We, Lavonia Baptist Church, of Mooresboro, NC under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and following the model of the New Testament Church in the Holy Bible unite ourselves that we may:
Worship publicly the ONE TRUE LIVING GOD.
Witness to ALL PEOPLE of the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Disciple for the purpose of continuing growth in Christian maturity. Minister to joys, hurts, and needs of people within as well as beyond this church.
Fellowship & Cooperate with one another and other churches and organizations (of like faith and message) for the purpose of promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Regular giving (tithes and offerings) to support the ministry and spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Uphold the ordinances of Baptism and Holy Communion, and doctrines set forth in scripture for the New Testament Church.
Article III. Statement of Basic Beliefs
Lavonia Baptist Church with the enabling of the Holy Spirit of God seeks to be a New Testament church. We pray that we would be Christ-centered, Bible-based, and Mission-minded. We want to see every member growing in a relationship with Christ Jesus. We will foster Christian growth in serving others in time, talent, and treasure solely for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.
"We are a group of born again believers who are working to provide a BETTER Christian WITNESS, in our community and beyond, all to the Glory of God!"
"You have a place here because of Grace"
We believe in the only true creator God (John 17:3), the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He exists eternally in three persons and these three are one God, having the same nature, attributes, and perfections, worthy of the same worship and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 4:3-4). We believe God created all things (Revelation 4:11) and upholds all things by His word and power (Hebrews 1:3). He is loving, holy, all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever present (Acts 17:28).
We believe in the total deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the manifestation of God in the flesh (John 1:1-18; 14:8-11). We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary - fully God and fully man (Luke 1:26-38). He was sent by the Father into the world to save sinners (John 3:16). We believe He lived a sinless life on earth and sacrificed Himself on a cross for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). We believe He was bodily raised from the dead and ascended to the Father in heaven where He is the head of the church and intercedes for believers (Mark 8:31; Acts 1:9; 1 Timothy 3:16). We believe He is coming again to earth personally, visibly, and bodily to reign as Lord (Acts 1:11; Romans 8:34).
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14). We believe The Holy Spirit draws and regenerates the sinner upon belief in Christ, baptizing the believer into the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells, guides, instructs, fills, comforts, and empowers believers for godly living (Mark 13:11; John 14:26; 16:13; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:16). We believe The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, of God's righteousness, and of coming judgment (John 16:8-11).
We believe the scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are inspired by God and inerrant in their original writings (Psalm 119:97-104,106; Matthew 5:18; John 5:46-47; 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-16). We believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are God's complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God's authority for our lives. We believe the scriptures are infallible in their instruction (Proverbs 6:32; 2 Peter 1:19), sufficient for counsel in every area of life (Psalm 19:14-17' 2 Timothy 3:16), and eternal in duration (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:23-25).
We believe worship should be God-centered (Psalm 63:1-3; Psalm 34:3; John 4:24), Gospel and Christ exalting (Revelation 5:1-14; Romans 1:6; Philippians 3:3), Bible Saturated (2 Timothy 3:16-17), Edifying (Ephesians 4:11-13; Hebrews 3:12- 14; Romans 15:7), Joyful (Psalm 100:1-2; Philippians 4:4), Therapeutic (1John 2:15-17; 5:21), Engaging (1 Cor 14:23-25; Rev 21: 24-27), Excellent and Orderly (Psalm 66:2; 33:33), Participatory (Psalm 111:1-3; Exodus 19:10-11; Matthew 15:7-9), All of Life: continuing in private, within our homes, families, and everyday life, not just on Sunday mornings (Romans 12:1-2).
We believe that Genesis 1-11 is history not fictitious story telling. We believe in a literal reading and interpretation of Genesis (literal 6 days creation). We do not believe that the observational principles and facts of science contradict biblical Christianity. When the Hebrew word of day (Yom) appears with "evening" or "morning" or is modified by a number (3rd day, 6th day), it always means a 24 hour day. This is consistent throughout the Old Testament. God commands the Israelites to work six literal days and rest on the seventh because he created in the same way. (Exodus 20:8-11)
We believe man and woman were created in innocence under the law of the creator, but by voluntary disobedience, fell from their sinless state (Genesis 3:1-6). As a consequence of this disobedience man in his fallen state has a sin nature (from birth). This is not only by inheritance, but also by each person's own choice (Romans 3:10-19). Therefore, we believe each person is under just condemnation without defense or excuse before Holy God (Romans 1:18,32). We believe every person is totally depraved and in need of Jesus as Savior (Romans 3:23; 6:23).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We believe each person who by faith receives Him as Savior and Lord is justified on the basis of Jesus' shed blood on the cross, escaping the wrath due for their sin and instead receiving the righteousness of Jesus Christ along with the eternal Christ life through the power of the Holy Spirit of God (Colossians 2:13-14), Therefore, each person who receives Christ as personal Savior and Lord is born again by the Holy Spirit and becomes eternally secure as a child of God by adoption (John 3:3-8; Romans 8:37-39; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22).
Heaven, Hell, and the Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the personal, visible, and bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ and His return has a vital bearing on the life and service of every believer (1Thessalonians 4:13-18). We believe both the saved and the lost will be resurrected. We believe the saved are raised bodily to glorification in heaven (Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7) and the lost are raised bodily to eternal torment in hell separated eternally from God (Matthew 8:11; 10:28; 13:49-50; Luke 12:5; Revelation 21:8).
We believe at the moment of rebirth, a believer becomes part of Christ's body, the church. There is one church universal which is composed of all those throughout the world who follow Christ, but many local churches. The Scriptures command believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching, observing ordinances, fellowship, service, giving of tithes and offerings, and outreach (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-46; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:24-25).
We believe that marriage was created by God and the only marriage sanctioned by God and recognized by Lavonia Baptist Church is one which joins the redeemed, one biologically born man and one biologically born woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:1-12). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman (Ephesians 5:1-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). More information regarding this policy can be found in our Policy and Procedures manual.
We believe Christian Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior. It further symbolizes the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection of walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. We believe it is a testimony to his/her faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
We believe the Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience where the redeemed (the church), through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, celebrate the establishing of the new covenant by our Lord Jesus Christ, and anticipate his soon return. (Matthew 1:13-17; 26:26-30; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; Acts 8:35-39; 16:30-33; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12)