Who We Are
We’re a family of believers – a church. A church is not a building, but the people inside who have joined together. We do life together. We celebrate one another’s joys, and we mourn with those who mourn. We help each other out, and together we reach out to others. Jesus is our leader and we seek to do His will.
Salvation, it is as simple as ABC
Why would anyone put off the most important decision they could ever make in their lives concerning eternal life?
If you die today are you going to heaven?
Gospel means “good news.” Your debt has been paid, the death penalty has been paid, you are free. Here’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ: That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Jesus brought in a little child as a living object lesson to show who enters the kingdom of heaven.
This is how to be saved, it is simply child like, as simple as ABC:
A – Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that’s the bad news. But here’s the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
B – Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was.
C – Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Don’t wait until later — do this now.
“O God, I am a sinner. I’m sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen.”
What We Believe
The Word of God (The Bible)
We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is God’s Word, that it was divinely inspired by God and written down by men, that it was given without error, is infallible in its original writings, and has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
God the Son, Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus, the eternal son of God, became man without ceasing to be God. He was fully God and fully man. We believe in His virgin birth as Israel’s promised Messiah, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His substitutionary atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to Heaven, and in His future personal, visible return in power and glory.
Satan
We believe in the existence of Satan, the devil who was cast out of heaven and is now at work endeavoring to counteract the work of Christ in building His church. His nature is to deceive by lying, destroy through attacking, and attempt to blind everyone from believing in God’s salvation. He also seeks to thwart the work of believers and righteous men. We believe it is every believer’s responsibility to resist Satan and to war against him with the proper weapons.
Salvation
We believe that sinful man is regenerated by being born again of God, through the convincing work of the Holy Spirit. We believe salvation from sin cannot be gained by any external act of man such as through good works or baptism. Each person must turn from sin and self to God, through faith, by trusting in and receiving the free gift of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on the cross of Calvary for the remission of sin. By God’s grace, the regenerated man becomes a new creation with new power and new spiritual abilities, since he now stands before God clothed with righteousness and forgiveness. We believe that once a person is saved, he is saved permanently and has knowledge and peace of salvation.
Christ’s Return
We believe in the personal, bodily, pretribulational, premillennial, and imminent return of Jesus Christ. This event known only to God is our “Blessed Hope”. This hope causes believers to wait for His return with expectancy and motivates believers to live godly lives.
Hell
We believe hell to be a real place of torment, made for Satan and his angels, and those who refuse to obey the Gospel message of Christ. They shall spend eternity in just punishment, receiving God’s wrath because they refused to repent and believe the Gospel message that was able to save them.
The Triune God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things. God exists eternally in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the eternally existing Trinity. He proceeds from the Father and is sent by Jesus Christ to convict people of sin and guilt, regenerate sinners, and baptize those who believe into union with Christ, forming one spiritual body. He indwells every true believer in Christ and is an abiding helper, teacher, guide and Holy Comforter. He is the source of all acceptable worship and service, and gives spiritual gifts to each believer. The Holy Spirit is given as God’s promised seal, securing a believer’s eternal salvation. We believe Christians are to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in their lives.
Fall of Man
We believe that man was originally created in God’s own image and, when tempted by Satan, fell from this sinless state by voluntary transgression. Beginning with Adam, all people are now sinners by nature and sinners by choice. They are therefore spiritually dead, and under God’s wrath receiving just condemnation.
Christian Living
We believe that the Christian should lead an exemplary life before God and all men through pure and righteous personal conduct, and by being loving in all relations with others. He should be a faithful steward of all with which God has entrusted him, evidenced by a willingness to share with the poor. We believe a Christian should refrain from all habits, attitudes, associations and secret organizations which might in any way compromise one’s Christian testimony. Exemplary living includes obedience to the Great Commission. Each believer is to actively share the Gospel message everywhere and when asked, to gently and respectfully give reasons for why they believe. We believe that all believers commit to ongoing worship and fellowship through regular times of worship together.
