THE SCRIPTURES

The Bible teaches the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture. The Bible teaches that it is the Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings were supernaturally, verbally, and plenary inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. They are the complete, final, and supreme revelation of the will of God to man, and so are supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:19-21). We believe these principles to be true. We believe the Authorized King James Version Bible is the preserved and infallible Word of God for the English speaking people.

THE TRUE GOD

The Bible teaches there is one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we believe this to be true.

God the Father – The Bible teaches that God the Father is, perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. The Bible teaches that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His son. We believe these principles to be true.

God the Son – The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully man, sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. The Bible teaches His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His glorious Second Advent according to promise. The Bible teaches the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely, the personal, premillenial, and pretribulational return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18: second, His return later to earth with His saints to set up His millennial reign. We believe these principles to be true.

God the Holy Spirit – The Bible teaches the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin or righteousness and of judgement: and to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, and comfort and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 16:7-11). We believe these principles to be true.

MAN

The Bible teaches that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God.  The Bible teaches that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought and deed by choice (Rom. 3:10-23; Rom. 5:12).  We believe these principles to be true.

THE LAST THINGS

The Bible teaches the bodily resurrection of both the saved and unsaved.  These take place at different times.  Bodily resurrection of the saved before the Tribulation Period at the Rapture (Judgement Seat of Christ) and the bodily resurrection of the unsaved following the millennium at the Great White Throne Judgement.  The saved to eternal life and blessedness in Heaven and the unsaved to eternal, conscious suffering and woe in Hell (John 5:29).  We believe these principles to be true.

THE CHURCH

The Bible teaches there is one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, andThe Bible teaches that the church is a local company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, word, and fellowship. The Bible teaches that to these churches was committed for perpetual observance, two ordinances – the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. The Bible teaches that God has laid upon these churches the task of preaching the Gospel to every creature, and the edification of the individual members of the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47; I Cor. 11:23-32).  We believe these principles to be true. Holy Spirit, and we believe this to be true.

God the Father – The Bible teaches that God the Father is, perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. The Bible teaches that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His son. We believe these principles to be true.

God the Son – The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully man, sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. The Bible teaches His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His glorious Second Advent according to promise. The Bible teaches the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely, the personal, premillenial, and pretribulational return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18: second, His return later to earth with His saints to set up His millennial reign. We believe these principles to be true.

God the Holy Spirit – The Bible teaches the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin or righteousness and of judgement: and to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, and comfort and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 16:7-11). We believe these principles to be true.

SALVATION

The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who by faith receive Him as their personal Saviour, are justified on the ground of His blood shed on Calvary and His resurrection from the dead and are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God (I Cor. 15:3-7).  We believe these principles to be true.

SATAN

The Bible teaches the reality and personality of Satan (Luke 10:18).  We believe this principle to be true.

HUMAN SEXUALITY
  • God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman, and that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.  Any employee of the church that is involved in consensual intercourse, outside of the marriage relationship, shall be terminated from employment (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5,13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1,6-9; I Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).  We believe these principles to be true.
  • The only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man, who has always been a man, and one woman, who has always been a woman (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23).  We believe this principle to be true.
  • Men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church.  The husband is to be leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (Pastors and Deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; I Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5,12).  We believe this principle to be true.
CHURCH AND STATE

The Bible teaches that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent, indigenous, and autonomous, and must be free from any interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other. We believe this principle to be true.

CHRISTIAN LIVING

The Bible teaches that every saved person should strive to be Christ-like by walking in the Holy Spirit, fully and constantly yielding his members to the indwelling Christ, so that he may always in life and word show forth the praises of Him who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light.  The Bible teaches a separated life for all believers as set forth in II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, including separation from unequally yoked marriages and worldly societies that are not that which would bring glory to our Saviour’s name.  We believe these principles to be true.

LAWSUITS BETWEEN BELIEVERS

The Bible teaches that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians to resolve personal disputes.  The Bible teaches that the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members.  A Christian may seek compensation from injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (I Cor 6:1-8; Eph 4:31-32). We believe these principles to be true.

GIVING

The Bible teaches that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially.  The Bible teaches that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need and the spread of the Gospel through missions.  (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Cor. 16:2; II Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; I Tim. 5:17-18; I John 3:17)  We believe these principles to be true.

MISSIONS

The Bible teaches that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to reach the lost at home through home missions and the lost abroad through foreign missions (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:20).  We believe these principles to be true.

AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH

This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith.  The Bible is the sole and final source of all that we believe.  We do believe, however, that the foregoing statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore is binding upon all members.  All literature used in the church shall be in complete agreement with the statement of faith.

CHURCH COVENANT

Having been led, as we believe by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and, on the profession 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 engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit of God, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; to contribute, cheerfully and regularly, to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.

We also engage to maintain family and private devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from ungodly amusements and activities that hinder our walk with Christ and our testimony; to be zealous in our effort to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Saviour to secure it without delay.

RECEPTION OF MEMBERS

Upon a majority vote of the members present at any church service or meeting, membership shall be extended to all who have had and whose lives evidence a genuine experience of regeneration through faith in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour; who renounce sin; who endeavor to live a consecrated life wholly unto the Lord; who fully prescribe to the statement of faith contained herein; and who willingly enter the covenant contained herein; have both accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and have followed the Lord in baptism by emersion as a picture of their salvation in Shenandoah Baptist Church or a church of like faith and upon compliance with any one of the following conditions:

  • By Baptism – Upon a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and upon baptism at Shenandoah Baptist church, a person may be received into the membership.
  • By Letter – Upon a letter of transfer from another New Testament Church of like faith and practice and having accepted Christ as Savior and being scripturally baptized (immersed as a symbol of accepting the Gospel of Christ) , a person may be received into membership.
  • By Statement – Having already professed Jesus Christ as Saviour and having been scripturally baptized (immersed as a symbol of accepting the Gospel of Christ), by another church of like faith and practice whose records are not available for transfer, a person may be received into membership.
  • By Restoration – Former members that have had their membership removed through disciplinary action in accordance Biblical Church discipline may only be restored as members upon public confession of their error, giving evidence of repentance, a recommendation from the discipline committee and pastor, and a three-fourths majority vote of the members.