You may have a lot of assumptions about what it means to be Baptist, but Baptists are a diverse bunch.

There are Baptists who are conservatives and liberals. Some are very serious and some are jokesters. Some worship with lots of body movement and some silently contemplate. There are Baptists who are black, white, and brown. Some are old and some are young. Some dress in shorts and flip flops and others in suits. Some are really sure about their faith and some find it to be a constant struggle.

What ties us together is our belief in the love of God, especially as Jesus talked about it and embodied it. Jesus taught us that God’s deepest hope for us is that we would love God and love our neighbors.

What We Believe

God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit: We believe in one God, a Supreme Being, and creator of all things.  We worship an eternal, sovereign God revealed to us in three persons: God the Father, our creator; God the Son, our Savior; and God the Holy Spirit, our Advocate.

The Bible and Its Use: We believe that the Bible is divinely inspired and provided to us by God – trustworthy for faith and practice under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We respect a difference of interpretation under the condition that those basic elements of what we know to be true are upheld.

Baptism: We believe, upon accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, that we are to be baptized by immersion ~ a symbol of the resurrection of new life in Jesus Christ.  We believe that baptism is to be undertaken when one is spiritually mature enough to realize its significance in their life.

The Lord’s Supper: The Lord’s Supper is shared once a month as a reminder of God’s great love for us.  It is a time spent together remembering the great sacrifice Christ made for us, examining our lives, and asking for the forgiveness of sins.

The Priesthood of All Believers: We believe that all believers can approach God directly and interpret scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Autonomy of the Local Congregation: We worship God as individual members of a freely organized and freely functioning local church.  We hold responsibility for the expression of our doctrine, worship, and style of ministry and mission.

Our Relationship to the Ecumenical Witness: We acknowledge that God’s family extends beyond our own congregation and that God’s Kingdom is advanced when all believers unite in a spirit of shared effort.  We are called to cooperative ministries in our communities that cross denominational, racial, and ethnic boundaries.  Our witness is extended around the world as we join other groups in proclaiming the love of God.

Church Covenant

We, the members of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Michigan, experiencing the grace of God, the Father; accepting Jesus Christ, the Son, as Savior and Lord; relying on the guidance of the Spirit; and believing the Holy Scriptures to be our rule of faith and practice; joyfully and solemnly covenant:

• To seek a deeper relationship with God through prayer, Bible Study, personal growth, and our support of each other;
• To provide for growth in discipleship through a comprehensive program of Christian education;
• To announce and to realize God’s free acceptance of us: by being ourselves, an accepting and affirming fellowship;
• To develop loving relationships with other individuals, classes, races, faiths, and nations; aware that our neighbors are also God’s children;
• To involve our lives and our church in the needs of our community and the issues of the world;
• And to participate actively in the worship and ministry of the church by total commitment of what we are and have to God and Christ.