The Eternal State
At death, those who have trusted Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and never die spiritually. They will be reunited with their bodies at the coming of Christ for His church and will be given new eternal, glorified bodies. All who have not trusted in Christ will be raised at the second resurrection, at the close of the millennium, where they will appear at the great white throne judgment and receive their sentence to the lake of fire, where they will endure eternal, conscious punishment with Satan and his demons.
God the Father
God the Father is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully with the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Angels
We believe God created an order of spiritual beings, called angels, to serve Him and do His will. The holy angels are obedient spirits ministering to the heirs of salvation and glorifying God. Certain angels called demons, Satan being the chief, through deliberate choice revolted and were therefore cast down from their exalted position. They now tempt individuals to rebel against God. Their destiny in hell has been sealed by Christ’s victory over sin and death.
Church & Ordinances
We believe the overall purpose of God is the formation of His universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated people are members. We believe that a local church is a congregation of believers, voluntarily associated for worship, world evangelization, and fellowship. We believe that every believer has direct relationship with God. We believe that each local church is autonomous and self-governing and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or civil authority. The local church is given two ordinances that are to be perpetually observed until Jesus returns. Believer’s water baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to show forth in symbol the believer’s union with the crucified, buried, and risen Savior. We believe that baptism is a command to be obeyed prior to the privileges of Bethel Baptist Church membership. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death and it is properly observed by born again believers partaking of bread and the fruit of the vine.
Heaven & new Earth
We believe heaven to be a real place, prepared for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Believers, who have died, shall dwell with the Lord until He returns. Upon concluding Jesus’ millennial reign, God will destroy this present earth and create a new heaven and earth for all of His believing people to live forever in His presence, reaping their rewards and the crown of life.
Our Purpose
Bethel Baptist Church is a family of followers of Jesus Christ who desire to honor God by applying His sufficient word to all areas of life and ministry. We seek to glorify God through the following actions:
1. Worshipping God together:
We seek to give worship to God in Spirit and in truth through the study of God’s word, as well as prayer, music, song and the testimony of our lives.
John 4:23-24 & Isaiah 42:8-12
2. Proclamation of God’s Word:
We are committed to proclaiming all of God’s word, including the gospel, through diligent preaching and teaching, classroom instruction and other ministries.
Romans 6:17 & Romans 10:13-15
3. Equipping the Followers of Christ:
We seek to encourage and guide new and young believers to become mature in Christ through biblical teaching and by example. We desire all believers to become Spirit led disciples, and joyful servants of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 4:12, Hebrews 6:1, 2 Timothy 2:2 & Colossians 1:10
4. Loving and Serving one another:
We seek to love one another without discrimination, through the encouragement of Biblical fellowship and community and demonstrating true Biblical faith.
John 13:34-35, Hebrews 3:13, Galatians 5:13 & Acts 2:42-47
5. Evangelism:
We are committed to the participation in God’s great commission, through the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ with our friends and neighbors in our community, our nation, and the world.
Matthew 28:19-20 & Luke 24:47-48
We hope that all who choose Bethel to be their home for family and personal worship, come and learn, appreciate, and embrace these distinctives of this fellowship. Together, our goal is that we would be a growing church, reaching all the communities we come from with the saving message of Jesus Christ. We hope that people will involve themselves with Bethel’s ministry opportunities as they grow commitment to Jesus. We especially feel God is calling us to reach surrounding communities.
Baptism
Baptism is a symbolic act of faith representing the washing away of our sins and rising to a new life in Christ. We believe in baptism by immersion. As a church, we are fond of having a special gathering by the lake at the end of summer. We also have a baptismal font in the front of the church, below the cross, to use throughout the year as needed. If you have put your trust in Jesus alone for your salvation and have not been baptized, reach out to Bethel via email.
Membership
At Bethel we encourage all believers who consider this church to be their home to pursue membership in our church. Membership is a privilege that carries important responsibilities. To be a member, you will have trusted Jesus as Savior, you will have followed Him in believer’s baptism and you will have a desire to further the ministries of Bethel Baptist Church. If you would like to know more about membership, please contact one of the pastors.