Denominations Defined Next Month: Assemblies of God

W hat D oes I t M ean to B e a...

BAPTIST
B
aptists are a Protestant (meaning non- saved. Anyone who does not, will face damnation
Catholic) denomination within the Christian and go to hell. Baptists are well-known for their “fire
church. There are different branches within and brimstone”, “hell-fire” sermons. You may not
the denomination such as Free-Will, Fundamental, want to sit in the first row!
Independent, Missionary, Primitive, Reformed,
Southern, and Seventh-Day Baptists. There are ETERNAL SECURITY
even a few Charismatic Baptists but that’s a whole All Baptists, except the Free-Willys, believe in eter-
other story. nal security. "Once saved, always saved," is a pop-
ular saying among Baptists. As their name implies,
CHURCH GOVERNANCE AND MEMBERSHIP Free-Will Baptists believe that a person has a
Baptists believe that each church is completely au- choice, a free-will, and can fall away and lose his
tonomous and answerable to God alone. Baptists salvation if he turns away from God.
believe that church and state matters should be kept
separate. Pastors and deacons are the only church BAPTISM
officers. Women are not usually ordained but their All Baptists believe in full-immersion (actually sub-
place in ministry is very highly respected. People mersion which means going completely under the
join the church by "getting saved" and baptism or by water) baptism, after a person has reached the age
a letter transferring their membership from one con- of understanding, confessed their sins, and made a
gregation to another. Each Baptist church has its public confession of faith. Baptists call this “the be-
own statement of faith and standards of behavior. lievers’ baptism.” Because an infant is not able to
Specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can “believe and understand”, they are not baptized.
differ among Baptist churches because of this, but Many baptists families do “dedicate” their infants
all Baptists share certain beliefs and practices. during a short ceremony in front of the congrega-
tion. Baptists do not believe in confessing sins to a
BAPTISTS AND THE BIBLE priest and, just like prayer, it is between the believer
All Baptists believe the Bible to be God's message and God. Only Charismatic (faith-healing, speak-
to mankind, written by men who were inspired by ing-in-tongues) Baptists believe in a separate Spirit
God Himself, and in it's original form is inerrant (con- baptism. The vast majority of Baptists do NOT be-
tains no errors), and is the final authority of right and lieve in this and aren’t afraid to tell you so!
wrong. The majority of Baptists support the exclu-
sive use of the King James Bible, believing that it is THE LORD’S SUPPER (COMMUNION)
the only bible that a Christian should read and trust. All Baptists believe in The Lord's Supper (Commu-
nion, the bread and wine, except they use grape
GOD, JESUS, AND SALVATION juice, symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus) and
All Baptists believe that there is one God, eternally it is generally open to all professing Christians. If
existing in three persons known as the Trinity, com- you attend a Baptist church but aren’t a Baptist, it’s
prised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. still okay to take Communion with them. Some
God, the Son (Jesus), was born of a virgin, lived a Baptist churches also add foot-washing as a prac-
sinless life, died for our sins, and is the only way to tice. Baptists do not believe that communion, bap-
salvation. Salvation is a free gift and cannot be tism or church attendance is required for salvation.
achieved by human effort. Baptists believe that any- However, all three are a standard practice of all
one who calls on the name of Jesus Christ will be Baptists.

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WORSHIP SERVICES church believes in or practices, it's best to give them
Most Baptist churches have a traditional form of a call, check out their website, or ask the Pastor or
worship, which usually includes hymns, opening another church member.
prayer, choral music by a choir, soloist, or both, the
reading of Scripture, the collection of tithes and/or There are at least 479 Baptist churches here in the
offerings, a sermon, a closing prayer and an invita- Tri-Cities. You can go to The Christian Community
tion to come to the altar (podium and/or platform) to Resource Guide website at www.tccrg.com and see
receive Christ as your personal Savior (get saved). them all on one list or browse them city by city. You
will find a link to a website for those who have one.
MINISTRIES Many of them have Facebook pages, as well. Go
Many Baptist churches have very organized out- check ‘em out and make some Baptist friends!
reach ministries such as weekly “soul winning”, in
which groups go out and evangelize the community.
20 % of Americans, not just Christian
Some churches have bus ministries where volun-
Americans, but ALL Americans, identify
teers drive church buses and/or vans to surrounding
themselves as Baptist.
areas to bring people (mostly children) to the
church’s services. A few still practice open-air
“street preaching” in city parks or on street corners, Here are a few of the famous ones...
although this is rare. Like many other denomina-
Preachers: Billy Graham, Dr. Martin King Luther, Jr.,
tions, Baptist churches send out missionaries and Jesse Jackson, and televangelists Adrian Rogers and
evangelists to other parts of the U.S. and to other Charles Stanley, founder of In Touch Ministries
countries preaching the gospel. They often have
prison and nursing home ministries as well. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln (raised Baptist),
Andrew Johnson, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, Bill
DENOMINATIONAL BRANCHES Clinton, and Al Gore
The terms "Independent, Missionary, and Southern" Businesspeople: J(ames) C(ash) Penney, depart-
really don’t have much to do with doctrinal differ- ment store magnet, son of a Primitive Baptist lay minis-
ences like the terms "Free-Will or Reformed" do. ter; John D. Rockefeller, twentieth century oil tycoon;
They were established many years ago and founded S. Truett Cathy, billionaire founder of Chick-fil-A restau-
on differences of opinion in church governance, rants; Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay
missions direction and issues of slavery. Some- Christian Resources (bookstores)
times these terms are combined when naming a Entertainers: Johnny Cash, country music singer;
church. It's possible to see a church sign that says Jerry Clower, rural humorist, member of the Grand Ole
something like "Bethel Independent Missionary Bap- Opry, lay minister; Aretha Franklin, singer and daughter
tist Church." But some of the terms do not mix very of Baptist minister C.L. Franklin; Kevin Costner &
well. You shouldn’t see a church named Bethel Re- Chuck Norris, actors; Dan Whitney ("Larry the Cable
formed Freewill Missionary Baptist Church unless Guy"), son of a Baptist preacher, attended Baptist Uni-
versity of America
the church is thoroughly confused, which is defi-
nitely a possibility. Bless their hearts! The whole Writers and Authors: John Bunyan, author of Pil-
"denominational" thing can be very confusing. grim's Progress; John Grisham, bestselling author of
The Firm; Tim LaHaye, co-author of the bestselling Left
DOS AND DON’TS Behind series; and Beth Moore, evangelist, author,
Most Baptists tend to be conservative in their teacher, and founder of Living Proof Ministries
lifestyles. A few Baptists do not listen to rock-n-roll Athletes: Reggie White, professional football defen-
or other forms of modern music, allow dancing, sive end, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame;
women to wear pants or have short hair, men to Zach Johnson, professional golfer, winner of the 2007
have long hair or wear earrings, gambling, alcohol Masters Tournament; Ryan Langerhans, outfielder for
or tobacco, sex before marriage, homosexuality, or the Seattle Mariners
abortion. However, there is a growing trend in many
Criminals: (don’t forget “once saved, always saved”)
Baptist churches to incorporate more modern styles Jesse James, an American outlaw, son of a Baptist
of music and less harsh approaches to entertain- minister
ment and dress. To know exactly what a local

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