Vision

OUR GOAL

Berean Baptist Church exists to seek the glory of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ by the study and proclamation of the Bible, His Word, so that more and more people will call Jesus “King”, both here at home through evangelism and around the world through missions.

OUR HISTORY

The Bible tells about the residents of the city of Berea - “Bereans”- that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind (they were not “closed-minded”), and searched the Scriptures daily (explored for themselves), whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). This teaches us that the Bible is to be used for evangelism because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

When our Church was started, the name “Berean Baptist Church” was chosen because one must “search the Scriptures” in order to know God’s Truth. This is true, not only for coming to believe in Jesus, but for growing in the Christian life.

The Church began Sunday, June 7, 1936 with a vision for Biblically-based worship, fellowship and outreach. Dr. J. R. Boyd, at that time a student at Toronto Baptist Seminary, came north for the summer and stayed until his death in 1994.

He was an eager evangelist with an active program of outreach that included, at different times, visitation, mailings, home Bible studies, and camp ministry. In the early years, he bought time on radio and then on television in the early fifties. These works were supplemented by a writing ministry to provide additional help and teaching to his widely spread audience.

Although times and ministries have changed forms as Dr. Boyd was followed by Pastor S.A. Tulloch, Pastor Bob Penhearow and now Pastor Brad Powers, these early goals continue to be pursued beginning within our local community.

OUR PRACTICE

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”, Psalm 96:9. We believe that the Lord is holy and worthy of praise. All that we are and have, comes from Him. In our services, we aim to keep our focus on the Lord and His Greatness. We aim for simplicity, delight in congregational singing, and the reading of the Bible. Much of our time in assembly is spent studying the Word.
The Scriptures tell us:

that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16)
that a person is saved when they repent of their sin, and trusts the Lord Jesus Christ alone, through the blood that He shed for sinners.
to preach Christ, because as Jesus Himself stated, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me (John 14:6).
to hide God’s word in our hearts that I might not sin against Thee (Psalm 119:11).

Acts 2:42 outlines the life of the early church this way: they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (that is, the teaching of the Bible), and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers, and it is added that this had a tremendous impact on those around them, so that many others believed as well.

ARTICLES OF FAITH

We, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, having had an experience of a new birth by the power of the Spirit of God, believing ourselves to be new creatures in Christ, and having been baptized, on profession of faith, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, by which we mean having been immersed in the name of the Trinity, desire and are determined to form ourselves into a Regular Baptist Church; which term, (“Regular Baptist Church”) we understand to mean, a church composed of persons who hold and teach the following doctrines:

