Our Mission
Berean Baptist Church exists to lead people to know God personally, to connect relationally and to serve sacrificially at Berean, in our community and around the world, as one of God’s tools to develop fully devoted followers of Christ for the glory of God.
Our Core Values
While these do not capture the totality of Berean’s theological beliefs and values, they do allow a glimpse into who we are and what we strive to teach and practice. Pastor Bill Abernathy preached a sermon series on these core values from September through early December 2022. They are available on our Sermon Archives or on our YouTube channel.
GOD-GLORIFYING WORSHIP: Proclaiming God’s worth by how we live and when we meet together.
BIBLE-CENTERED TEACHING: God’s Word systematically and carefully taught and applied to our lives.
EVER-EXPANDING WITNESS: Reaching out individually and together – locally and globally – with the story of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
CHRIST-CENTERED TRANSFORMATION: God working in us and through us to see our lives, relationships, homes, city and nation changed by His power.
GRACE-GROUNDED RELATIONSHIPS: Interconnected by God’s grace and showing that grace as we interact with each other.
TRUTH-ANCHORED RELEVANCE: Firmly grounded in the truth, we call people to repentance and faith in Jesus as we share in ways they understand. (We face the challenges of today with the unchanging truth of God.)
OPEN-HANDED GENEROSITY: Having experienced God’s grace, we generously use our time, abilities, and material resources to minister here and around the world.
GOD-DEPENDENT PRAYER: Keeping our communication with God open and real and God-focused.
ETERNITY-ROOTED HOPE: Looking beyond this life to the restoration of all things when Jesus returns, and living ready for His return.
Our Statement of Faith
We believe that God’s Word teaches…
Verbal Inspiration of the Bible
We believe the Holy Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments, to be verbally inspired of God in the original manuscripts; infallible, inerrant and God-breathed, a perfect rule of faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; I Corinthians 2:13; II Peter 1:16-21).
The Trinity
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are one in essence and attributes, yet distinct in office and activity. (Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16 & 17; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7).
The Father
We believe that God the Father is coequal and coeternal with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and yet is Father in His relationship within the Trinity and in His relationship with those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior. He orders all things after the counsel of His own will and, in so doing, concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men. He hears and answers prayer. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent; and He is the object of our worship and praise. (Psalm 65:2, 139:1-24, 147:5; Matthew 5:45, 6:24-34; John 14:6; I Timothy 2:5).
The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe that God the Son, who has always existed, became a man (without diminishing His deity) by virgin birth through Mary (John 17:5; Luke 1:34, 35). He lived a sinless life and, as the infinite God-man, took upon Himself the sins of all men, died in their place and satisfied God concerning the sins of all believers. (John 8:46; II Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:6).
We further believe in the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He then ascended and was exalted to the right hand of God as the great high priest of all believers. (I Peter 1:3; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:14-16).
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ and indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:7-11; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).
We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth and that it is the privilege and duty of all believers to be controlled and led by the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; I John 2:27; Romans 8:14; Ephesians 5:18).
Man
We believe that God, the Creator of all, wonderfully, uniquely and immutably created Adam and Eve as male and female respectively; as two distinct but complementary biological genders. We believe mankind was created in the image and likeness of God, but in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature and became alienated from God. Mankind is totally depraved and of himself is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).
We believe that God, through human conception, still creates each person as male or female and that these two distinct but complementary biological genders individually and together reflect the image of God. We believe that each person should live out his or her life in the gender in which he or she was conceived. Thus we believe that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than the gender given by God at conception is immoral and therefore sin.
We believe that God designed marriage when He brought Adam and Eve together in a one-flesh relationship, thus defining biblical marriage as one biological-from-birth male and one biological-from-birth female who are bound together in a single, exclusive, lifelong covenant union. We believe that divorce, other than for biblical reasons, violates the design and commands of God.
We believe that the Word of God explicitly teaches that no person should engage in sexual intimacy outside of biblical marriage. We thus believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual relationships, bestiality, and incest) is sinful and cause for judgment by God and discipline by the church.
