First Baptist Church

Why do the people of FBC serve the Lord as we do?

Basic experiences that bind all true Christians together

·   New life in Christ (Eph 2:4-10)

·   The faith once for all entrusted to those set apart for God (Jude 1:3) – the inspiration and authority of the Bible, the Trinity, Christ’s true deity and humanity, personality of the Holy Spirit, creation, mankind created in God’s image, sin, salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because of his death and resurrection, unity of all true believers in the church, the future, personal return of Christ, and eternal destiny in either heaven or hell

Teaching ideas that we (in agreement with others) think are important

·   The principles of reformation theology

·   A new covenant or Christ-structured perspective on the Bible, the law, and a gospel-formed way of life and worship in the Spirit

·   A Bible-based spirituality

·   Progressive sanctification by the Spirit and the Word

·   The missional plan of God

Practices that flow from the above ideas

·      A church is not a place that you go to but people in Christ with whom you share life

·   Since we are Christ’s new assembly, we must first “be church” and then “do church” according to his message, not according to our ideas and opinions

·   The life of faith is not about rules and rituals but about relationships with God and one another; we can do nothing pleasing to God apart from Christ’s power by the Spirit

·   Our relationship with God in Christ is the basis for and defines our relationship with one another in the church: we are regenerated and adopted sons/daughters of God and brothers/sisters of one another; we are the body of Christ and each one a member of his body; we are a dwelling place of the Spirit, and individually living stones in his temple

·   When we are justified through faith, we enter into fellowship (koinonia) with one another: relationship, partnership, communication, and sharing material possessions

·   Recognition of the church or assembly (ekklesia) as united but not uniform; every local assembly will be imperfect with members showing various levels of growth and giftedness

·   Acceptance of one another based on Christ’s acceptance of each believer in him; this provides the basis for a multi-ethnic diversity within any assembly

·   Since this is the nature of Christ’s new assembly, we seek to provide opportunities for each member to express worship and fellowship according to what he/she is and to enjoy such expressions as a witness to the grace of Christ

·   Since we are in the new covenant, we have liberty to serve God as adult sons and daughters, as long as we stay under the leadership of the Spirit and the Word

·   Since we know the reality of God, his grace and the faith entrusted to us, we have a starting point to speak to anyone from God’s word; we welcome questions that we will seek to answer from the Scriptures

 

What is a church?

A church is not a place that you go to; it is a group of Christ's people that you share life with. The word translated "church" in the New Testament more accurately means "assembly" or "gathering", and it definitely does not refer to a building. The church is a gathering of people who, having heard the message of Christ, have changed their minds and trusted in him as Lord and Savior. These people seek to follow him by faith in conformity with his word. They do not claim to be perfect, but they rejoice together in the Lord who died and rose from the dead that they might be right with God and have eternal life.