Statement of Faith

Our beliefs are based on the Word of God and we support the stance of the Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Those beliefs include:

The Scriptures - The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. God is the author and it is without any mixture of error. All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.

God - There is one and only one living and true God. God is infinite, all powerful, and all knowing. God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Man - Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. Man was given freedom of choice and chose to sin against God. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.

Salvation - Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

God's Purpose of Grace - Grace is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness and He is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. Believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

The Church - A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers. Each individual member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. The church's Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. The New Testament speaks of the church as the Body of Christ.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper - Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior; the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

The Lord's Day - The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.

The Kingdom - The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King.

Last Things - God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Evangelism and Missions - It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations and to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness under girded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Education - Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is a part of our Christian heritage.

Stewardship - God is the source of all blessings. All that we have and are, we owe to Him. Christians should serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth.

Cooperation - Christ's people should organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner.

The Christian and the Social Order - All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and all forms of sexual immorality. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.

Peace and War - It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ, they should do all in their power to put an end to war.

Religious Liberty - God alone is Lord of the conscience. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions-in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.

The Family - God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on Biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.