We also believe that a believer should not marry an unbeliever. Those who have come to faith in Christ after their marriage should do all in their power to point their mate to Christ by their loving words and actions and by their commitment to the marriage.
We believe that God offers forgiveness, redemption and restoration through Jesus Christ to all who confess and forsake their sin, including every manner of sexual sin.
We believe that every person should be treated with compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity as image bearers of God. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated. They are not in accord with the Word of God or the doctrines of Berean Baptist Church.
(Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18-25; 23-25; Ex. 20:14, 17; 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23; 20:13, 15-16; Deut. 22:5; Psalm 139:1-24; Mal. 2:10-16; Matt. 19:1-12; Rom. 1:18-32; 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-20; 7:2-5, 10-16; Eph. 5:22-31; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1; Jude 7)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ apart from works. Christ’s precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. There is no eternal hope apart from the cleansing of the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18, 19).
Eternal Security
We believe all people who have truly come to reliance upon the work of Christ for their salvation will never become less than sons of God (John 1:12; 10:27-30). The reality of one’s conversion experience will be indicated by a continuing godly life. Christian liberty and security are never a basis for indulgence of the flesh. (Romans 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-14).
Heaven and Hell
We believe that Heaven is a literal place prepared for all born-again believers. All those who die in Christ will be immediately eternally present with Him (John 14:1-6; II Corinthians 5:8). Hell is a literal place of eternal punishment for all who will not receive Christ as personal Savior. (Matthew 25:41; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 21:8).
Devil and Demons
We believe Satan is a fallen angel in active opposition to God’s program in all its aspects. Satan is aided by a host of evil spirit beings called demons. Their design is to destroy believers, their homes and their churches. Every believer is subject to their attack but may be victorious through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 6:11, 12; I Peter 5:8).
Creation
We accept the Genesis account of creation literally and believe that man came by direct creation of God not by any form of evolution. (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16, 17; John 1:3).
Church
We believe in the universal church, the body of Christ, which is comprised of all believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. The local church is a body of believers, baptized by immersion, who have joined together for work, worship, the observance of the two ordinances (baptism and communion) and the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel. (Ephesians 4:12-16; Acts 2:41, 42, 46, 47; I Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:3, 4; I Corinthians 11:23-31).
Baptism and Communion
We believe in baptism of the regenerate by immersion. Baptism does not save but is an act of obedience to the clear command of Christ. It is a public testimony to one’s faith in Christ as personal Savior. It pictures the participation of a believer in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, which leads to newness of life. (Romans 6:1-5; Matthew 28:19, 20).
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic ordinance, picturing Christ’s body broken for our sins and His blood shed for our redemption. It is not a saving ordinance. It promotes personal holiness by a regular remembrance of His death and His future coming for His saints. (I Corinthians 11:23-28).
Spiritual Gifts
We believe God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts. The gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today. Speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament was completed and their authority became established. (I Corinthians 12:4-11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12).
Each believer has at least one spiritual gift. Examples would include evangelist, pastor-teacher, exhortation, administration, helps, giving. (Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:8-11).
We do not believe in the gift of healing (divine healers). We do believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and the afflicted. (John 15:7; James 5:14-16).
Separation of Church and State
We believe in the separation of church and state: The government should not dictate beliefs. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society. Those in government offices should be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed; but, when their laws are in conflict with the gospel and its proclamation, Jesus Christ is to be obeyed. (Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:19, 20; Romans 13:1-7).
Separation
While we believe in evangelization, we believe in separation to God from sin and from unrepentant believers. All the saved should live in such a way as not to bring reproach upon their Savior or their church. We believe in separation from religious apostasy (false teaching or organizations and institutions holding to false doctrine). (II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 16:17, 18; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Thessalonians 3:6; I Corinthians 5:1-13).
Future Things
We believe in the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for all believers at the Rapture. We believe also in His subsequent return to earth after the tribulation with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom (a reign of 1,000 years). (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9).
We believe that the souls of the believers are, at death, absent from the body and immediately present with the Lord. There, in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16, 17).