WHAT
WE BELIEVE
At Bates Memorial Baptist Church, we believe that God is the creator of the universe and the author of life. He is sovereign over all things and His love for us is immeasurable. We believe that God has revealed Himself to us through His Word, the Bible, and through the person of Jesus Christ.
WHY
WE EXIST
.01
To worship god in Jesus Christ
(John 4:21-24; Revelation 5:11-12)
We worship God because He and
He only is worthy of our utmost praise and adoration. We worship God
as a response to God’s mercies
and love toward us.
.02
To save the lost
We have a responsibility to share the Gospel with anyone who is not in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We do so by sharing the plan of salvation to others, along with our personal testimony.
.03
To mature the saved
Once we have led a person into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Our work is not over! Our task is then to help new believers grow in their faith and be nurtured on to spiritual maturity.
.04
To provide fellowship
(Psalm 133:1; Rom. 15:1; Gal. 6:1-2; Hebrews 10:24-25)
No one is a Christian by himself or herself. The church is a community of believers that can come together to experience love, fun, encouragement, and a feeling of family togetherness.
.05
To compassionately minister
to the human need
(Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 10:25-37)
We exist to be God’s hands of comfort and to express God’s heart of love to all humanity. The responsibility of the
church is to minister to human need
in the name of Jesus Christ.
.06
To transform society
(Matthew 5:13-16; Ephesians 1:22-23)
As kingdom citizens, we cannot be only satisfied with getting people saved from sin, but we have been called to be advocates for justice & freedom, opposing all the ungodly systems
of power and prejudice that
sin produces in our world.
BAPTISM
& COMMUNION
BAPTISM
Baptism is the public demonstration by an individual acknowledging that they have been saved by grace through their faith in Jesus. This is depicted by being immersed underwater, symbolizing Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
(Romans 4:9-12, Romans 6:3-4).
COMMUNION
Communion is a symbolic meal, eaten with other believers in the faith, to remember Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished for us on the cross.