrinally sound and prominent while the musical construction of melody, harmony, movement, and rhythm support the presentation of that message rather than compete with it. Christian music is not for performance, but for ministry; and those who minister should have lives that exemplify a changed life in Christ. Praise and worship of God through music, consisting of hymns and spiritual songs, must be acceptable to a Holy God and must not be polluted nor tainted with any of the characteristics of carnal, worldly music, which appeal to and stimulate carnal reactions. (Ex. 15:1; I Chronicles 16:9, 23; Psalm 9:11; Psalm 13:6; Ephesians 4:29; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).