Freedom Baptist Church
Freedom Baptist Church
ABOUT US
Together we are a community of believers. What does that mean, the word community? We believe that together in fellowship we grow closer to God and one another. The bible speaks about iron sharpening iron. We believe that together we grow stronger. We are a community of believers.
We strive to be a church without walls. Jesus calls for us to go outside the walls to reach the lost and the broken. It is there that the lost will be found. Most churches find it comfortable to stay within the walls, but we make it an effort to be like the church from the book of Acts, to see our city changed.
We highly value our relationships with one another. We look to grow through fellowship, and ultimately grow closer to God. We value the word of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We look to extend grace to all of the lost and broken and lead those with no hope to the hope of Jesus Christ.
WHO WE ARE
OUR PURPOSE
1. Save the lost. Christ has ascended into Heaven and we are His ambassadors to carry on His work of saving the lost. Our purpose is to clearly share the gospel of Christ with Martinsville and the entire world. Luke 19:10b; 1 Timothy 1:15b; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20
2. Grow the saved. New Christians need immediate nourishment for their inner man and that only comes from Gods Word. 1 Peter 2:2. God’s goal for every Christian is that they become fully mature believers who are allowing Christ to live through them in every area of their life. Although we are not sinless, we should be growing and changing into the likeness of Christ. Romans 8:29, 12:1.
3. Equip the Faithful. Once people grow and learn God’s Word, it is the church’s job to train and equip them so that they can take what they learn and in turn impact others in ministry. Church leadership should identify the faithful and provide training so that they are equipped with the knowledge and practical tools they need to serve Christ in a meaningful and impacting ministry. A faithful person who has been equipped for ministry is impacting and changing lives for eternity! Ephesians 4:11-15.
4. Send forth workers. The ultimate goal is not to just fill Christians up with Bible knowledge, although this is very important, it is so that they can make a difference in the lives of other no matter where they may go. Our desire is to see Christians serving not only in the local church but to be sent to work in other churches as well as around the world through missions. The greatest measure of a church is not its seating capacity but its sending capacity.
OUR BELIEFS
1. We believe in the absolute authority of the Scripture. We interpret the Bible literally. We believe it to be without error, infallible, divinely inspired, and the sole source of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21.
2. We believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ. John 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Matthew 24:27-31.
3. We believe that salvation comes by Godís grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:10, 23; Ephesians 2:1-5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9;
Ephesians 1:13-14; Galatians 3:26; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; 1 Timothy 4:10; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2; John 1:9-12.
4. We believe in the autonomy of the local church. Jesus Christ is the Head and we are the body. Ephesians 1:20-23; Ephesians 3:16-21.
5. We believe that every believer has complete and total access to God. Ephesians 2:18, 3:12; Romans 5:2; 1 Timothy 2:5.
6. We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 5:16-19; Ephesians 5:18; John 16:13-14.
7. We believe not only is the Word of God to be rightly divided but that all the Word of God is profitable. 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17; Galatians 1:6-12; 2 Timothy 2:2.
OUR VALUES
1. We are committed to being a God-centered church. Freedom exists for God. In every person and ministry, God is first and our ultimate goal is to please and glorify God. We desire for people to experience and encounter God in our church, by means of our corporate worship services and through the godly personal lives of our members. If God is not glorified through our church, we have failed, no matter how much outward success we may enjoy.
2. We are committed to exalting Jesus Christ. In every ministry, we will endeavor to exalt Jesus Christ and His marvelous work of redemption through His death on the cross and His glorious resurrection. We desire for others to see Jesus in us, while at church and in our daily lives. Our church will not be people or program driven, but driven by an all-consuming passion to exalt our Lord, Jesus Christ.
. We are committed to being a Bible-based church. Freedom is all about the Bible. Every ministry and program of our church must be rooted in God’s Word. The Bible is inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and therefore must be the final authority for everything our church believes and does. We believe that the preaching and teaching of God’s Word is the catalyst for change in people’s lives and therefore holds the highest priority. Also, our members should be striving to live out God’s Word daily. Learning and living the Bible should be natural and normal to our church when we are committed to the Bible.
4. We are committed to making prayer a central focus of our church. In the church where God’s people have a lively prayer life together, regenerating power is present, life is there and the lost are converted. Where prayer is not the central focus, there may be an outward shell of growth and productivity, but within it is empty, dry and dead.
5. We are committed to evangelizing the lost. We are not a church that simply exists for ourselves. We exist for others. We look beyond the walls of our church to serve and minister to non-Christians, demonstrating to them the love of Christ. While our mission and our message never changes, we will constantly reevaluate and change our methods, in order to reach more people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. We do not believe it is the lost’s responsibility to seek the church, but our responsibility to seek the lost.
6. We are committed to equipping and growing believers in their faith. Believers should be learning, growing, and changing as Christ lives His life through them. We believe that every Christian should be growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Our church assists Christians in this process by offering Bible preaching and teaching, Bible studies, small groups known as L.I.F.E. Groups, Bible Growth Groups (discipleship), a counseling ministry, mentoring, retreats, conferences, seminars, and a Christian school (ages infant to after school). We are constantly exploring new methods to better equip believers in their spiritual walk with Christ.
7. We are committed to world-wide missions outreach. The heavenly kingdom of Jesus Christ is far greater than any local church. It includes loyal followers of Jesus all over the world. Our passion is not to see how big our local church can become, but rather how much we can grow the body of Christ in this world. Therefore we willingly give away to other churches many of the blessings God has given to us. This is done by providing prayer and financial support to other co-laborers in the world, starting new churches, encouraging hurting churches, sharing what we have learned, learning from others, sending missionaries and much more. We rejoice when others leave our church in order to go and serve Christ in other churches. We rejoice when churches and Christians outside of Freedom Baptist Church see spiritual fruit. We are thrilled when God allows us to have a small part in the great good He is doing in and through them.
OUR HISTORY
SMALL BEGINNINGS
Gathered in Collinsville until September 1995.
Moved into our Worship Center in April 2003.
HELPING PEOPLE FOLLOW JESUS