Complete Statement of Beliefs
Our "Shibboleth" Statement
- We are:
- Evangelical
Every individual follows Jesus because of individual choice instead of ritualistic, sacramental, or works-based salvation - Fundamental
We believe the five fundamentals:- Inspiration of the Scripture (it is infallible and inerrant)
- Virgin birth/Deity of Christ
- Substitutionary Atonement
- Bodily resurrection of Christ
- Personal Physical Return of Christ
- Baptistic
We believe in Believer's Baptism as evidence of and testimony to salvation. Baptism is not part of salvation but is a picture of it. - Dispensational
We believe God has worked different ways in different times through history based on the Bible's clear revelation. - Provisional
We are not Calvinist and not Arminian. God does not hand-select who will and who will not be saved, but He does draw all men to Himself (providing grace to all, thus provisional). All must then choose to yield to that drawing by faith in the Gospel to become a Christian. - Compassionate
We choose to love despite differences of opinion.
- Evangelical
- We believe in the inspired, inerrant, infallible, perfect, preserved, Holy Word of God. The 66 canonical books are the only God-inspired texts. No other writings, sermons, speeches, sayings, etc. hold authority like Scripture, and none ever will until we dwell in Heaven with the Living Word Himself.
- Although the original texts of the Bible were inspired, we do not believe in inspired translations. We believe translations of the Bible are mankind's best attempts to make Scripture accessible, and should reflect the language of its present readers. For this reason, our church uses the King James Version (KJV; a.k.a. Authorized Version [AV]) and the Modern English Version (MEV) in all of our ministries.
- All Bible translations should come from the Textus Receptus.
- We are not opposed to future Bible translations so long as they reflect the original language literally.
- We teach our church people the difference between— and the reason behind Bible translations.
- All Bible translations should not include biased treatment of the original text but should only reflect a faithfulness to God's inspired words. This requires literal translation and no theological leanings.
- We believe that godly Bible study requires literal, contextual, historical investigation of the text. Any one without the other leads to cultish beliefs. All three will faithfully lead to orthodox, conservative beliefs.
- "Gray areas" in the Bible are to be ruled over by the Holy Spirit in the individual. These are called preferences.
- Principles in the Bible should be followed to the more conservative side when possible, following the principle to avoid the appearance of evil. These are called convictions.
- Clearly revealed truth must never be broken, altered, or disputed. Orthodox, conservative interpretation of Scripture yields several clear points of nonnegotiable truth. These are called doctrines.
- We believe in historically-recognized, clearly revealed doctrines common among Baptist churches. These include:
- The Bible - It is inspired, inerrant, infallible, unchanging, and perfect.
- The Godhead - There exists one true God, though He is three persons. He is perfect and sinless.
- The Church - The local church is God's tool for reaching all people. Churches teach, praise, worship, sing, give, witness, serve, learn, grow numerically, grow relationally, minister to felt needs when possible, observe baptism and communion, and support worldwide missions and church planting.
- Israel - The nation of God's chosen people. The church does not replace her as His chosen people, although the church must witness to the nation.
- Salvation - Jesus Christ's sacrifice for the entire world on the cross and bodily resurrection three days later allows people to believe in Him after the drawing of the Holy Spirit, thereby gaining access to the Father. Without this faith in Christ, unsaved people suffer eternal separation from God. With salvation by faith through Christ, God adopts Christians into His own family.
- Sin - All mankind (except Jesus) has sinned, thus making us less than perfect. Only perfection may fellowship with God, so our sin separates us spiritually from Him. Sin's consequences wreak havoc on creation.
- Hell and the Lake of Fire - Hell is the place of temporary separation from God until the Great White Throne Judgment. After that, hell, Satan, demons, and the unsaved will be cast into the Lake of Fire, the place of eternal separation from God.
- Heaven - The everlasting home of God and His (adopted) family.
- The Second Coming - The literal, physical return of the bodily Christ to earth, after which He will reign for 1,000 literal years. Upon the close of this millennium, Christ will crush Satan's head at the final defeat of rebellion in the Battle of Armageddon.
- The Family - God instituted the nuclear family as the most basic form of organization. The family consists of one male father, one female mother, and the children they have together.
- The Government - God also instituted human government to be obeyed, feared, and respected.
- Creation - God created everything in the physical world during six literal 24-hour days using only His words—except for Adam and Eve, whom God formed (instead of created) from the dust of the ground and then from Adam's rib, respectively.
- Separation - Regenerate Christians must sanctify themselves through the renewing of the mind. This is the process of living in but not like the world we inhabit. Practically, others should tell that we aren't like them by our physical appearance, habits, word choices, activities, etc.
- We believe in the use of modern technology to serve ministry purposes as well as possible (within moral and practical bounds).
- Discipleship comes about by 1:1 relationship through a day-to-day process. This process may include formal education through a study, but that will only serve as a small component of "As you're going, go" style ministry
- We also believe we are given the personal responsibility and authority to rule the church as we see fit within the bounds of God's Word and the Spirit's peace.
- We believe the Holy Spirit can lead a person better than we can as pastors.
- We believe adulthood is a maturity, not an age.
- We openly oppose racism of all types.
- We encourage biblical participation of both sexes in corporate worship (I Cor. 11)
- Modesty is a mindset, not a set of rules.
- Those making the decisions about church policy must remember to follow the Spirit's guidance through peace, not merely "What's worked" or "What I've been taught" or "What we've always done." These, too, are blaring signs of egotistical dogma
- Individuals in leadership positions who refuse to adhere to ministry standards for modesty will be removed from the position for the same reason as above: egotistical dogma
- Saved individuals who refuse to yield to a church's corporate standards during the meetings are not acting with a mindset of Spirit-led humility and modesty but instead out of egotistical dogma
- Churches should have standards for corporate gatherings and for leadership
- The more mature believers must teach less mature believers of the same gender principles of modesty
- The individual must yield his/her liberty in the spirit to more conservative Christians where applicable and possible
- The individual must yield to the Spirit
- The Holy Spirit will judge the individual
- We openly oppose chauvinism, misogyny, misandry.
- We openly oppose society's narrative of masculinity and femininity, namely:
- Relinquishing traditional gender roles
- Desire to make men feminine and vice-versa
- Attempting to squash the father-led home (their term is "the patriarchy")
- Empowering children to make their own decisions apart from the permission of their parents
- Acceptance of divorce
- Enablement of sinful habits
- Propagating immodesty as "normal" instead of sinful
- Encouragement of sexuality apart from marriage
- Sexualization of childhood, both the children and their influences
- Encouragement for women to "wear the pants"
- Encouragement for men to be submissive in the home
- Endorsement of the "Main character" lifestyle
- Permitting children to form their own beliefs without parental direction
- Failing to punish children with the rod of correction
- We openly oppose the LGBTQ+ ideology.
- All Christians should totally abstain from alcohol.
- The requirements for Christian leadership and official church service (I Timothy 3; Titus 1) are universal for all Christians; however, only those who attain such standards of holiness and separation may lead others to follow therein.
- We believe in working together with other like-minded churches to further the Gospel.