A DIFFERENT KIND OF BAPTIST
Our Essential Beliefs
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We believe that Jesus Christ brought a new way to live, rooted in God’s love and justice. Expressing God’s unconditional love, Jesus showed compassion for the poor, healed the broken hearted, helped the blind recover their sight, and set the oppressed free. Christ came to save us from sin and restore all of creation to God’s purpose. By God’s grace, we have been invited to believe in Jesus and join in his work of putting things right.
We believe God created all humans in God’s image, with the ability to respond to God directly without coercion from church or state.
We believe that any form of racism is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. We stand in support of racial equality and against the deeply ingrained prejudices against Black Americans and other people of color. We support efforts to recognize and eradicate racial injustice in all its forms.
We believe humans, both male and female, have been created in the image of God. In keeping with God’s justice, we believe women and men can be called by God to serve in all leadership roles in the church, including as pastors and deacons.
As Baptists our beliefs align most closely with the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message which you can read by clicking here.
Baptist Tenets​
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We are committed to the historic Baptist tradition. We affirm justification by faith, the priesthood of the believer, soul competency, freedom in Christ, and the autonomy of the local church.
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Believer’s baptism means a person has made a voluntary decision to follow Christ and has made a profession of faith, demonstrated through baptism. We believe we are knit to Christ and to one another through baptism.
Justification by faith means a person is made right with God not by qualifying actions but by entrusting themselves to the care and guidance of God.
Priesthood of the believer means that every follower of Jesus is both empowered and commissioned to serve others.
Soul competency means that every follower of Jesus is equipped and able to discern spiritual matters, to make choices regarding the expression of faith, and to act on those choices.
Freedom in Christ is closely connected with soul competency in that it recognizes the direct relationship between believer and God.
Autonomy of the local church means that no external body may dictate the practices, polity, or participation of the local church.
