Our Distinctives
We desire to align with the following historical distinctives.
Baptist—We believe that born-again Christians are welcomed into membership through baptism upon a credible profession of faith. Our local church is an autonomous entity, but we voluntarily cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention for the purpose of missions and supporting future pastors in their seminary education.
Reformed—We hold to a historically reformed, baptistic theology—among which we fully affirm the “Five Solas” of the Protestant Reformation: that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone.
Elder-Led—We believe the Bible teaches that every local church is to be led by a plurality of elders (1 Timothy 5:17-18, Titus 1:5, 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9, 1 Timothy 5:19-20, Acts 20:16-38, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Hebrews 13:17). An elder is synonymous in the Bible with “pastor”, “bishop”, and “overseer.” The primary work of an elder is, “to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesian 4:12). This is achieved primarily through a faithful expository teaching ministry of God’s Word.
Congregational—We believe that the final authority in a local church ultimately rests with the members of the congregation. Members exercise their authority by: 1) receiving, dismissing, or disciplining members, 2) affirming elders and deacons, 3) voting on anything else that significantly impacts the integrity and viability of the church as a Gospel ministry. We expect all church members to:
Assemble together regularly
Preserve the true gospel
Affirm gospel citizens
Attend members’ meetings
Disciple other church members
Share the Gospel with non-Christians
Honor church leadership as you follow Christ
Deacon-Served—We believe the Bible teaches that every local church should be served by deacons. Deacons are men and women who meet the qualifications according to 1 Timothy 3:8-13 and who devote themselves to the unity of the church. The Bible is clear that deacons are not elders, nor are churches to be governed by a committee or board of deacons. Biblical deacons are those who do whatever necessary to allow the elders to accomplish their God-given calling of shepherding and teaching the church according to Acts 6.
