Our Beliefs

Congregational Worship

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. – Hebrews 10:25

Christ shed his blood for the body of Christ – a congregation of believers, I Corinthians 12:27. Christ ordained the church to uphold and to maintain the truth (I Timothy 3:15). God ordained to manifest His glory in the assembly of the saints (Ephesians 3:21) and that the “fulness of him that filleth all in all” is in the church (Ephesians 1:23). This declares that the highest manifestation of God and the closest communion with Christ is found in the congregation of the Lord. Since it is the duty of believers to assemble together to the glory of God, we invite you to come and assemble with us as we engage in New Testament worship and experience this blessing of God.

Singing

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. – Colossians 3:16

As our hearts are tuned to exalt the name of God, it is our delight to lift our voices in songs of praise.   The purpose of our congregational singing is not to perform for God, but to praise Him.  We are well aware that we cannot impress or amaze God by our worship.  However, we are determined to offer sacrifices of praise in song.  The hymns we sing for worship are not pre-selected.  Each member of the congregation has liberty to select songs.  When the Holy Spirit graces our services, the mix of hymns, from simple, childlike expressions of praise to deep explorations of the glory of God to anguished pleas for aid combine to form awe-inspiring worship.

Preaching

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. – II Timothy 4:2

As we need the blessing of the Lord to praise and worship Him in song, we equally realize the need for the Lord to bless the ministry of His word. Therefore, we pray for God to bless the minister to clearly open the Scriptures and to bless the people with a heart to receive the word of God. God ordained the preaching of the word to comfort, exhort, and instruct His people and great emphasis is placed on it. We believe it is the duty of the pastor-teacher to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only source of eternal life (John 17:3) and the only hope for sinners. It is our desire that he minister the whole counsel of God to all.

Counsel

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. – Romans 15:13-14

We are at once thrilled and convinced that the Bible is fully sufficient for every trial, every problem, every confusing circumstance that Christians face in life. (II Timothy 3:16)  Many of life’s problems, when viewed outside the lens of Scripture, present a hopeless picture.  We are happy to proclaim that the sufficiency and application of Scripture reveals that NO hopeless struggle exists for the Christian.   Through pastoral counseling, we seek to apply the light of Scripture to the difficult problems of life.

Our Faith

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. – Jude 3

We believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures and that they are our only rule of faith and practice. We believe in the Trinity, and that God is sovereign, ruling according to His will in heaven and on earth. We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and that He completed the work He came to do. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). We believe that Christ bodily rose from the dead for the justification of His people and that He is alive in heaven and will return to the earth to judge the righteous and the unrighteous.

We believe that man fell in Adam and thereby became totally unable to recover himself from this condition and that he can only be declared righteous by the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ imputed to him. Only the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, operating immediately on the heart (soul) of man, can cause a man to be born again. We believe that those who are born again will walk in obedience to Christ as evidence of the work of God in his heart. We believe in the resurrection of the dead of the just and unjust. We believe that the righteous will be resurrected unto glory to live with the Triune God forever and that the wicked will suffer everlastingly under the just penalty of God for their sins. We believe that the ordinances of the congregation are baptism and the Lord’s supper. We believe that these ordinances are only types (pictures) of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord and in no way confer grace nor are they sacramental. However, they are not to be taken lightly and every believer is commanded by the Lord to observe them. We believe each member is to occupy the role of a servant. We are to serve the Lord Jesus Christ out of love, devotion, and gratitude for what He has done for us and to honor Him in every detail of our lives.

Christian Obedience

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. – John 14:23

We believe that the believer will show his love and devotion to the Lord by endeavoring to live in obedience to the Word of God. This does not mean that he will live a sinless life, because there is none without sin (I John 1:10). The believer cannot live in obedience to God by his own power and wisdom. However, the Spirit of God is actively pursuing God’s eternal goal of salvation by sanctifying the child of God, conforming him to the image of our beloved Savior, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer finds victory that overcomes the world (Rom. 8:29, I John 3:3, I John 5:4,5). Therefore, the obedience of the Christian is of grace just as much as the salvation from his sins and the wrath of God.

History

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. – Jeremiah 6:16a

Primitive Baptists identify themselves with the faithful followers of Christ through history back to the apostles and Jesus Christ, their Head.

Primitive Baptists differ from most Baptists in that they do not have any denominational headquarters nor any organizational hierarchy and each congregation answers to the Lord for its faith and practice. Primitive Baptists subscribe to the original doctrines of the Baptists as outlined in the London Baptist Confession of Faiths of 1643 and 1689 and the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith of 1742.

In the 1830’s, a division occurred among the Baptists over the doctrine of the atonement and the inventions of many modern practices. Those who maintained the original beliefs of the Baptists were designated as “Old School” or “Primitive” Baptists