Overview

        We are in an independent, Christ-centered, Bible teaching church that holds to the historic Baptist distinctives often expressed by the acrostic “B-A-P-T-I-S-T” as follows: the Bible alone is our authority; Autonomy of the local church; Priesthood of the believer; Two ordinances: baptism by immersion after salvation and Communion; Individual Soul Liberty; Saved church membership; Two offices in the church: pastors/elders and deacons.

        We teach that church membership is limited to those who have publicly professed that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, have obediently followed the Lord in Believer’s Baptism by immersion, and have evidenced true conversion by a changed life. Anyone wishing to join our church completes a membership application and attends a class taught by our pastor.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

        We teach that God has provided us in the Scripture with everything necessary to nurture and sustain spiritual life. That means we are committed to teaching and to counseling directly and exclusively from the Word of God. We teach that secular psychology does not have any legitimate role in the sanctification of the believer.

Creation

        Due to our position on the sufficiency of Scripture we teach that the Book of Genesis provides a straightforward, literal presentation of the historical events it describes. We teach, therefore, that God created everything in six literal days. We reject every form of theistic evolution.

Corporate Worship

        We teach that worship should be God-centered rather than man-centered. Our expressions of worship are regulated by Biblical principles, not by what is most entertaining. We sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs accompanied by the piano. Our pastor practices the expository method of Biblical preaching. We teach that Christians should meet together regularly for corporate worship and that the focus of those regularly scheduled meetings should be for the purpose of glorifying our Lord.

A Changed Life

        We teach that all those whom God has genuinely saved by grace through faith alone are new creatures in Christ and will demonstrate that new life by submission to Christ and obedience to God’s Word. All Christians still sin, sometimes horribly, and sometimes for extended periods without repentance. But a decreasing pattern of sin and an increasing pattern of holiness will characterize the life of every true Christian.

The Four Marks of a True Christian Church

        Throughout church history scholars and theologians have defined what a “true Christian” church is in a number of ways. For our purposes, we teach that there are four marks to a true church.

        1. Preaching: a church is a group of believers meeting together on a regular basis (at least once per week) where the preaching is Biblically centered and the church faithfully, without exception or apology, declares all that the Word of God teaches.

        2. Ordinances: we teach that a true church administers the two New Testament Church Ordinances: Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Table as prescribed by scripture. In Baptism we publicly confess our commitment to Christ and when celebrating and partaking in the Lord’s Table we examining ourselves, publicly renew our commitment to Christ, and proclaim His death until He comes again.

        3. Church Discipline: we teach that the consistent exercise of church discipline (Matt. 18:15ff, 1st Cor. 5:1ff, etc.) reminds us that a sincere profession of faith in Christ is a wholehearted commitment to submit to the Word of God and to live a God honoring lifestyle. We hold to the conviction that members of a church agree to submit to one another’s reproof, correction and instruction. We willingly uphold, defend, and submit to the government of Christ’s church as taught in the Word of God.

        4. Discipleship: we teach that the commission of the church is to make disciples of people in all nations. We purpose to preach the gospel individually and corporately and wholeheartedly support world wide missionary endeavors with prayers and finances.

        (Note: we recommend the book The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever on this subject).

The Role of Women

        We teach that both men and women bear the image of God and that those in Christ enjoy equal spiritual standing before God. However, Scripture teaches that God has assigned different roles and responsibilities to men and women – both in the church and at home. The husband is to be the gracious and loving head of his home, while the wife is to submit to her husband’s leadership. God has provided equally clear roles in the church. While there are many ways women can serve, we believe that Scripture forbids women from teaching and leading men, or in any way exercising authority over men in the context of the church.

Christian Education

        Our Sunday school uses a Bible-centered teaching curriculum, conducting classes for adults and children. We are committed to the truth that parents are responsible for the education of their children. Children may accompany parents in the adult classes or parents attend their children’s classes. We encourage parents of children over 4 to 5 years of age that are able to sit with their parents in our church services.