We believe in the God of the Bible, who exists eternally as one entity but three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He has divine attributes such as omnipotence; omniscience; omnipresence; immutability; self-existence; holiness; love; goodness; and justice. In accordance with His nature, God knows all things, ordains all events and controls everything. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” (Ps. 90:2)
We believe that God created all that exists out of nothing and that He made man and woman in His image. (Gen.1:1,1:26) Mankind disobeyed God, introducing sin into creation and corruption into man. As a result, man’s nature is depraved making him unable to interact with God on his own initiative. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10) God loves His elect so much that He sent His Son Jesus to be their Savior and Lord. (John 3:16) By His death, Jesus took the punishment for their sins and, through His bodily resurrection, assured the eternal life of His chosen ones, forever defeating death. He possesses a nature that is both divine and human, entirely and simultaneously. He is now our mediator at the right hand of the Father.
We believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. It is a direct revelation of God, by God, through human authors. Believers learn from the Scriptures through the illumination of the Spirit, because fallen man has limited ability to discern the things of God. “For the message of the cross is to them that perish foolishness” (1Cor.1:18) His followers are to read, study and meditate upon His Word. The Canon of Scripture is complete and does not include the Apocrypha or any other so called lost gospels. While we should use solid hermeneutical techniques, Scripture’s interpretation should be literal, except when obvious literary devices are used. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2Tim.3:16, 17)
We believe that one is saved only by belief in Jesus Christ and repentance from sin. (Acts 4:12) Salvation is God’s gift, by faith, through grace, and not of any kind of works we may do. (Eph.2:8, 9) It is eternal, final and cannot be lost. Being the unmerited expression of God’s love, it costs us nothing, but cost Him His Son. Unregenerate man will suffer eternity in Hell apart from God. His Word is unequivocal that Jesus is the only true path to salvation: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
We believe that God created spiritual beings called angels. Some angels, led by Lucifer, rebelled against God and, many believe, became demons. They are active today and seek only to do evil. Spiritual warfare is a real and serious issue for all faithful Christians. Obedient angels exist to carry out God’s will. No angel (or so-called saint) is to be worshiped or is due prayer. God is the lone spiritual Being that we should ever allow to have communion with our mind or spirit and Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humans.
We believe Christ is the head of the church, which is His body here on earth. (Col.1:18) Churches are to be models of the New Testament church as much as possible. Church governance and discipline should follow Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. It is to be self-governing through an elder-led, representative structure, with congregational participation in major decisions. We recognize no ecclesiastical authority higher than the local church. The only two Biblical church offices are that of pastor (also called elder or bishop) and deacon. While synonyms exist for ‘pastor’, the role is that of an overseer and deacons are their aides; both are servant roles. Their qualifications are described in Scripture. (1Tim.3:1-13) While welcoming of all, actual church membership is limited to regenerate persons whose lives exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, who have made a profession of faith, and have been baptized by immersion. The church is then responsible for assisting in the member’s spiritual growth, which includes teaching, preaching and Biblical discipline. There are only two ordinances of the church: believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, neither of which are requirements for salvation. “And the Lord added to the church daily such as were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)
We are affiliated with the Baptist Convention of New England and the Southern Baptist Convention. Neither of these organizations exercises any type of control over our local church. This partnership allows us to access a much larger body of resources, primarily in the areas of discipleship and church growth. We do contribute monthly to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program, which allows us to support approximately 9,000 missionaries both domestic and international. This affiliation in no way impacts our autonomy as a church or makes us beholden to any outside authority. It is, though, a wonderful relationship which allows a small, rural church to have a larger impact with the gospel, locally, nationally, and worldwide.
We believe the Holy Spirit gives to believers the fruits of the Spirit for character and the gifts of the Spirit for service. (Gal.5:22, 1Cor.14:1) Though not ‘charismatic’, we believe there are no limits on how God may choose to work through His people. However, Scripture does give instruction in the proper application of Spiritual gifts.
We believe the Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again to judge the world and that we are very likely living in those Last Days. (Rev.19) Our ‘end times’ theology is pre-millennialist and pre-tribulationist. However, while we interpret prophecy as futurists, the difficulty of its interpretation requires us to be considerate of differing views.
Though hesitant to assign a label to our beliefs, we would state that our theology is orthodox Reformed Baptist and neither hyper-Calvinist nor Arminian. Our worldview, philosophy and theology remain sensitive to the fact that, no matter what we know about the things of God, there are yet mysteries inherent within the doctrines of the faith.