Respecting the Being and Unity of God: “The existence of one living and true God, eternally sustaining the personal relation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the same in essence and equal attributes”. Scripture texts: John 1:1-4; Gal.4:4-6; Matt.28:19; Psalm 100:3; John 5:20; 1 Cor.3:16.
On the Holy Scriptures: “The Divine, supernatural, inspiration of the 66 books of the Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, as being the very Word of God, written by Holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, inerrant, and therefore a complete, infallible, and Divinely authoritative rule of faith and practice.” Scripture Texts: 2 Tim.3:16; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:72.
The Creation of Man: “That man was made as a direct creation, in God’s image and likeness, by Divine fiat, as recorded in the book of Genesis, and not by evolution”. Scripture Texts: Gen.1:26-27; 5:1-2.
Human Depravity: “That man in Adam fell, is consequently totally depraved, and in his natural state is without capacity to receive the things of the Spirit of God, until such capacity is created within him by the quickening grace of the Holy Ghost”. Scripture Texts: Gen.3:1-24; 6:5; Ps.14:2-3; Isa.59:1-8; 64:6-7; Micah 7:1-6; John 6:44; Rom.5:6; Eph.2:1-5; 1 Cor.2:9-14; 1 Cor.1:18, 23; Isa.59:10; 2 Cor.3:14, 4:4; Eph.4:18; 1 John 2:11.
Election: “That election is according to the foreknowledge of God, and is followed by the effectual calling in grace of all God’s chosen people”. Scripture Texts: Eph.1:3-11; Rom.8:28-30; 1 Peter 1:1-5; John 15:16-19; Rom.9:9-24; Deut.7:6.
The Virgin Birth: “That the virgin birth was a miraculous and historic fact, and its corollary is the essential and eternal Deity of Jesus Christ”. Scripture Texts: Isa.7:14; Matt.1:18-25; John 1:14; Phil. 2:5-11.
The Death of Christ: “That by His expiatory and vicarious death Christ made complete and eternal atonement for the sins of His people”. Scripture Texts: Isa.53:5-6; Gal.1:3-4; Titus 2:11-14; Heb.9:11-14; 10:1-14; Rev.5:9-14; 1 Peter 3:18
Salvation: “That justification is by faith alone through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Regeneration and sanctification are affected by the Holy Spirit in applying the work of Christ.”
1. “That believers in Christ are eternally secure in Him, according to the specific promises of God’s Word, and as the corollary to the truth that salvation is by grace alone, and not by works that we have done.”
2. “That in this the perseverance and ultimate perfection of the saints are guaranteed”. Scripture Texts: Gen.15:1-6; Rom.3:19-4:5; 5:1, 18; 1 Cor.1:27-31; Acts 13:39; Ezek.36:26; John 3:1-8; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 Cor.1:30; John 17:17; Eph.5:22-27.
Human Responsibility: “That all men are answerable to God for the acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as revealed in the record God has given to us of His Son”. Scripture Texts: Ezek.18:20; John 3:12-21, 36; Rom.2:1-16; Luke 12:42-48; 19:11-26; 1 Pet.4:10; 1 Cor.4:2
Resurrection: “That the bodily resurrection of Christ is an historic fact, and a pledge of the resurrection of the bodies of both the just and the unjust”. Scripture Texts: Ps.16:10; Luke 24:1-48; Acts 17:1-4; 1 Cor.15:1-28; 1 Thess.4:14.
Second Coming of Christ: “That the second, personal and visible coming of Christ, is a future event. It will terminate the day of grace, and will be followed by the final judgment of all men, and by the eternal punishment of unbelievers and the everlasting blessedness of the righteous”. Scripture Texts: Acts 1:11; Rev.1:7; Luke 13:25; 2 Thess 1:6-10; 1 Cor.15:50-58; 2 Pet. 3:9-14; Rev.22:12.
Ordinances: “That the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the only Scriptural mode of baptism”.
1. “That the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance to be observed by the church and the privilege is peculiar to immersed believers”. Scripture Texts: Matt.28:18-20; Acts 2:37-41; 8:26-40; 10:44-48; 19:1-7; Rom.6:1-6; Matt.26:26-29; Acts 2:41-43; 20:7-12; 1 Cor.5:6-13.
Satan: “That man’s fall was brought about by his deliberate disobedience and as a result of his accepting the devil’s misleading suggestions and counsel. The devil we believe to be a spirit being, the chief of a host of evil spirits all of which were originally upright, but fell by their misuse of their freedom which God gave them to enjoy. They are kept now in spiritual blindness and will some day be justly tried and properly punished for their sins”. Scripture Texts: Gen.3:1-6, 14-15; Job 1:1-12; 2:1-7; Zech.3:1-2; Matt.4:1-11; 13:18-23, 36-39; 2 Cor.11:14-15; Jude 1:6; John 8:44.
A Church: “That a church is a company of immersed believers voluntarily associated, and meeting in one place on the first day of the week for mutual edification, for the observance of the ordinances, and the maintenance and propagation of the Gospel”. Scripture Texts: Matt.16:18; 1 Cor.12:1-31; Eph.4:1-16; 1 Tim.3:1-16; Matt.18:15-20.
Government: “That the church is free from outside ecclesiastical control, but fellowships for service and mutual strengthening with other churches of like faith, or whose doctrinal position may be generally defined by the Baptist Confession of Faith, London 1689, or the New Hampshire Confession of Faith, or the Philadelphia Confession of Faith”.