What We Believe

We believe in the Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention as our larger statement of faith with scriptural references.

We believe in one Holy and Triune God who combines within Himself three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that each Person is functionally different and distinct from the other, yet all are ontologically equal, being equally and fully God. (Deut. 6:4, Jn. 1:1;14, Col. 1:15-17, Acts 5:3-4, Mt. 28:19)

We believe in the Universal Church; that the bride of Christ is a collection of all true saints; that no one denomination can hold claim to being that one true Church; that the true Church is in the hearts of all believers. (1 Cor. 1:2, 1 Cor. 12:13;27, Rom. 8:9-11, Gal. 3:26-29)

We believe the Holy Bible is the canonized scriptures of God; that the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God and are thus infallible installments of doctrine and faith, infallible accounts of history, and infallible instructions upon how to live; that the Bible is all sufficient to teach the saving knowledge of the Gospel. (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Heb. 4:12, 2 Pet. 3:15-16, Rev. 22:18-19)

We believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pure and unaltered, is the only power of God for the salvation of sinful man; that the Gospel is defined thusly: “All men have sinned against the Holy God and are, therefore, in debt to the Law of sin. Because of this sin-debt, man is separated from God and stands guilty before the righteous Judge who will return one day to judge the world. However, God so loved man that, in His compassion, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, who is God and man combined, to be the atoning sacrifice on the cross so that man’s sin-debt would be satisfied. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave, demonstrating that He alone has victory over sin and death. His resurrection was witnessed by the public and was a very real resurrection. He lives today. Whosever believes in Him and these truths, which are His and of Him, and are therefore led to repentance of sin and submission to the Lordship of Christ, these persons receive forgiveness and eternal salvation.” (Lev. 17:11; Ps. 51:3-5, Is. 53, Mt. 27-28, Mk. 1:15, Mk. 8:31, Jn. 3:14-21, Rom. 1:16, Rom. 3:10-18; 21-23, Rom. 6:23, Rom. 10:9-10, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Eph. 2:8-9, Heb. 10:19-25, Heb. 13:12, 1 Jn. 2:1-2)

We believe that all of mankind are totally affected by the Fall and original sin, causing us to be sinners by nature; that mankind is, therefore, unable to recover himself from the fallen state he is in; regardless of any righteous deed(s); regardless of the amount or grandeur. (Gen. 3:6-19, Is. 24:5-6, Mt. 19:25-26, Rom. 3:10-18)

We believe that the sovereign election of God and the responsibility of mankind to respond operate in an inseparable, complex, and salvific relationship; that both God’s total sovereignty and man’s free-will are true and biblical facts; that both of these truths are harmonious for the salvation of the individual. (Gen. 50:20, Deut. 30:19-20, Josh. 24:15, Prov. 16:9, Jn. 3:17, Jn. 6:44, Rom. 8:29-30, Heb. 2:2-3, Heb. 4:1-2, Rev. 13:8)

We believe the the Elect of God shall be regenerated and reborn into a new life in Christ Jesus by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; that this same Spirit will cause the one indwelled to be sanctified, both immediately and progressively. (Jn. 3:3, 2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 2:20, 2 Thess. 2:13, 2 Tim. 2:21, Tit. 3:5, 1 Jn. 3:9)

We believe the the only true Salvation for the sinner is garnered by attaining righteousness allotted to all those who believe in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior; that it is His righteousness with which we are endowed by faith. (Gen. 15:16, Jn. 3:16, Rom. 10:9-11, 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 2 Cor. 5:21, Philip. 3:9, 1 Peter 2:24, Heb. 11)

We believe that all of God’s elect are divinely preserved and are eternally secure in their salvation; that all who completely and totally apostatize unto death were never truly part of the fold and never received the saving and preserving power of the Holy Spirit. (Jn. 6:39-40, Eph. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 1:21-22, Eph. 4:30, 1 Jn. 2:19)

We believe in believers baptism by full immersion as the first ordinance of Jesus Christ for His New Testament Church; that this baptism is not salvific, but is rather an outward and public symbol of an inward and private reality; that prior to this ordinance, we have already been baptized by the Holy Spirit with the blood of Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and the regeneration of our soul; that the practice of this ordinance must be done in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Mt. 28:19, Rom. 6:4, Acts 2:41, Acts 10:47, Acts 8:12)

We believe that communion is the second ordinance of Jesus Christ for His New Testament Church; that communion ought to be observed only by those who are both saved and baptized as it is a symbol and remembrance of our sharing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by the breaking of His body and shedding of His blood; that it is also a public declaration of unity whereby we recognize our being of one body and sharers of the same Holy Spirit, the same hope, the same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, the same God and Father. (Mt. 26:26-29, Mk. 14:22-25, Lk. 22:17-20, 1 Cor. 11:18-27, Eph. 4:4-6)

We believe marriage, being a Biblical institution, is a holy sacrament defined as a union between one man and one woman; that marriage is reflective of one Christ being united with His one Church; that this local church body and/or it’s leadership will neither perform nor partake in any ceremony contrary to this truth. (Gen. 2:21-25, Rom. 1:26-27, Eph. 5:22-33)

We believe that all mankind is composed of no more than 2 sexes, male and female; that males are gendered with the masculine descriptors and titles while females are gendered with the feminine descriptors and titles; that God is not a God of confusion, neither does He delight in the perversion of His created order; that Satan has, from the beginning, sought to perverse the created order of God and he is the author of gender perversion. (Gen. 1:27, Gen. 5:2, Jn. 8:44, 1 Cor. 6:9)

We believe that the souls of the righteous go immediately to be with the Lord upon their deaths and their bodies wait in the ground for the final resurrection day; that upon reaching that day, their souls will be reunited with their regenerated and imperishable bodies to live in eternal joy and peace with God; that this as described is the eternal reward of the righteous. (Lk. 23:43, 1 Cor. 15:20-23;35-57, 2 Cor. 5:6-8, 1 Thess. 4:13-18)

We believe the souls of the unrighteous go immediately into torment in Sheol upon their deaths and their bodies wait in the ground for the Great White Throne Judgement; that their souls are in constant turmoil and agony whilst in Sheol; that upon the day of judgement they will be cast, body and soul, into the lake of fire where their torment and suffering will be without ceasing; that this as described is the eternal punishment of the wicked. (Dan. 12:2, Lk. 16:19-31, Jn. 5:28-29, Rev. 20:11-15)