What we believe at FBC

1. The Bible is our authority for faith and practice.
In every area of our personal lives and in our church life we must seek to learn, study, obey, and apply its teachings. We must subject all matters to Scripture. It is truth without any mixture of error. The Bible is God’s authoritative word for guidance, instruction, inspiration, and correction in all areas of the practice of our faith.
(Psalm 119:105-106, 2 timothy 3:16)

2. Jesus is the only way of relationship
to God and eternal life.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He said, “No man comes to the Father but through Me.” Jesus is not just “an” option. He is the only possibility for this world to find forgiveness of sin and relationship to God. He is the Savior. By God’s grace through faith in Christ our eternity is secured. (John 14:6)

3. We believe in the power of prayer.
We must undergird everything we do in prayer. Prayer must be the first, last, and constant activity in every area of our church and in every decision we make. Prayer must be as much our life as it is our power. The Lord declares, “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6; Philippines 4:6)

4. Worship is central to glorifying God and
becoming like Christ.
Worship is absolutely necessary to be a fully developing follower of Christ. Worship is expressing our love, reverence and devotion to God. Worship puts the spotlight of our thoughts, desires, and affections on God and takes the spotlight off of us. We worship with other believers according to the Bible. We also worship alone before God in our own time of speaking and listening for the Lord. Worship is a life changing experience with the presence of God.

5. The Sunday School is the central organization of our church for growth.
The Sunday School is the Bible teaching, people reaching, caring arm of the church. It is the central organization of our church for growth, both spiritually and numerically. It is our primary tool for new member assimilation. It develops new and mature Christians alike. It is priority! You will never find your place in our church ministry until you find a place in the Sunday School.

6. Full devotion to Christ is normal for every believer.
Somehow our Christian world has come to believe that shallow commitment and limited devotion and haphazard obedience are the things that please God and also what God expects. We don’t accept that here. We are speaking of a relationship to God and such a relationship calls for the total commitment of the total person for life! “Normal Christianity” is complete, absolute, sold-out commitment to Jesus Christ ... nothing held in reserve.

7. We have high expectations for membership.
Membership is a commitment to a local church family. Apart from such a commitment, your discipleship will be ineffective at best. We expect members of this church to attend, to serve, and to give. We believe in excellence when it comes to serving Jesus through the church and we are unwilling to settle for leftovers. Every member should have a ministry ... a place of service. There are no spectators on God’s team.

8. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
The Bible declares this truth. As a church, we must reach beyond what we think we can do and experience what only God can do. “The chief way you and I are disloyal to God is when we make small what He intended to make large.” We must be dreamers of godly dreams, for with God all things are possible and without faith it is impossible to please God. (Matthew 19:26)

9. The church should be culturally relevant without Biblical compromise.
Our world is changing. The church must be open to adjusting to our changing world. Our unchanging message is not to be compromised, but our methods of delivering the message must constantly be open to evaluation and change. We want to be as effective as possible in communicating God’s great truth, but remembering that God’s truth doesn’t change.

10. We are to strengthen and encourage families.
God created the family as a place of nurturing, teaching, and growing. We must seek to strengthen and care for all our families regardless of age or makeup. We are a multi-generational church. We are a family church whether yours is a family of ten or a family of one. (Ephesians 5:21-6:4)

11. We are committed to growth.
There are certain barriers to the growth of an individual or a church. John Maxwell calls these barriers “lids”. If we are to grow we must identify the lids that would hinder our growth. These lids may be structural, organizational or in leadership patterns. We want to ever seek to identify and lift the lids that would keep us from accomplishing all God would call us to do. We are willing to change in order to grow.

12. We are a great commission church.
We will seek to reach and win the lost to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We will be intentional in our efforts to reach out in Jesus name believing there is no other way to be saved apart from Jesus. Jesus died for every person and desires that they be saved. In all our activities, programs, relationships, and ministries we will be intentional in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost. (Matthew 28:19-20) We will have a burden for our families and our community, but I will not shrink away from Jesus’ call to be responsible for the world. We will be faithful and ever seeking to expand our ministry through prayer, giving, and participation in missions around the world. (Mark 16:15)