Distinctives

Our doctrinal statement sets forth our beliefs in greater detail as does the London Baptist Confession of 1689, with which we are in substantial agreement.  All of these documents are subordinate to Scripture and amendable.

We are Evangelical

            We proclaim the gospel that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3f; Romans 3:21-26)

We believe that bible is inerrant and sufficient

            We acknowledge the supreme authority of Holy Scripture. We believe the Bible, as it was composed in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, to be the only inspired, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

            We also believe the Scriptures are sufficient in that they provide everything necessary for life and godliness. (II Peter 1:21)  The answers to human spiritual needs are contained in the Scriptures, not worldly philosophies or psychologies. (Colossians 2:8-9)

We hold the view that Salvation is by grace alone

            We are convinced that though the gospel is freely offered to all, God is sovereign in salvation. The relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility is a mystery to finite creatures. Both of these truths are taught by the Scriptures and we wholeheartedly embrace them.

            In terms of God’s sovereignty, He has chosen us before the foundation of the world solely based on His grace. (Ephesians 1:4,11)  Christ came into the world to save those whom the father chose to believe in Him. (John 10:11; Ephesians 5:25; Revelation 5:9)  We, by nature, were totally depraved and would never have sought Him if He had not drawn us to Himself. 9Romans 3:10f; 8:7-8; John 6:37,44; 10:27-29)

            We also believe that people are completely responsible for the choices they make. The gospel is freely offered to all. (I Timothy 2:3-6) Whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. (Romans 10:9-13; Acts 16:30-33)

We practice believer’s baptism

            Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection and is only appropriately performed on someone who has made a personal profession of faith in Christ. Full immersion is the preferred method, consistent with the New Testament practice. (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:10; Acts 8:36-40; Romans 6:3-4)

We believe Christ is coming again

            We believe that God has appointed a day when Jesus Christ will visibly return in glory to judge the world in righteousness. Unbelievers will be cast into hell, to experience wrath and separation from God forever. Believers will be raised with glorified bodies to everlasting life in fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord. We live in light of that blessed hope which comforts us in our trials and motivates us to holiness. (Matthew 24:36, 25:31; John 5:28,29: Mark 13:26,27: Romans 8:18; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; revelation 21:8)

Practical Distinctives

We are ruled by a plurality of elders under the headship of Christ

            We believe there are only two offices in the church – elder and deacon. The elders focus upon the ministry of the Word, shepherding, ruling, and prayer. While each elder has specific gifts and abilities, no one elder has more authority that the others as a “senior pastor.” The deacons are helpers and focus primarily on benevolence, stewardship of the church property, church finances, and logistics. We affirm the Biblical teaching that women are not to teach or exercise authority over men in the church. (I Peter 5:1-5; Hebrews 13:17; Acts 6:1-6; 10:17,28; I Timothy 3:1-7; 3:8-13; 2:11,12)

We uphold the priesthood of all believers

            Every believer is gifted by God and should be active in serving Christ’s church. We seek to equip our members to serve. We give our members a great deal of freedom in the exercise of their ministry gifts and encourage them to establish new ministries. (I Peter 4:10,11, 2:9; I Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 4:11-13; 5:19; Colossians 3:16; II Timothy 2:2)

We emphasize consecutive, expository preaching

            We believe in the pre-eminence of the preaching of the Word of God, which takes a central place in our regular worship services. Our norm is consecutive, expository preaching in which the elder (s) preach through a book of the Bible from beginning to end. This method allows the text to determine the purpose, rather than the preacher, and gives the preaching ministry a biblical balance. This method also gives the people the opportunity to see “the whole” of a book over a period of time in order to gain better understanding. (II Timothy 4:2-4)

We practice church discipline

            Christ wants His church to be pure from sin, error, and division. The procedures we use are set forth in our church Constitution and By-laws. (I Corinthians 5:1-13; I Thessalonians 3:14,15; Titus 3:10)

We are evangelistic

            We seek to proclaim the gospel at every worship service. We encourage people to get to know their friends, neighbors, and co-workers and find opportunities to invite them to church and share the gospel with them. We also desire to reach out to the community around us to share the gospel with them and invite them to church. We also desire to support missions and to be actively involved in the lives of our missionaries. (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:8)

We cooperate with other churches

            We believe that biblical churches should cooperate, not compete. We are affiliated with the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC), the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals (FIRE), and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) which are networks of like-minded churches. (II Corinthians 8 & 9; Romans 15)

We encourage all members to be godly citizens

            We encourage the application of biblical principles to all spheres of the culture around us, and to all of life as citizens of this nation. (Matthew 5:13-16; Proverbs 14:34; Deuteronomy 4:6-8) We pray for the salvation of our government leaders and that they will lead righteously so that we may be free to fulfill our responsibilities to God and our families. (I Timothy 2:1,2)

We support and practice biblical counseling

            All Christians struggle with sin and the effect it has on our lives and our relationships. (Romans 3:23; 7:7-25) Whenever a Christian is unable to overcome sinful attitudes or behaviors through private efforts, God desires that he seek assistance from other members, and especially from the Elders who have the responsibility of providing pastoral counseling and oversight. (Romans 15:14; Galatians 6:1,2; Colossians 3:16; II Timothy 2:15-16; II Timothy 3:16-5:2; Hebrews 10:24,25; 13:17; James 5:16) Therefore, this church encourages and enjoins its members to make confession to and seek counsel from each other and especially from pastoral counselors.

            We believe counseling must be based on scriptural principles rather than those of psychology or psychiatry. Our counseling methods are based on scripture and are aligned with the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC).