WE ALIGN WITH HISTORIC BAPTIST PRINCIPLES

1- The pre-eminence of Christ as our Divine Lord and Master.

2- The supreme authority of the King James (AV-1611) Bible and its sufficiency as our only rule of faith and practice.

3- The competency of the individual soul to approach God and to interpret the Word of God according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

4- The absolute separation of Church and State, but obeying magistrates and governors in all secular matters that do not annul scriptural Christian responsibility.

5- A regenerate Church membership, based upon faith in Christ as God’s only way of Salvation.

6- The beautiful, symbolic ordinance of believer’s immersion in water as a figure of the salvation experience, a testimony of dying to self and the world, and spiritual submission to the Lord Jesus Christ.

7- The complete autonomy of the local congregation, but also its interdependence in associated fellowship with other Baptist Churches of like faith.

8- We believe in that blessed hope — the personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulational and imminent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when the church will be “gathered unto Him”.

9- A world-wide program of missionary fervor and evangelism in accordance with Pauline ministry and doctrine.

OUR COVENANT

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the Ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale of, and use of, intoxicating drinks as a beverage; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Saviour to secure it without delay.

We moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s word.

OUR ARTICLES OF FAITH

1- THE SCRIPTURES

We believe the Holy Bible, as originally written, was verbally inspired and the product of Spirit-filled men and has been divinely preserved to date in the King James Authorized Version of 1611, and therefore, is the truth without any admixture of error for its matter.  We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried.  We believe the Bible to have only one interpretation which may be revealed to any believer by the Holy Spirit.

2- THE TRUE GOD

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Ghost or Spirit—equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. 

3- THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel (death, burial, and resurrection-I Cor 15:1-4) in our preaching and testimony; that He is the agent of the New Birth; that He seals, fills, leads, intercedes, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and comforts the believer. 

4- JESUS CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner; born of Mary, a virgin; and that He is both completely man and completely God.  He was subject to temptation, yet was without ANY sin.  He is the Messiah for Israel, the Saviour of the world, the ONLY way any man can come to God the Father for forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.  He is to be worshipped and glorified as the LORD.

5- SATAN OR THE DEVIL

We believe he was created perfect, as a Cherub called Lucifer, in the original creation, and because of pride, rebelled against GOD and became the author of sin.  After the creation of heaven and earth, he appeared to Eve in the garden of Eden and tempted her to willfully disobey God’s command, resulting in the sin of Adam, thus the fall of man.  We believe he was then cursed, to be henceforth referred to as a serpent, or the dragon.  Now as a great red dragon he abides in the great deep and as the devil he appears on earth and in heaven as the god of this world to fulfill the ultimate will of God in judging, killing, deceiving, hindering, tempting, and accusing. 

6- THE CREATION

We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God in the person of Jesus Christ without any evolutionary process; that man made up of spirit, soul, and body, was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. 

7- THE FALL OF MAN

We believe that man was created in a state of innocence as a free moral agent under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy state, as a result of which all men are totally depraved (excluding the will), are partakers of Adam’s fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct; and therefore, are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. 

8- CHRIST’S ATONEMENT

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him a body of flesh, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins by His death, which reconciles the sinner to God; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the shedding of blood, the just dying for the unjust; Christ, the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; that having risen bodily from the dead, He is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection.  He is in every way qualified to be s suitable, compassionate and all-sufficient Saviour and only High Priest for the believer.  We believe this atonement is not limited but effectual to any sinner accepting it by faith.  We believe this atonement is eternal and therefore, covers all sins, past, present, and future of the redeemed.  Therefore, any individual under this atonement is eternally saved from eternal condemnation because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

9- THE NEW BIRTH

We believe that the new birth (being born again) is the regenerative act of the Holy Spirit upon a sinner when he repents of his sins and believes the Gospel according to the Scriptures, receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.  As a result of the new birth, the sinner is made a new creature in Christ Jesus, partaking of the divine nature and receiving eternal life as a free gift of God.  Regeneration of the spirit, resulting in the “new man” and consequently partaking of the divine nature in the spirit is brought about in a manner above comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth. 

