What We Believe
- We believe our mission and purpose is to worship the Lord first and foremost, through biblical preaching and teaching.
- We believe we are to minister to the body of His church and be an outreach to the unbelieving world. We are to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:20
- We believe the Holy Spirit guides the church and is the Spirit of truth and we are to do Christ’s work in the world.
“Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone-especially to those in the family of faith.” Galatians 6:10
- We believe the church is where the restless can find peace, where love is alive and Jesus Christ is Lord.
God the Father; Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit
God is the creator of all. He is sovereign and holy.
He is all knowing, all powerful and eternal. We serve only one God.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, born of a virgin birth. He came to earth, was crucified on the cross for our sins, died and was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.
We believe as sinners we can have salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ. He is the only head of the church, and we believe He will return one glorious day for His saints.
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. We believe the Holy Spirit lives within each born-again believer. We believe He convicts us, intercedes for us, teaches, rebukes and guides us. We believe the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.
We believe God the Father; Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit make up the Godhead. 3 separate persons-one God.
The Bible and its use
God is the ultimate author of all scripture. The Bible is God breathed. All scripture has the authority of God behind it. The proof of the Bible is conveyed to believers as the Holy Spirit uses it to change hearts and lives. It is the one and only written source for the basis of our beliefs.
Believer’s Baptism
We believe that by being presented publicly as a candidate for baptism, the believer affirms a personal commitment to God and the expressed faith of the congregation. Baptism is the first act of obedience. We believe in baptism by immersion, modeling after Jesus’ own baptism.
The priesthood of all believers
We believe as a church that all Christians are equal and therefore can approach the intercessor, Christ Jesus directly.
The Lord’s Supper (Communion)
Remembrance is the heart of the Lord’s supper-a remembrance of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ for our sins.
We believe in the ordinance of 1 Corinthians 11:23-29.
We offer the Lord’s supper to anyone who has accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
Soul Liberty
As a church, we believe the study of God’s inerrant word will ensure, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, conviction, teaching, leading and directing to each individual in our everyday lives.
The roles of the laity: role of the minister
Our church is self-governed and selects its own laity for leadership through different boards and committees. The members fill all positions required for the needs of the church. The laity and pastor work together on God’s ministry team.
We believe it is imperative that the minister has been called to serve the Lord in this capacity and must be passionate about his calling. As a leader he should be spirit driven and spirit led. His personal commitment to God should be evident in his everyday life. He should be sensitive to the Spirit’s direction in the church. He should have the ability to minister and work with various personalities within the church body, including those who are involved with boards and committees. He should have the ability to provide scripture-based truths in areas of counseling and spiritual guidance when needed. He must encourage and preach doctrine integrity and promote genuine worship. He is responsible for most worship services and special services of the church, which include weddings and funerals.
The autonomy of the local congregation
We are under Christ’s law and therefore will not be governed by any man-made rules or regulations.
We as individuals/believers within the church, feel we are only accountable to Christ, due to the personal convictions that are presented through the Holy Spirit.
Our commitment in support of the ABC
We are involved with and help support the ABC. Just as many churches in the Central Region, we have had some people who have had issues with the American Baptist denomination because of controversial topics.
As a church, we do not approve of homosexuality, nor do we think homosexuals should have any leadership positions in our church.
We accept the teachings of the Bible on issues of sexuality, marriage and gender.
We do not believe that we should judge anyone struggling with these issues.
Ultimately, we do not believe that this is a reason to end our association with ABC-USA.
Our relationship to ecumenical witness
We believe it is imperative to be centered in Christ and support local, state, national and world missions as we (a body of believers) are led by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And be sure of this teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” –Matthew 28:19-20