It's Sometimes Hard to Know! This is a very hard question to answer.  The reason being, it differs from place to place.   Some are strict, some are liberal.  Some refrain from dancing, some don't.  Now some might think this is a problem, but really it's not.  It just means that being a Baptist has a certain amount of freedom in it. In fact, religious freedom is one of the historic distinctives of Baptists. It also means that no two Baptist churches are exactly alike. Each Baptist church has its own personality and unique ministry.  If you want to find out if a Baptist church is right for you, you need to visit it and find out what the people are like. It's A Denomination Back to our definition. "Baptist" can first be looked at as a denomination.  A denomination is an established religious group. It typically unites a group of individual congregations into a single administrative body, or in the case of the American Baptist Churches, it simply unites many congregations (that is why our group is called American Baptist Churches) into one mission effort. Denominations differ greatly in the sharing of power between individual congregations and the central authority. Baptist churches have historically allowed individual churches to hold diverse beliefs and function completely independently. This is called local church "autonomy". Baptist congregations own their own property, call or dismiss their own pastors and make all the decisions in the local church. Baptists are not required to answer to a bishop or overseeing group, and each church voluntarily cooperates in the funding and support of denominational efforts. That is where the individual flair comes from.  Other denominations centralize authority, and allow congregations little freedom to differ in beliefs or policies. As a member of a Baptist church, you will have a say in decisions involving the ministry of the church and a vote for who is selected to spiritually lead the church. There are more than a dozen distinct Baptist denominations active in the world. Some were organized geographically and some around ethnic lines. The largest group is the Southern Baptist Convention, with more than 20 million members. Our church is part of the American Baptist Churches USA, which was originally the Northern Baptist Convention and has approximately 7 million members. It's A People Secondly, being "Baptist" can be looked at as people.  What makes one a Baptist?  Simply put, if you join a Baptist church, then you are a Baptist.  There is nothing magical or mysterious about it.  Jesus really doesn't care if you are a Baptist, or Pentecostal, or Lutheran, or Catholic, or ......, get the idea?  Joining a church doesn't get you to heaven.  Being a church member doesn't get you to heaven.  Being a Baptist, or Catholic, or whatever, doesn't do you a whole lot of good unless your heart is right before God. That's the point of the Gospel.  Is your heart right before God?  Has Jesus entered into your heart and forgiven your sins?  Have you given your life to the Savior who died to give you eternal life? It's A Belief System Thirdly, a Baptist can be looked at as a system of beliefs.  Have you ever heard someone say, "But I'm a Methodist!"  What are they really saying?  What they are really saying is this...I grew up in a Methodist church and I'm used to the way it runs.  When you say that you are a Baptist what you are really saying is..."I like what Baptists believe."  Now I know what you're thinking..."But you said that all Baptists are different!?"  Yep, I did say that, but within the Baptist denomination there are usually a few things that are distinctive among all Baptists.  There are some beliefs that all Baptists hold in common.  A more complete acronym outlining what our church believes in is at the end of this article. But in brief:, We believe Jesus is both God and Man and is the One Savior and Lord. We believe the Bible is God's Word . We believe one must have a personal relationship with Jesus. We believe you should be baptized. We believe in heaven and hell. We believe Jesus is coming back. Now you may be thinking there is nothing special in what you believe.  All Christians believe those things.  Like I said before, there is nothing magical in being a Baptist.  If God has called you to a Baptist church then become a part of that family of faith. If that's the church you feel at home in, then go.  If that's the church that you feel you can best serve God in, then go. But perhaps you like the Pentecostal church down the road, or the Lutheran church or the Methodist church or a "non-denominational" church. If it's a Bible-believing church, and you feel God calling you there, our blessings are with you.  Baptists aren't the only denomination or people who are going to heaven, they are just one of them.   If you have given your life to Jesus, then ask Him to guide you to the church He wants you in. There is nothing special about being a Baptist.  We are just a group of Christians sharing similar beliefs whom God has brought together for His purpose.  We aren't the only group, but we are a good group.  Hopefully you will find among Baptists this one desire...to follow the Bible and whatever it says.  More than anything else this is in the heart of a Baptist church. Blessings! Pastor Rick Church American Baptists Witness through: B - eliever's baptism by immersion A - utonomy of the local church P - rimacy of Scripture, and T - wo ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, mark our I - nterdependent churches S - eparation of church and state T - rusting in the sufficiency of God's grace (without priest or sacraments) W - ithout creeds I - nclusivity of of all people T - o all the world in mission with N - ew life in Christ E - cumenically demonstrating S - oul freedom and S - ensivity to the Holy Spirit If you would like to know more about American Baptists click here.

10:30 AMWelcome Fellowship Coffee 11:00 AMWorship Service