10- JUSTIFICATION

We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be just and righteous through faith in Christ Jesus; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God’s righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood. 

11- SALVATION

We believe that the salvation of a soul requires a belief in God, repentance toward God which involves genuine sorrow for sin and a willingness to turn from it; and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.  We believe that this salvation is thereafter permanent and eternal to the believer. 

12- SANCTIFICATION

We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner; first, an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer’s spirit, or “new man” in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Saviour; second, a continuing process in the soul of the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the inner man, third; the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord’s return when the body, or old man, will then be changed and transformed in to a perfect, sinless body in the image of Christ. 

13- ADOPTION

We believe that adoption is the gracious act whereby the Father, for the sake of Christ, places new believers into the honored position of sons, in contrast with regeneration whereby the believer receives the nature of God and becomes a child of God.  The full benefit of the position accorded by adoption as the sons of God awaits the glorification of the believer at the coming of the Lord and the redemption of the body. 

14- THE CHURCH

We believe in the unity of all true believers in the Church, which is the Body of Christ, that He began to build after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, and will complete at the pre-tribulation rapture, and into which all true believers of the present age are baptized immediately by the Holy Spirit

We believe that this Church is manifested through the local church which is a congregation of immersed believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws in accordance with the Pauline revelation, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; and that its officers are pastors (also called elders) and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scripture.  We believe the true mission of the church is for the edification, perfection, exhortation, and comfort of its members in spiritual matters; the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity.  We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals; that the one and only head and overseer of the local church is the God-called and Spirit-filled pastor, just as Jesus Christ is the Head and Chief Sheperd over the entire church; that it is scriptural for true churches to fellowship with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its fellowship; and that all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final. 

15- CHURCH ORDINANCES, BAPTISM, AND THE LORD’S SUPPER

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water, under the authority of the local church, to show forth in a like figure our submission to the faith in the crucified, buried and risen Saviour, through Whom we died to sin and rose to a new life; that this baptism is to be administered by the under shepherd or pastor, or whomsoever is appointed, baptism is necessary in the life of any believer; that baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.  The church shall receive for baptism any person who has received Jesus Christ as Saviour by personal faith, who professes Him publicly at any worship service, and who indicates a commitment to follow Christ as Lord.  We believe that the Lord’s Supper should be open to all believers and is the commemoration of His death until He comes and should be preceded always by serious self-examination and confession.

16- CIVIL GOVERNMENT

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming King of kings.

17- SPIRITUAL GIFTS, MIRACLES, SIGNS AND WONDERS

We believe the gifts of the Spirit in I Cor 12 are given today for the ministry to all parts of the body of Christ with the exception of those gifts which are specifically called “signs”.  Those gifts which are signs, wonders, or miracles were given by the Spirit during the beginning of the church in the book of Acts for these purposes:  (1) to identify an “apostle”  (2) to get the Jews to listen to the Gospel or to believe a new revelation  (3) to confirm the Word or Scripture that was being spoken by the apostles, but not yet written form as we have the Scriptures today.

18- ISRAEL

We believe in the selection of Israel as God’s eternal covenant people, that she is now dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ, and that she is being regathered to Palestine and after the rapture of the Church, will be saved as a nation at the second advent of Christ.

19- THE RESURRECTIONS, JUDGMENTS, PRE-MILLENNIAL RETURN OF

         JESUS CHRIST AND RELATED EVENTS

                A- We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ

                B- The ascension of Jesus Christ

                C- The imminent pre-tribulation resurrection of all born again believers.

                D- The judgment seat of Christ after the rapture of the Church. 

                E- The future conclusion of Daniel’s 70th week, called the Great Tribulation. 

F- The personal visible return of Jesus Christ to this earth.

                G- The Last Judgment, or Great White Throne Judgment. 

                H- The New Heavens and Earth.