Quick FAQs about Beliefs
Is the Bible all we need?
Yes, absolutely! The Bible is truly all we need for faith and practice. But it is also a good idea to know what the church believes about the Bible in a few minutes. This is why we have a statement of faith.
Is the room for disagreement?
Yes and no. We welcome any and all people to visit Friendship, no matter what they believe. However, for membership, we do think it is very important to be united on the major doctrines of our faith, which is outlined below in our “Statement of Basic Beliefs.” All members and leadership agree to this statement.
The “Baptist Faith and Message 2000” will help you see Friendship’s beliefs in more detail. However, agreement with everything in this statement is not necessary for membership. We simply want you to know the theological perspective from which all preaching and teaching will come from at Friendship.
What Affiliations Do you Have?
We are a Bible-believing evangelical church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention on a national level. We are affiliated with Southern Baptist of Texas on a state level. And we are affiliated with Dogwood Trails Baptist Association on a local level. These affiliations have no authority over us as a church, we simply partner with them for the sake of spreading the Gospel cooperatively with those who have like-minded convictions concerning the Word of God.
Yes, absolutely! The Bible is truly all we need for faith and practice. But it is also a good idea to know what the church believes about the Bible in a few minutes. This is why we have a statement of faith.
Is the room for disagreement?
Yes and no. We welcome any and all people to visit Friendship, no matter what they believe. However, for membership, we do think it is very important to be united on the major doctrines of our faith, which is outlined below in our “Statement of Basic Beliefs.” All members and leadership agree to this statement.
The “Baptist Faith and Message 2000” will help you see Friendship’s beliefs in more detail. However, agreement with everything in this statement is not necessary for membership. We simply want you to know the theological perspective from which all preaching and teaching will come from at Friendship.
What Affiliations Do you Have?
We are a Bible-believing evangelical church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention on a national level. We are affiliated with Southern Baptist of Texas on a state level. And we are affiliated with Dogwood Trails Baptist Association on a local level. These affiliations have no authority over us as a church, we simply partner with them for the sake of spreading the Gospel cooperatively with those who have like-minded convictions concerning the Word of God.
- Cooperating churches contribute to the synergy generated when thousands of like-minded churches and millions of like-minded believers band together to accomplish Kingdom-sized initiatives.
- Cooperating churches are part of a networking fellowship that promotes a strong local, national, and global influence with like-minded men and women across the country and the world.
- Cooperating churches are part of a broadly recognized denomination that has high impact ministries at home and abroad in missions, education, ethics, and religious liberty.
Our Beliefs are centered on the Gospel |
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Statement of Basic Beliefs |
The Scriptures are true, authoritative, God-breathed, inspired, sufficient and inerrant.
(Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21) There is only one true God, Creator of heaven and earth, who eternally exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Isaiah 45:4-6; Isaiah 46:9-10; John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5; Gen. 1:26; Ps. 45:6-7; Ps. 110:1; Matt. 3:13-17; Matt. 28:17-20; 1 Cor. 12:4-6) All things exist for the Glory of God. (Ps. 148, Pv. 16:4; Is. 61:3; Rm. 11:33-36; 1 Cor 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:15; Eph. 31:3-14) All humanity, Christ excluded, is sinful by both birth and action. (Gen. 6:5; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:23-5:8, 12-21; 7:18; Eph. 2:1-3) The deserved penalty of sin is physical and spiritual death. (Gen. 2:15-17; Gen. 3:19; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; James 1:14-15) Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who was born of a virgin and is both fully God and fully human. (Matt. 1:20; Luke 2:52; John 1:1-4, 14; Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:1-3) Jesus Christ died as the sacrificial substitute to pay the penalty for sin. (John 1:29; 10:1-18; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 1 Peter 3:18) Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and will one day physically return. (Math. 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-53; John 1:20-21:25; 1 Cor. 15:12-34; Jn. 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16; Heb. 9:28; 1 Jn. 3:2; Rev. 1:7) There will be a future physical resurrection of the dead. Only those who are found righteous by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ will be raised to eternal reward. Those who are not in Christ will be raised to eternal punishment. (Matt. 25: 31-46; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15) God reveals Himself to us and it is by grace, through faith that we are able to repent and believe in the person and the finished work of Jesus Christ resulting in us being reconciled to God. We are then truly saved and in-Christ (John 3:18; Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom 3:21-26; 1 Tim. 2:5-6) |
Our Commitment
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1. The Gospel:
We will keep the Gospel at the center of everything we do as a church, namely, that our hope and trust is in what Christ accomplished for us in his life, death, and resurrection. 2. Loving One Another: We will love one another as Christ loved us, honor one another above ourselves, be kind and compassionate to one another, and offer hospitality to one another. We will not talk negatively about one another, pass judgment on one another, nor put any stumbling block in one another's way. 3. Unity with One Another: We will have a spirit of unity based on our common bond in Christ, be united in mind and convictions, gather together regularly for corporate worship, have equal concern for each other, suffer when one suffers and rejoice when another is honored, and consider others more important than ourselves. 4. Growing One Another: We will use our God-given knowledge to instruct one another, use our spiritual gifts to bless one another, use the Word of God to teach and admonish one another, and nurture one another toward spiritual maturity measured by the life and ministry of Jesus. 5. Praying for One Another: We will confess our sins to one another, pray for each other, warn those who are idle, encourage the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with one another, forgive one another as the Lord forgave us, and gently restore those who sin. 6. Holiness: We will strive together to be holy as God is holy, not morally impure, not using obscenities, not greedy. We will be filled with the Spirit. As we've been made saints of God by receiving Christ's righteousness, we will strive to become, piratically, who we already are in Christ. 7. The Great Commission: We will strive to make disciples of all nations,share with those around us the grace of God shown to us in Jesus Christ, and seek as a church to reach people all over the world. We will let the light of our godly lives shine together to bring glory to God. |