Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of First Baptist Church of Garden City based on the foundational truths taught in the Holy 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.
God
There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise. God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace.
God the Son
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who took on flesh and dwelt among us. He died to pay for our sin and rose again on the third day. He resides for now at the right hand of the Father.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He is the Counselor that Jesus promised to send upon His ascension.
Mankind
Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
God's Purposes of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners.
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.
Baptism & The Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance.
Revelation
God has revealed himself to us through his son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God, the holy scriptures, and through all of creation itself.
The Fall
When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time.
Ressurection
Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth.
For a full description of our beliefs with the Bible references, download the Baptist Faith and Message by clicking the button below.