A Greeting From the Pastor

Welcome to the website of Bible Baptist Church! You might be someone looking for a church home, you might be interested in what our church stands for, or you might be wondering what following Jesus is all about. Whatever the case, I am happy to greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our body wishes to serve you in any way that we can.

I want you to know right away that we are a church with distinctive elements. While we strive to be friendly, we realize that not everyone will be comfortable with the truths and practices that we hold dear. So allow me to tell you about our personality and beliefs.

Bible Baptist Church is a teaching church. In that sense, our name is very appropriate. Our church motto is “Declaring all the counsel of God,” from Acts 20:27. We have been through most every book of the Bible here verse by verse – and some more than once! On a given week we might be going through Exodus, Ecclesiastes, Jeremiah, and the gospel of John in our various studies and services. We think it is important to discuss what we are learning. So be prepared to think about God’s word.

Our worship is traditional. The focus is always on what God is telling us in His word. Our services have a reverent atmosphere. We sing from a hymnal to piano accompaniment, and often pray in silence. We are not opposed to good contemporary music or any given instrument, but we do not have the resources at this time for an expansive music ministry. Whatever we do, we have our eyes on God, not man.

Our membership looks beyond our walls. We believe that missions and evangelism are crucial aspects of why we are here. Current ministries include involvement with the Options Now pregnancy clinic, the Community Hope Center, and the Bethalto Care nursing home. Some of us participate in Internet outreach ministries. Bible Baptist supports five different missions families or groups that involve works in France, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Israel, and pastoral training and deaf ministry in many countries. Our families support many other evangelistic efforts outside of the church budget. We are concerned about those lost in sin.

In regard to theology, our body is Reformed (or Calvinistic) in matters of salvation, and Dispensational in our view of Israel and the Church. We believe God is sovereign over all aspects of coming to know Jesus Christ. We affirm that God has a future for national Israel, and that one day a saved Jewish nation will be at the center of an earthly kingdom ruled by Christ and His glorified saints. Of course, we hold to many other truths from scripture, and you can see our Statement of Faith to get a full picture, but these tend to separate us from most other churches.

In our practice, our church does not emphasize specific rules for behavior. In this sense Bible Baptist is not typically “Fundamental.” Our church covenant does commit members to specific duties, and we do practice church discipline. But we leave many matters to conscience (such as dress, alcohol, entertainment) that other churches have strong opinions about. We practice a “close” Lord’s Supper, in which we fence the table for believers, but do not demand membership to partake. We do not insist on any one version of the Bible, though a literal translation is highly recommended for study purposes. I preach from the New American Standard Bible.

Well, I think that is enough to give you a good bit of the flavor of our body. Because of the above elements, we are not a large body. If you join us, there will be accountability. We think that is good. If this sounds like the kind of church the Lord wants you to be part of, please come and visit with us. Or if you would prefer, send me an email with any questions you might have. If you are someone who simply wants to know about the saving gospel message, I especially want to hear from you! May God bless you as you seek to please Him with your life.