At Temple Church, we desire to pursue God to help expand His Kingdom.
As Kingdom seekers, our vision and mission are very simple.
As Kingdom seekers, our vision and mission are very simple.
Vision
Mission
Matthew 28: 18-20 (ESV) "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' "
Acts 1:8 (ESV) "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We Worship God.
We affirm God’s worth by honoring and glorifying Him through our words and actions. Psalm 96:8, Revelation 5:13, and Romans 12:1.
We affirm God’s worth by honoring and glorifying Him through our words and actions. Psalm 96:8, Revelation 5:13, and Romans 12:1.
We Share Joyfully.
Recognizing that God owns everything, we steward our time, money and abilities with wisdom, faith and cheerful generosity. Proverbs 3:9, 1 Corinthians 10:26, Matthew 25:14-30, and 2 Corinthians 9:7-8.
Recognizing that God owns everything, we steward our time, money and abilities with wisdom, faith and cheerful generosity. Proverbs 3:9, 1 Corinthians 10:26, Matthew 25:14-30, and 2 Corinthians 9:7-8.
We Pray Continually.
We approach God with appropriate honor as we persistently and fervently pray, submitting to His will with thanksgiving. Matthew 6:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, and Philippians 4:6.
We approach God with appropriate honor as we persistently and fervently pray, submitting to His will with thanksgiving. Matthew 6:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, and Philippians 4:6.
We Live by the Bible.
We meditate on, delight in, and are transformed by the Bible, the true inspired Word of God.
Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 40:8, James 1:23-25 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
We meditate on, delight in, and are transformed by the Bible, the true inspired Word of God.
Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 40:8, James 1:23-25 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
We Meet Together.
We honor God and others over ourselves through fellowship as we love, encourage, and build deep relationships with one another. Hebrews 3:12-14, Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:25, and Romans 12:10-13.
We honor God and others over ourselves through fellowship as we love, encourage, and build deep relationships with one another. Hebrews 3:12-14, Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:25, and Romans 12:10-13.
We Serve Others.
Our God-given giftings are humbly used to build up and equip believers for the ministry and outreach of Temple Church. Galatians 5:13-14, 1 Peter 4:10, Mark 10:45, and Ephesians 4:11-15.
Our God-given giftings are humbly used to build up and equip believers for the ministry and outreach of Temple Church. Galatians 5:13-14, 1 Peter 4:10, Mark 10:45, and Ephesians 4:11-15.
We Make Jesus Known.
We live and personally proclaim the Good News of Jesus as His witnesses, making disciples of all nations. Romans 10:14-15, Acts 1:8, and Matthew 28:19-20.
We live and personally proclaim the Good News of Jesus as His witnesses, making disciples of all nations. Romans 10:14-15, Acts 1:8, and Matthew 28:19-20.
The Essentials
Temple Church is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as the Atlantic Baptist Association, and adheres to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BFM 2000).
God
The Bible
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.
Genesis 1:1, 26-27 | Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2 | II Corinthians 13:14
A. 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. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22 | 2 Corinthians 13:14 | 1 Peter 1:2 | Matthew 28:19 | Psalm 90:2
B. God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
Matthew 1:22-23 | Romans 1:3-4 | Hebrews 4:14-15 | Isaiah 9:6 | Acts 1:9-11 |
John 1:1-5; 14:10-30, 14:16-17
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
2 Corinthians 3:17 | Acts 1:8 | Ephesians 1:13; 5:18 | John 16:7-13; 14:16-27 |
1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16 | Galatians 5:25
Genesis 1:1, 26-27 | Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2 | II Corinthians 13:14
A. 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. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22 | 2 Corinthians 13:14 | 1 Peter 1:2 | Matthew 28:19 | Psalm 90:2
B. God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
Matthew 1:22-23 | Romans 1:3-4 | Hebrews 4:14-15 | Isaiah 9:6 | Acts 1:9-11 |
John 1:1-5; 14:10-30, 14:16-17
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
2 Corinthians 3:17 | Acts 1:8 | Ephesians 1:13; 5:18 | John 16:7-13; 14:16-27 |
1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16 | Galatians 5:25
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. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. 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.
Mark 1:9-11 | Matthew 28:18-20 | Mark 16:15-16 Acts 8:12 | Matthew 3:13-17
Colossians 2:12 | 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 | Matthew 26:26-29 | John 6:53-59
Mark 1:9-11 | Matthew 28:18-20 | Mark 16:15-16 Acts 8:12 | Matthew 3:13-17
Colossians 2:12 | 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 | Matthew 26:26-29 | John 6:53-59
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.
2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16 | 2 Peter 1:20-21 | Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6 | Proverbs 30:5
2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16 | 2 Peter 1:20-21 | Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6 | Proverbs 30:5
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. 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. 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.
Genesis 1:27 | Psalm 8:3-6 | Romans 3:23 | Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2
Genesis 1:27 | Psalm 8:3-6 | Romans 3:23 | Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2
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. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour. B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God. C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life. D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Romans 6:23 | Titus 3:5 | John 14:6; 1:12 | Galatians 3:26 | Ephesians 2:8-9 | Romans 5:1
Romans 6:23 | Titus 3:5 | John 14:6; 1:12 | Galatians 3:26 | Ephesians 2:8-9 | Romans 5:1
Eternal Security
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that
salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation.
Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the
Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
John 10:29 I 2 Timothy 1:12 | Hebrews 7:25;10:10, 14 | I Peter 1:3-5
John 10:29 I 2 Timothy 1:12 | Hebrews 7:25;10:10, 14 | I Peter 1:3-5
Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by
sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation through Christ. To be
eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life.
Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
John 3:16 | John 5:11-13 | Romans 6:23 | Revelation 20:15 | Matthew 1:8
Matthew 2:44, 46
John 3:16 | John 5:11-13 | Romans 6:23 | Revelation 20:15 | Matthew 1:8
Matthew 2:44, 46