We are not the only church in the valley that preaches the gospel. We are also not unique and individual in our doctrinal beliefs. In fact, we rejoice in both of those facts!! So what makes FBC unique? What makes us distinctive as a church? To answer that question, we often articulate the following elements (in no particular order) as distinctive about our church.
We are committed to praying for and pursuing the training up of the next generation (2 Timothy 2:2). We want to send out missionaries, church planters and pastors to spread the gospel across the nation and world.
We believe in the exposition of God’s Word – preaching that is grounded in, captive to, and explicitly derived from the text of Scripture. We are called to understand the author’s original meaning, and its relevance to today (Ezra 7:10).
We believe that God designed most ministry, especially in the context of the church, to be men ministering to men and women ministering to women (Titus 2:4-5; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Biblically, men bear the responsibility to lead the church and their families first, so we are most concerned with helping men grow strong in the Lord.
For a Christian to grow, they must change. For a church to grow, it must change. We expect that people will mature, new people will come, ministries will change, programs will stop and start. God didn’t plan life to be static or us to be content in our failings (1 Thess 4:1).
We are committed to building a church where the attendees serve, rather than a church run by ‘professionals.’ We believe that a church is healthiest when the whole church family is serving, each according to their gifts and passions (1 Peter 4:10-11).
We want people here who are one heart and one mind with the doctrine and direction of our church. We do not believe membership is a tool of control, but is a means to help us to remain unified (Acts 2:46).
When a professing Christian denies the existence of clear, manifest sin in their lives, we are commanded to come alongside that individual and urge them to repent of their sin. This process of restoration happens privately and sometimes publicly, as described in Matthew 18:15-20, Titus 3:9-10, etc. We are commanded to do this for anyone who regularly attends FBC, regardless if they are a member. For more on church discipline, please see our doctrinal statement.
We believe Scripture should be understood according to the author’s intended meaning. Doctrinal statements strive to systematize various passages. As such, Scripture always has precedence over any doctrinal position, historical or current.
We are reformed [mainly], Calvinistic [but not hyper], Dispensational [sort of], Premillennial [but not hostile], Pro-Rapture, Cessationist [just the sign gifts], Baptistic [we immerse].
We believe that we are deeply flawed sinners desperately in need of grace, who depend on Christ’s righteousness every day and not our own. We seek to depend and obey, rather than trying to somehow win God’s approval through our lifestyle.
We genuinely appreciate other Christians and churches as they labor to make the Gospel known, even when they are unlike us in other beliefs and/or practices.
We are called to exhort our people in sound doctrine, equipping them to think and live biblically, to refute those who contradict, and to be on guard against anyone who claims to be a believer but teaches a false gospel.
The union of a man & woman in marriage has existed since creation, reflects the Godhead, and is marked by both vow and physical union; since the Fall, role relationships have and will be a struggle until sin is abolished
Our church loves marriage and believes that any new marriages are best served by getting counsel beforehand, even more than afterwards.
We provide short-term biblical counsel to FBC’ers who need help with specific issues.
Where the soul and heart are concerned, the Bible speaks with complete authority and sufficiency; psychology is rooted in wrong presuppositions resulting in flawed outcomes
For God’s GLORY, we are all desperately pursuing the GREAT commandment to love God and love each other, so that we can follow the GREAT commission to make disciples, that we would passionately declare and display the gospel.
The church is to be led by a plurality of qualified and diversely-gifted men who work together, in equality and unanimity, to lead God’s church to love Him more. An elder is described in the Bible as one who shepherds, leads, teaches, admonishes, and guards a local church body while exemplifying a model Christian life to everyone, both believers and the lost.
You may have noticed that we meet in a school. We have no offices. Most everything we do happens via the computer and phone. Over time, we’ve found that this is more efficient and less expensive. Plus, by meeting people in coffee shops and restaurants, we are able to support local businesses and be closer to non-Christians.
The Bible is the only means we have of knowing God today. Its message centers on Jesus, the Savior of the world. Every word of the Bible is inspired and has meaning for our life today. In fact, the Bible provides a solution to every problem in your life. You don’t need anything else. Just listen to what the Bible says and obey it.