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Church Covenant
Through the revelation of God's Word to
humanity it is made manifest that God is pleased to walk in a way of
Covenant with His people, He promising to be their God and they
promising to be His people.
We, therefore, desiring to worship and
serve Him, and believing it to be our duty to walk together as one
body in Christ, do freely and solemnly covenant with God and with one
another; To cleave unto Christ, the head of the Church and our only
Lord and Savior; To walk together in Christian love in all His ways
and ordinances as they are revealed to us from His Holy Word; To pray
that the God of peace, who raised our Saviour from the dead, will
prepare and strengthen us that we may through Faith, serve his kingdom
in a manner that is in accordance with His will.
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Having been led, as we believe, by
the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and
on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the
presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly, and joyfully enter
into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We covenant, with the aid of the Holy
Spirit, to work together in Christian love, to strive for the
advancement of this church in knowledge and discipleship; to promote
its spirituality; to participate in its worship, ordinances, and
ministries; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of
the ministry, the relief of human need, and the spread of the gospel
beginning in the Highlands.
We also covenant to promote spiritual
growth in our families; to seek the salvation of our relatives and
acquaintances; to live a Christian life-style; to educate our children
biblically; to be ethical in our dealings, faithful in our
commitments, and exemplary in our behavior; and to be conscientious in
our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.
We further covenant to watch over one
another in Christian love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid
each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy
in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but
always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior
to secure it without delay.
We, moreover, covenant that when we
leave 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.
(Approved and Adopted December 9, 1998)
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Deer Park Baptist Church
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
God has
called us into being, through grace and our faith in Christ, to share
a life together. As a community, we worship God, disciple each other,
and share the Gospel with the world.
BELIEFS
As a
Christian community what we believe:
1. About
God.
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. God
eternally exists in three roles: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2.
About
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and both the Savior and
Lord of all who believe in Him.
3.
About the
Holy Spirit.
God, manifested in the role of the Holy Spirit, is
present in the world to make humanity aware of its need for Jesus
Christ. The Holy Spirit provides the Christian with power for living,
understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right.
4.
About
Humankind.
Humanity is made in the spiritual image of God, to be
like God in character. Humanity is the supreme object of God’s
creation. Although all persons have tremendous potential for good,
they are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin.
This attitude separates them from God.
5.
About
Salvation.
Salvation is the free gift of God that comes through
faith to all believers in Jesus Christ by God’s saving grace – not
human effort – and must be received personally by repentance.
6. About
the Bible.
The Bible is inspired by God’s authority and is sufficient for all
doctrine.
7. About
the church.
The purpose of the church is calling people to faith in and
discipleship to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
As a Baptist
community we affirm that:
a. All
are free to enter into a personal relationship with God, and each
person individually makes that choice as a free response to God’s
grace;
b. All
who respond positively to God’s grace become a part of the Christian
community in which all are responsible to and for each other;
c. Each
Christian community is free, under the Lordship of Christ, to shape
its own life and mission, call its own leadership, and ordain its own
ministry;
d. The
Christian community is called to share the Good News of Jesus with the
world in worship, ministry and mission beginning with the local
community and extending around the whole world, and is free to
associate with other Christian and ecumenical communities;
e.
allAll
must have freedom, regardless of their faith or lack of faith, and the
best way to insure this freedom is free religious communities in a
free state.
As Deer Park
Baptist Church, we are committed to:
a. Reaching
more people;
b. Reaching
the seemingly unreachable;
c.
Instructing
and nurturing our children about the Bible and God’s love for
humanity.
d. Being
a model for ministry, beginning in the Highlands;
e. Being
a ministry based church.
(Approved and Adopted December 9, 1998)
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