Baptists

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)

Why have a denomination at all?

Some question why we have denominations. They wonder, “Why can’t we be ‘just Christian’?” And, First Baptist certainly has as members Christians of a variety of denominational backgrounds or who came to faith in churches that consider themselves non-denominational.

You don’t have to call yourself a Baptist, or even “feel like one,” to join our church! We’re believers and followers of Christ. We value Christians of other denominations as brothers and sisters, not competitors.

At the same time, we all come from somewhere. We are a Church which believes it’s good to be in relationship with other churches for common mission and accountability. The family of Churches we come from is called “Baptist.” For some, the word “Baptist” brings with it a lot of assumptions, and maybe even some baggage.

So whether the word “Baptist” brings up positive images for you (like powerful preaching and delicious potluck meals) or negative ones (like Bible-thumpers judgmentally yelling), we want to be clear about what it means for us to be Baptist.

Four Values Baptists Emphasize

“Only the freedom of the gospel liberates us from the worship of idols, including the idolatry of the self, so that we might serve the living and true God and await the Son from heaven whom God raised from the dead
(See 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; Titus 2:11-14; Acts 1:11).”

- Re-envisioning Baptist Identity: A Manifesto for Baptist Communities in North America

Lordship of Christ

Baptists believe that Christ is head of his church. Each church is “autonomous,” but that shouldn’t mean we think “we’re the ones in charge.” It is Christ who is “in charge.” That’s what it means to say “Jesus is Lord.” And, as members of the body of Christ, each church member is empowered by the Spirit to discern His will in interpreting the Scriptures together.

Freedom to Serve

Churches are each autonomous, directly under the Lordship of Christ, and we willingly and joyfully partner in ministry with other Christians and churches on mission. We each bring our unique Spirit-given gifts. We each benefit from one another.

Baptists, from the beginning, have also championed freedom for all people to worship according to conscience. That is, to worship, or not to worship, without being forced to do so or not to do so.

Even in times and places where those labeled heretics were punished by law, Baptists said right belief (while important) can’t be forced by the punishment of the state. Baptists are certain that service to God is crucial—but it must be service freely given. Thomas Helwys (1576-1616), one of the first Baptists, was even put in Newgate prison in London for this belief!

Covenant Community

The church is a covenant community. A covenant is a promise. The Lord has saved us, shown us great mercy and love, and made us a new people. The church is the body of believers united to one another to live as followers of Christ in that newness of life. We gather to Worship him through hearing and proclaiming the word and celebrating the Lord’s Supper and Baptism as Jesus commanded. In living in Jesus’ new life, we learn to love and trust God and live well with one another, with mutual accountability and encouragement.
We each have responsibilities to minister to one another.

Our Church Covenant

We, the members of this church, through the grace of God, humbly and solemnly undertake with His aid:

To attend the worship and services of this church regularly, using them for the edification of our souls.

To contribute cheerfully and regularly to the financial support of the work of this church and its various beneficences.

To aid and assist prayerfully, loyally, and willingly, the minister and those who work with him [or her] in the witness of this church.

To maintain, in all our relations with our fellow members, an attitude of spiritual integrity, sympathy, and love.

To cooperate with interest and earnestness in the redemptive, missionary, and social tasks of the Kingdom of God.

To cultivate by prayer and meditation a life of devotion and consecration to God and to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

To aspire, in our private lives, to character and conduct that shall be approved by God and our consciences.

To order the life in our homes so that they may be truly Christian and dwelling places of God.

To bear ourselves in our social and business interrelationships in accordance with the principles of Jesus Christ.

We enter this covenant inspired by devoted love to Him who gave Himself for our salvation. We seek that communion of our spirits with His, so graciously bestowed on us. We desire to serve Him and those who are in the work of His hand. We pray for Divine guidance and help in this our earnest endeavor.

We further engage that when we remove from this place, we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other Church where we can carry out the spirit of this Covenant and the principles of God’s word.

Our pledge to new members, is a much shorter expression of our commitments to God and one another, is drawn from the language and the scriptural references of our church covenant.

Church of Believers

In different times and places, a common misunderstanding was that being Christian is something like being a citizen of a country—something you are because of where you are born, regardless of your beliefs or faith. Against this view, Baptists have consistently emphasized the importance of a church of “regenerate believers.” That is, being a Christian isn’t about what place you’re from, or what family you're born into. Being a Christian is about trusting Jesus as Lord and following him.

Here are where the themes come together: The church is made up of believers who have decided to follow the Jesus and become part of the covenant community in baptism, united to freely serve, under the Lordship of Christ.

We recognize there are many genuine Christians and faithful churches who do not practice confession and then baptism, in that order. FBCM does not require professing Christians, who were Baptized as infants in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to be (re-)baptized to become members.*

At the same time, our own practice of baptism is in accordance with what we believe the New Testament teaches. We baptize upon confession of faith in Jesus. We proclaim that decision to follow Jesus, and recognize God’s work of salvation, through Baptism in the name of the one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

*For more about membership, see our membership page.

Our Baptist Affliation

We are affiliated with the American Baptist Churches - USA and the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky.

American Baptists are a Christ-centered, biblically grounded, ethnically diverse people called to radical personal discipleship in Christ Jesus.

American Baptists' commitment to Jesus propels us to nurture authentic relationships with one another; build healthy churches; transform our communities, our nations, and our world; engage every member in hands-on ministry; and speak the prophetic word in love.

For more on our church beliefs and the beliefs of our denomination, see our Beliefs page

Beliefs