OUR FACULTY

Rev. Mike Aiken. Pastor, Bible Baptist Church, Bedford

Mr. Jim Barbina, Assoc. Pastor, Huntsburg Baptist Church, Huntsburg
Rev. Mel Chandler, Pastor, New Lyme Baptist Church, New Lyme
Mr. David Decker, Deacon, Faith Baptist Church, Perry 

Rev. Ken Dockery, Pastor, City View Baptist Church, Cleveland

Rev. Larry Green, Pastor, Cedarhill Baptist Church, Cleveland Heights
Mr. Jon Greve, Deacon, Chardon Baptist Church, Chardon

Mr. Vaughn Spargur, Assoc. Pastor, Lakeside Baptist Church, Perry
Rev. Paul Wood, Huntsburg Baptist Church, Huntsburg

What We Believe

Section 1: Of the Scriptures.  

We believe that the Holy Bible consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old Testament and New Testament as originally written, was verbally and plenary inspired by God and the product of Spirit-controlled men; and therefore, is absolute truth without error.  We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be founded. II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21.

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Section 2: Of the True God. 

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.  Exodus 20:2-3; I Cor. 8:6; Rev. 4:11.
We believe in the absolute deity of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He existed from all eternity, and is fully the God-Man through His incarnation. John 1:1-14; 8:19-24; 10:30.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, that in His relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer. We believe that the sign gifts (i.e. tongues, healing, prophecy, etc.) of the Holy Spirit are completed and are not now applicable to the work of the Holy Spirit today. I Cor. 12:4-11; 13:8; John 14:1, 16, 26; Matt. 28:19; Heb. 9:14; Luke 1:35; Gen. 1:1-2; John 16:7-11, 13-14; Acts 5:30-32; John 3:5-6, Eph. 1:13-14; Mk 1:8, John 1:33, Acts 11:16; Rom 8:14, 16, 26-27.
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Section 3: Of the Devil or Satan. 

We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, and the father of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the Lake of Fire. Matt 13:39; John 8:44; Rev. 20:10.
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Section 4: Of Creation.  

We believe the Genesis account of six literal days of creation by God and believe that man was made by direct creation of God without any evolutionary process. Genesis 1 & 2; Col. 1:16-17; John 1:3.
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Section 5: Of the Fall of Man. 

We believe that man was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless state, and as a consequence, all mankind are totally depraved sinners, not only by constraint, but of choice, and therefore, under condemnation without defense or excuse before God.  Gen. 3:1-6, 24; Rom. 5:12, 19.
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Section 6: Of the Virgin Birth.  

We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman; and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son. Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14.
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Section 7: Of Salvation.  

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace apart from all human works.  Through the mediatory offices of the Son of God, by appointment of the Father, He freely took upon Him human nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His shed blood and death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted of a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the Just dying for the unjust – Christ the Lord bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; that being risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the throne of God, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, all-sufficient Saviour and Great High Priest.
We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation. We believe that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth, the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life.
Justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares the believer righteous, not according to any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood. His righteousness is imputed to our account.
Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 13:39; 15:11; 16:30-33; 26:20; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:1,9; 6:23; 8:1; John 3:16; Matt. 18:11; Phil. 2:7-8; Heb. 2:14; Isa. 53:4-7; I John 4:10; I Cor. 15:3; II Cor. 5:17-21; 7:10; John 3:3,6-8; I John 5:1; II Peter 1:4; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1; Isa. 53:11; 2 Tim. 2:25
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Section 8: Of Sanctification. 

We believe in positional sanctification at the time of the new birth of all believers, experiential sanctification as a progressive work of grace in the life of the believer, and in the ultimate sanctification of believers at the second coming of Christ. Heb. 10:10; Rom. 12:1-2; John 17:17; Rom. 6:22; I John 3:2-3; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 13:12.
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Section 9: Of Separation 
a.   We believe in separation from all unbiblical practices and in the wholehearted devotion to the cause of Christ as the only scriptural basis for a happy and useful Christian life; that all Christians should live holy, godly lives that will never ever bring reproach upon the Lord Jesus Christ; and that separation from all sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God. For this reason, we believe in abstaining from all drink, drugs, food and other practices which bring harm to the body, all forms of gambling, ungodly entertainment, membership in secret societies, and all similar practices which detract from a separated life. Rom. 6:1-14, 12:1-2; II Cor. 6:14:1; Gal 5:16-25; Col. 3:1-17; 1 Thess. 5:22; II Tim 3:1-5; James 4:4; I Peter 2:11; I John 2:15-17.
b.  We believe in separation from all ecclesiastical apostasy. Examples are represented in the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches.
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Section 10: Of the Local Church. 

We believe that a local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by covenant of faith and the fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers are pastors and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is to make disciples through the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and the furtherance of the Gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, polity, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Eph.1:22-23, 4:11, 5:23-24; Acts 20:17-18; Col. 1:18; I Tim. 3:1-12; Acts 6:1-7.
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Section 11: Of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  

We believe that biblical baptism is the single immersion of a believer in water to symbolize one’s identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, picturing death to sin and resurrection to a new life, and that it is a prerequisite to local church membership. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He come and shall be preceded always by solemn self-examination.   Acts 8:26-39; John 3:23; Rom. 6:3-5; Matt 3:16; Col. 2:12; I Cor. 11:23-28.
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Section 12: Of the Security of the Believer. 

We believe that all the truly born again are eternally secure by the power of God; that they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and are eternally saved, and thus can never be lost. Phil. l:6; John 10:28-29; Rom 8:35-39; Jude 1; Eph. 1:13, 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Cor. 1:19-25.
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Section 13: Of the Righteous and the Wicked.  

We believe that there is a radical difference between the righteous and the wicked; that the truly righteous are such only through justification by faith in Christ and sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Their eternal destiny is joy in the presence of Christ. The wicked are those who continue in impenitence and unbelief and thus are in God’s sight wicked and under condemnation. Their eternal destiny is everlasting, conscious suffering apart from God.  Mal. 3:18; Gen. 18:23; Rom. 6:17-18,23; I John 5:19; Rom. 7:6; Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:25; Matt. 25:34-41; John 8:21.
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Section 14: Of Civil Government.  

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society. We also believe that magistrates are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored and obeyed except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming Prince of the Kings of the earth. Rom. 13:1-7; II Sam. 23:3; Ex 18:21-22; Acts 23:5; Matt 22:21; Acts 5:29; 4:19-20; Dan. 3:17-18.
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Section 15: Of Future Events. 

We believe in the pretribulational rapture of the church, an event that can occur at any moment, and that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seven years of the Tribulation. After the rapture will be the seven year tribulation time, ending with the bodily, personal, and premillennial return of Jesus Christ with His Church. He will judge the living nations and set up His kingdom for a 1000 year rule, called the millennial reign of Christ. Following the millennial reign, the Great White Throne judgment for all unbelievers will take place, resulting in the unbelievers being cast into the lake of fire. All believers, whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be ushered into eternal glory, the new heaven, new earth and the new Jerusalem.   John 14:1-4; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 4-16; 19:11-21; 20:11-15; John 5:21-30; Daniel 9:25-27; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-9
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Section 16: Of Marriage.  

We believe that marriage is ordained of God. We believe that marriage vows are sacred and binding. We also believe that God intends for marriage to consist of one husband and one wife living in a lifelong, heterosexual union.   Gen 2:24; Deut 24:1; Mark 10:4-12; Matt. 19:8; Mal. 2:13-16.