Our Core Values

At First Baptist Church:

• We value people. People are the heart of the church and the heart of God’s kingdom. Our desire is to lead people to Christ and to help them as they walk through this life.


• We value sound, biblical preaching and teaching. We believe that the Bible alone provides a solid and practical foundation for life based on God’s word.
  
  
• We value spiritual transformation and growth in every member. This growth comes through personal evangelism and discipleship and by being connected to a small group. Our ultimate goal is to help people become more and more like Christ.

Our Articles of Faith

The Bible
We believe that the Holy Bible is fully inspired in its original languages, written by men who were divinely enabled by the Holy Spirit to write without error or omission. The Holy Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God and therefore our only authority in matters of faith and practice. We believe that the Holy Spirit has so overseen the transmission of the Scriptures that present copies are perfectly adequate for the divine purpose for which they have been preserved.  

Scriptural Support: 2 Samuel 23:1-2; Psalm 68:11; 119:89, 160; Galatians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:21

The Trinity
We believe in the Trinity of the Godhead; meaning that the one and only true God eternally and equally co-exist in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity simultaneously possesses the one divine nature. 

Scriptural Support: Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 14:16-17; Acts 10:38; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of our Lord, Jesus Christ as the Son of God and God the Son. We believe in His virgin birth; that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and therefore God manifest in the flesh. We believe that in Jesus Christ are the fullness of Deity and the fullness of humanity. We believe in His substitutionary and atoning death that provided complete justification and forgiveness of sin for the believing sinner. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God gave "His life a ransom for all" and "bore our sins in His own body on the tree (cross)." We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; that He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the Father's right hand as our Priest and Advocate.  

Scriptural Support: Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 1:30-32, 2:11; John 1:1, 14,18; 10:30; 20:19-20; Acts 1:10-11; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 4:14; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:22-23.

The Holy Spirit
We believe in the personality, deity, and work of the Holy Spirit; that He is the third person of the Trinity fully possessing the Divine nature. We believe the Holy Spirit is currently active on the earth restraining lawlessness, convicting men of their sin and their need of salvation, and drawing the sinner to faith in Jesus Christ. At the time of salvation the Holy Spirit performs the work of regeneration, of baptizing the new believer into the body of Christ, and of indwelling and sealing the new believer.  

We believe that the Holy Spirit is active in the life of them believer. The Holy Spirit's primary function in the life of the believer is that of Comforter or Helper. This He accomplishes in the Christian's life through praying for, convicting of sin, teaching, bearing witness, guiding, sanctifying, filling, and supplying with spiritual gifts.

We believe that at the time of salvation the new believer receives the fullness of the Holy Spirit and that there is no subsequent Spirit baptism to the initial act of being baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ's body. We further believe that the modern day gift of tongues is NOT an evidence of a person's salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  

Scriptural Support: Matthew 3:16-17, 28.19; Luke 1:35; John 14:16-17; Acts 5:3; Romans 8:8-9, 16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 1:13, 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 2:27, 3:20

Angels
Holy Angels - We believe that angels are spirit beings who were created before the material world was made. They are active in rendering worship to God and function under the final authority and administration of God.

Satan - We believe in the reality and personality of Satan who was originally created as one of God's holy angels; actually created as "the anointed cherub." His name was Lucifer and he sought to exalt himself rather than God, his creator. Lucifer led one-third of God's angels in rebellion against God. Lucifer and the other fallen angels were evicted from heaven and God's presence; and he now works to hinder the work of God and the ministry of the Lord's people. In the future Satan will be judged and will experience conscious torment in Hell forever.  

Scriptural Support: Genesis 3:1; Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:13-14; Daniel 10:12-11:1; Matthew 4:1-11, 25:41; Luke 1:11, 26-27; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:11-13; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 5:11-12, 20:10.

Creation
We believe in the creation of the universe and all therein in a literal seven days. God's initial step was creating the universe without any preexistent material; followed by His creative work by which he prepared the earth for man's habitation. God created everything on the earth; and also made Adam and Eve in His image and likeness.

​We believe man was created to bring God glory, enjoy His fellowship, and to follow His will thereby accomplishing His purposes for our existence. Because of the sin of Adam, man is unable to accomplish God's purpose due the fact that Adam's sin was charged to the whole human race. Man is now born spiritually dead and with a sinful human nature willfully sins against God by thinking, saying or doing such things that a holy God would never think, say or do. In this condition man is alienated from God, totally depraved, without hope, subject to the wrath of God, and is unable to change his condition apart from Divine grace.  

Scriptural Support: Genesis 1:1-27; 2:4-7, 21-22; Psalm 19:1; 119:73; John 1:3; Romans 3:23, 5:12, 18; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 2:1-3; Colossians 1:13-17; Hebrews 11:3.

God's Grace/Salvation
We believe that God's saving grace is made free to all by the substitutionary and atoning death, burial and resurrection of
God's Son, Jesus Christ; and that nothing prevents the salvation
of a  sinner but the lack of obedient faith and the voluntary
rejection of the Gospel.
 
Scriptural Support: John 3:16; Romans 1:16, 3:21-26, 10:9-10, 13; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9

Eternal Security of the Believer
We believe in the eternal security of the believer on earth and eternal blessedness of the righteous in Heaven.
 
Scriptural Support: John 10:28-29: Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 4:30, 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 1:24