Living Hope Community Church Holds to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000
You can read this statement of faith at: https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
We Believe in the Sufficiency of Scripture
We believe that the Bible is the inerrant and inspired Word of God. More importantly, we believe that it is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. Thus, we are constantly reforming ourselves in view of God’s word (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:19).
We Practice Systematic Exposition
Because we believe in the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, we practice systematic exposition in our preaching ministry. That means we preach verse-by-verse through sections of the Bible in order to faithfully proclaim “the whole council of God” to his people.
We Seek Regenerate Church Membership
Our goal is not to grow as fast as we can. Our goal is to grow as healthy as we can. We are very deliberate in our membership process. Every member of Living Hope Community Church is carefully examined to determine whether or not they truly understand and have experienced biblical conversion. Our goal here is not elitism. We simply wish to avoid giving false assurance to those who are not truly regenerate.
We are Committed to Baptism of Believers by Immersion
This is the essence of what it means to be a “Baptist” church. While we respect Christians from other orthodox traditions, we will only receive members who have experienced “Believer’s Baptism” by immersion. Moreover, we consider baptism necessary to all other privileges of membership.
We Practice Congregational Church Government with Pastors Leading the Way
There are three basic forms of church government: Episcopal church government (a single bishop at the top of a hierarchy), Presbyterian church government (a synod or presbytery governing a group or denomination), and Congregational church government (no governing body above that of the local church). Living Hope Community Church, like all Southern Baptist churches, is governed congregationally.
The Southern Baptist Convention is a convention of confessing free churches (not a denomination) with which Living Hope Community Church (like all SBC churches) voluntarily cooperates. All of our decisions are made locally. Within that context, we have a plurality of Pastors that give leadership within our local body. These Pastors are responsible for leading, feeding, and protecting the flock.
