Our Beliefs

WE’RE SERIOUS ABOUT. . . A Bible Worth Believing Hillcrest Baptist is a church fellowship which takes the Bible seriously. We reverence the Scriptures and study them. As in other Southern Baptist churches, our congregation encourages adults as well as children to participate in regular small group Bible study. Through Sunday School and other opportunities, we commit ourselves to the study of God’s Word so we can apply it to our lives. Life Worth Living Believing the Good News about Jesus’ saving love is only the beginning, as we understand the Scriptures. Our church is committed to the conviction that God’s people are a pilgrim people - people on a journey moving toward greater Christlikeness. We try to measure every effort of our congregation by this standard: does it help believers experience a dynamic walk with the Lord? and, does it encourage disciples to share the Good News? A Family Worth Joining The congregation gets consistently high marks as a warm and caring fellowship, able and willing to demonstrate concern to those inside and outside our fellowship. We’re family to each other, and we’re convinced that there is room in our fellowship for many, many more, as we share life’s joys and sorrows together. A Faith Worth Sharing We are a missionary Baptist church, loyal to the Southern Baptist way of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. We feel it is our duty to share the Gospel first with our own community and then with all the world. While God must perform the internal work of conversion and change in an individual’s heart, we believe it is our job to take the message to the people. As a fully cooperating Southern Baptist church, we gladly join hands with over 43,000 other SBC churches in mission support through the Cooperative Program. Together we support over 3800 foreign missionaries serving over 125 countries and 4800 home missionaries serving in all 50 states. We take seriously the words of our Savior, "the Son of Man has come to seek and save those who are lost." (Luke 9:10) Church Partnership and What We Seek We strive together for the advancement of the church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort. We promote its prosperity and spirituality. We sustain its worship, discipline and doctrines. We endeavor to cultivate our prayer life; to religiously educate our children to walk circumspectly in the world and avoid all tattling, backbiting and excessive anger. We remember each other in prayer, aid each other in sickness and distress, and cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech. Our Statement of Purpose We of Hillcrest Baptist Church resolve to pray specifically and respond accordingly to God’s leadership in reaching, teaching, and ministering to the lost, churched and unchurched alike, at home and abroad. (Matthew 5:14-16) Gifts Worth Developing This church does not believe that the work of ministry is done exclusively by professional clergy. We’re serious about the scriptural work of "equipping the saints for the work of the ministry" (Ephesians 4:12). Every Christian has God-given abilities to be used in ministry in His world. Every believer needs to be using those gifts through some specific work for the Lord through his or her church. This church is committed to helping believers find and develop their gifts in Christian service.

What We Believe 1. The Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by God's chosen men. 2. There is only one true God, whose name is Jehovah. He has revealed Himself to the human race as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; in each person executing distinct offices in the work of redemption. 3. Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to be as God, fell and drew after him a host of angels. He is the enemy of God, the tempter of mankind and the author of all false religions. He is destined to be defeated by Jesus Christ and to the judgement of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels. 4. Man was created innocent. By voluntary transgression he sinned, thereby coming under just condemnation of God. 5. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born. Without sin Himself, He did away with our sins in His death on the cross. Having risen from the dead He now reigns in Heaven. 6. To be saved, sinners must be born from above. The new birth is wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel. Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of the gospel. 7. A church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by a covenant of faith, into a voluntary fellowship, and observing the ordinances of Christ. The true mission of the church is: first, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; third, to teach and instruct as Christ commanded. The local church has the absolute right of self-government and the only head is Christ, through the Holy Spirit. 8. The church has two ordinances, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the church commemorating the Christian’s death. By immersion in water of a believer, members of the church are reminded of their death to sin, burial with Christ, and resurrection to a new life to live in and for Him. The Lord’s Supper is the church commemorating the Lord’s death till He comes. By the sacred use of bread and grape juice as symbols of a body given and blood shed, the redeemed of God are reminded that Jesus their Lord, died in their stead. The Lord’s Supper should be preceded always by a solemn self-examination on the part of each communicant. 9. The Lord Jesus Christ will fulfill His promise to return to earth. He will raise the righteous dead for blessedness and reward, and the unrighteous dead for judgement and doom. 10. Civil government is for the interest and good order of human society. Magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.