WHO WE ARE: What is a 'Reformed Baptist church'?  That's a question we are frequently asked.  By 'Reformed' we mean that we trace our theological roots back to the 16th Century Protestant Reformation.  It was during this powerful movement of God that men and women turned from the traditions and commandments of men and began to look once again to the Holy Scriptures as their only certain and infallible rule of faith and practice.  As they looked to the Scriptures alone they began to rediscover many of the great doctrines of the Bible, which have been summarized by these watchwords: the Scriptures Alone, salvation by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, to the Glory of God alone.  It is upon these truths that we echo Martin Luther's words: "Here we stand!"  We are thankful to God for such a rich and Biblical heritage.  We rejoice that this movement of Reformation is on the rise once again in America and worldwide.  By 'Baptist' we mean that we believe that only professing believers should be baptized and become members of the church.

OUR DOCTRINE:  The formal principle of the Protestant Reformation was the belief that the Scriptures alone are the final authority for faith and practice.  The Bible tells us what we are to believe about God and what duty He requires of us.  It is God's complete and final revelation to us; therefore, we must not add to it or subtract from it.  We believe that the Bible is sufficient to 'thoroughly equip' us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).  We believe that the Bible (the revelation given to us through the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone) is the foundation of the church that has already been laid.  The church's foundation is complete and sufficient.  Therefore, special revelation in the form of visions, dreams, tongues, or prophecies have ceased.

However, we live in a day of doctrinal vagueness and confusion, so we need to be clear about what we believe the Bible teaches.  Therefore, we are a confessional church, i.e., we have a written Confession of Faith that clearly states what we believe the Scriptures teach.  We fully subscribe to the historic London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689.  For the Spanish version (Espanol) of the 1689 Confession, click here.  We do not hold our Confession as equal to or above the Scriptures, but as an accurate expression of the system of doctrine taught in the Scriptures.  As such, it is a great help in our faith, both as an assistance in controversy and as an instrument of edification and instruction.

One particular doctrine we believe is that God is absolutely sovereign over all things.  "He
does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.  No
one can restrain His hand or say to Him,' What have You done?'" (Daniel 4:35).  We believe
that He is also sovereign in the salvation of men.  The Bible teaches that man, because of
sin, stands guilty and condemned before God's Law; he has a corrupt heart and is alienated
from God; and, worst of all, he can do nothing to save himself from God's wrath or to reconcile
him with God.

The good news of the Gospel is that God alone has undertaken to do all that is necessary to deliver man from his awful condition.  The Triune God plans, accomplishes and applies redemption.  God the Father unconditionally elects, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, redeems by His atoning death, and the Holy Spirit effectually calls and enables sinners to come to Christ.  Salvation, from beginning to end, is 'of the Lord' (Jonah 2:9), therefore God receives all of the glory.  Man receives none.

OUR WORSHIP:  We believe in God-centered worship.  As we gather on the day which God has set apart for worship, we come together to give Him the glory that is due His name.  We should not come together primarily to feel better or to be entertained but to reverently honor and please God.

We are not a 'seeker-sensitive' church.  Our primary desire is not to accommodate our worship to what pleases men, but to be sensitive to what kind of worship pleases God.  But what kind of worship pleases Him?  Does it really matter how He is worshipped?  We believe that it does matter, especially to God.  God has not left us to our own imaginations or devices, but He has told us in His Word how He is to be worshipped.  The Bible prescribes for us, not only the proper attitude of worship, but also the basic elements of worship, which are these: the reading and preaching of Scripture, prayer and praise, the observance of the ordinances (baptism and the Lord's Supper), and giving of our tithes and offerings to the Lord.  We believe in the primacy of preaching because it is through the reading, exposition and application of the Bible that God saves sinners and sanctifies His people.

We also sing psalms and the great and rich hymns of the faith (old and new) because their content is thoroughly biblical, doctrinally sound, and honoring to the Lord.  We believe that the Word of Christ should dwell "richly" in our congregational singing (Colossians 3:16-17), and that the songs we sing should neither be irreverent, vainly repetitious, or shallow.

OUR EVANGELISM:  The Great Commission of our Lord to preach the gospel to every creature is very important to us, as it should be to every true church.  It is our sincere desire to see men and women convicted of their sinful condition and their need of Christ and come to Him for salvation.  This comes primarily through preaching "repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21).

The offer of the gospel is full and free to all people.  Jesus commands us to preach the gospel to "every creature."  We do not believe that there is any inconsistency between God's absolute sovereignty in the salvation of His chosen people and His command to preach the gospel to everyone, everywhere.  The indiscriminate preaching of the gospel to every creature is the very means God's uses to bring sinners to Christ.

However, we firmly reject all forms of evangelism that use psychological manipulation, gimmicks, and schemes, because they are unbiblical and unnecessary.  We also reject the 'bait and switch' method of evangelism - that is, contextualizing oneself to worldly environments in order to gain a hearing with lost people.  Christ Himself never did this.  He always portrayed Himself for Who He was.  He never acted irreverent or dressed in a worldly manner or used profane language in order to get sinners to listen to Him or like Him.  He wasn't interested in being 'cool'.  While these methods often result in impressive statistics and 'decisions', they often fall short of producing true Biblical conversions.  Even though God may work in spite of such unbiblical means, His chosen method of saving the lost is through the faithful and reverent preaching of the gospel (see Romans 10:14-15; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 2:1-5).

OUR INVITATION:  If you are looking for a church that affirms the sole authority of the Holy Scriptures for all of faith and practice, the pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ, the primacy of preaching God's Word, the glorious truths of salvation called the Doctrines of Grace, the necessity and responsibility of evangelism and a serious and reverent approach to the joyful worship of God, then we warmly invite you to come and visit us.

find us |  audio messages  |  staff  |  home