Statement of Faith
First Baptist Church Forsyth is an autonomous, independent congregation of baptized believers who choose to cooperate with the Tri-County Baptist Association, the Missouri Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. As an autonomous Baptist congregation existing within the larger body of the New Testament Church, First Forsyth holds to certain core values and beliefs.
We at First Forsyth strongly believe in the soul competency of each individual, which means that each Christian is called to act as a believer-priest in his relationship with God. However, we do hold that inherent with church membership is the requirement of agreement and adherence by each member to the basic beliefs and core values representative of this body and to the structure that governs this body as well.
With this in mind, our core values and statement of faith are presented with a two-fold purpose. First, to help in your decision as to whether you feel God is calling you to become a part of this congregation, and second, to aid you as a member in evaluating and implementing your role.
We at First Forsyth strongly believe in the soul competency of each individual, which means that each Christian is called to act as a believer-priest in his relationship with God. However, we do hold that inherent with church membership is the requirement of agreement and adherence by each member to the basic beliefs and core values representative of this body and to the structure that governs this body as well.
With this in mind, our core values and statement of faith are presented with a two-fold purpose. First, to help in your decision as to whether you feel God is calling you to become a part of this congregation, and second, to aid you as a member in evaluating and implementing your role.
Statement of Faith
First Baptist Church Forsyth is an autonomous, independent congregation of baptized believers who choose to cooperate with the Tri-County Baptist Association, the Missouri Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. As an autonomous Baptist congregation existing within the larger body of the New Testament Church, First Forsyth holds to certain core values and beliefs.
We at First Forsyth strongly believe in the soul competency of each individual, which means that each Christian is called to act as a believer-priest in his relationship with God. However, we do hold that inherent with church membership is the requirement of agreement and adherence by each member to the basic beliefs and core values representative of this body and to the structure that governs this body as well.
With this in mind, our core values and statement of faith are presented with a two-fold purpose. First, to help in your decision as to whether you feel God is calling you to become a part of this congregation, and second, to aid you as a member in evaluating and implementing your role.
We at First Forsyth strongly believe in the soul competency of each individual, which means that each Christian is called to act as a believer-priest in his relationship with God. However, we do hold that inherent with church membership is the requirement of agreement and adherence by each member to the basic beliefs and core values representative of this body and to the structure that governs this body as well.
With this in mind, our core values and statement of faith are presented with a two-fold purpose. First, to help in your decision as to whether you feel God is calling you to become a part of this congregation, and second, to aid you as a member in evaluating and implementing your role.
Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of First Baptist Forsyth based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
Mankind
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
The Fall
By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
For more information on our doctrines & beliefs, you can check out The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 from the Southern Baptist Convention.
Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of First Baptist Forsyth based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
Mankind
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
The Fall
By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
For more information on our doctrines & beliefs, you can check out The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 from the Southern Baptist Convention.
Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of First Baptist Forsyth based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
Mankind
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
The Fall
By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
For more information on our doctrines & beliefs, you can check out The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 from the Southern Baptist Convention.
Our Core Values
Ministry
By using our gifts & talents
By serving our leaders
Be developing a servant's heart
By using our gifts & talents
By serving our leaders
Be developing a servant's heart
Fellowship
By loving other church members
By refusing to gossip
By following the church leaders
By being present
By loving other church members
By refusing to gossip
By following the church leaders
By being present
Evangelism
By doing my part
By inviting the unchurched to attend
By fulfilling the Great Commission
By doing my part
By inviting the unchurched to attend
By fulfilling the Great Commission
Education (Discipleship)
By reading my Bible daily
By participating in Bible study
By memorizing scripture
By reading my Bible daily
By participating in Bible study
By memorizing scripture
Worship
By expressing an attitude of worship
By attending faithfully
By living in a Christ-like manner
By giving regularly
By expressing an attitude of worship
By attending faithfully
By living in a Christ-like manner
By giving regularly