The Gardiner Baptist Church in responding to and reflecting God’s covenant that he has made with His people through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:16f, Jeremiah 31:31-34), we covenant with one another to be the church known as Gardiner Baptist Church. This is a binding commitment that by the Grace of God each member will faithfully uphold. As baptized believers in Jesus Christ, we realize that the purpose of God for believers is carried out through His divine plan, the Church, as reflected by local assemblies. This local assembly exists so that “the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:10), specifically by worshiping God, edifying the believers, and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
(excerpt from the Gardiner Baptist Church covenant)

 

 

Gardiner’s Baptist Church Articles of Faith

  1. We believe the Holy Bible as the inspired Word of God, without any error, the all-sufficient authority in matters of faith, doctrine, and Christian living.
  2. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
  3. We believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, and that He is true God and man. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father and is now our High Priest and Advocate.
  4. We believe that man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and therefore is lost. Only through regeneration by the work of the Holy Spirit can man’s salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
  5. We believe that eternal salvation is the free gift of God, entirely apart from man’s works, and is possessed by any and all who have faith in and receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
  6. We believe in regenerated church membership: that is, persons old enough to understand their need for Jesus Christ and, of their own free will, accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
  7. We believe that baptism is by immersion and the Lord’s Supper is a memorial to His suffering and death on the cross. These are ordinances to be observed by the church in its present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as a means for man’s salvation.
  8. We believe in the personal, bodily, imminent, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ and that His Second Coming inspires believers for dynamic and zealous life and service for Him while waiting for His return.
  9. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, the everlasting blessedness of the saved in heaven, and the everlasting punishment and separation from God of the unsaved in hell.
  10. We believe in the autonomy of the local church. The church shall manage its own affairs and shall not be subject to any other religious body or organization.
  11. We subscribe to the “Baptist Faith and Message” adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000 as our larger statement of faith with scriptural references.