Concord’s mission, doctrine, and covenant form the core of
our identity as a church. However else we may be different from
one another, we are united in these aims, beliefs, and practices.
We ask all who would join our family in membership to affirm
their agreement in these essentials.
Our Mission
Concord Baptist Church is a family of redeemed sinners seeking to display the glory of God
among our neighbors and the nations by being a gospel-shaped, gospel-sharing people.
Our Doctrine
THE SCRIPTURES
The Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of himself. It is truth without any mixture of error, a testimony to the kingdom of God in Christ, has salvation for its end, is the basis of Christian union, and is the supreme standard by which all else is judged.
(Psalm 19:7-11; 119:11, 85, 105, 140; Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 21:33; John 5:39; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)
GOD
There is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This triune God, as the sovereign and holy creator of all things, is worthy of our highest love, reverence, and obedience.
(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 4:11)
MAN
Man is the special creation of God, both male and female, made in God’s image. Thus every person is to be treated with dignity, and the gift of gender is part of the goodness of God’s creation. Despite being made in God’s image, man has rebelled against God and is now separated from him and under condemnation. Only the grace of God can restore man unto fellowship with God.
(Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; 5:18; Ephesians 2:1-3)
SALVATION
The triune God has acted in grace to save a people for himself. God the Father, in his great love, sent his Son into the world to make atonement for sin. God the Son, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin, lived in sinless obedience, was crucified as a substitute for sinners, rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father as Lord of all. God the Holy Spirit regenerates sinners, giving them new life in which they turn from their sins and trust in Jesus as Lord.
The good news of salvation is to be preached to all people, as there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Being united to Jesus by faith, believers are thus justified, adopted as God’s children, empowered for sanctification, and secured for glory. All true believers are preserved by God and persevere to the end.
In short, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
(Ezekiel 36:26; John 3:16; 14:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:4-10)
THE CHURCH
The church is a local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the gospel, governed by Christ through his word, observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, exercising discipline, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
The two offices of the church are pastors, also called elders or overseers, and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament also speaks of the church in universal terms as the body of Christ which includes all the redeemed of all ages, believers from every tribe, tongue, and people, and nation.
(Matthew 16:17-19; 18:15-20; 28:18-20; 1 Timothy 2:12-3:13; Revelation 5:9-10)
THE SOCIAL ORDER
Christians are to pray and labor that the kingdom of heaven may come on earth, while awaiting the full consummation of the kingdom at the return of Jesus Christ. Recognizing that lasting change comes only through salvation, Christians should nevertheless oppose racism, every form of greed and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, and pornography. Christians should support God’s design for marriage as the covenant union of one man and one woman for life; provide for the orphan, the widow, and others in need; speak on behalf of the unborn; and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
(Genesis 1:27; Jeremiah 29:7; Micah 6:8; Matthew 6:9-10; James 1:27)
LAST THINGS
Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all men. The unrighteous will be consigned to everlasting punishment and the righteous will dwell forever with God. In that day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
(Daniel 12:2; Acts 1:11; 17:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 11:15; 20:11-15)
Our Covenant
Having believed in Jesus as Lord, having been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and having determined to live in fellowship with the family of redeemed sinners called Concord Baptist Church, we affirm this covenant with one another. For God’s glory and with his help:
We will gather regularly as a church in eager worship of the triune God, upholding our mission, doctrine, and covenant.
We will seek to live lives of joyful obedience, learning to follow all Scripture as seen in the light of Christ.
We will aim to be recognized as Christians by our earnest love for one another, serving each other with our gifts and resources; sharing in each other’s joys and burdens; encouraging each other in the truth; being slow to anger and quick to forgive; and expecting the church to pursue us when we stray, even to the point of discipline if necessary.
We will give ourselves to continual prayer, both for and with one another, calling on God to glorify his name in our church, our homes, and our world.
We will support the work of our church through cheerful giving, believing that God will make all grace abound to us as we reflect his generosity.
We will pursue constant missional engagement, seeking to advance the gospel among the next generation within our church, among our neighbors, and among the nations.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.