Below find three documents:  Vision, Doctrine, and Covenant.

 

Vision for First Baptist Church of Monterey

Pastor Nathan Rehn, May 1, 2009

 

I see First Baptist Church of Monterey as a group of people who are in love with God.  We are able to love, because he has first loved us in Jesus Christ our savior.  We are obsessed with God and desire to know him, enjoy him, worship him and serve him.  We want everyone to be rightly related to God.

 

            Q. What is the chief end of man?
            A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.  (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

 

This proper obsession displays itself and is facilitated through worship in four forms. These four are interdependent, and nonexclusive. 

Public worship:

 

          We should strive to enjoy our God through artistic expression and proclamation.

                       Public worship facilitates the range of expression from solemn reverence to jubilant praise.   Eph. 5:18-21, Psalm 100:2

 

Training:

 

          We desire to equip every believer to do the work of the ministry. Eph. 4:12                 

                        From our nursery to our pulpit all of our teaching and preaching is designed to fully pursue the knowledge of God through deep interaction with his revelation, and to encourage obedience.  We worship God by rightly handling his word and teaching the full counsel of God.  We desire to equip individuals and families to demonstrate their faith in their daily lives, walking in holiness and grace.  Col. 1:28, 29; 2 Tim. 2:15; Acts 20:27

 

Loving:

 

          We seek to worship God by sincerely loving each other.

 

                        Love is the hallmark of the Christian faith.  We desire to love all the people who are a part of our fellowship by knowing them, serving them, and appreciating their God created uniqueness. 1 John 4:7-11

Serving:

          We seek to worship God through faithful service:  to the church, to those in our neighborhoods, to people outside our culture, and to all around the world.  We serve humanity best when we introduce people to the living God.  Galatians 5:13; John 13:13-17

 

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Doctrinal Statement:

Here is a more complete list of our beliefs here at FBC Monterey, as well as the scripture upon which it is based:

I. The Word of God

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.  

II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20,21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31,32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32

II. The Trinity

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.   We believe that God works all things according to the counsel of his will and therefore from him, through him, and to him are all things.

Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1,3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19,20, 11:36; Ephesians 1:11, 4:5,6

III. God the Father

We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.  

Luke 10:21,22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; I Timothy 1:1,2; 2:5,6; I Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6

IV. Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.  

Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 9:5; 8:46; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30, 31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9,10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:28; I Timothy 3:16

V. The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who was sent from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.  

John 14:16,17,26; 15:26,27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26

VI. Regeneration

We believe that man was created by God in His own image; that he sinned and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God; that as a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice and therefore under condemnation. We believe that those who repent and forsake sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become new creatures, delivered from condemnation and receive eternal life.  

Genesis. 1:26; 5:2; Genesis 3; Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Eccl. 2:11; John 3:14; 5:24; John 5:30; 7:13; 8:12; 10:26; Romans 9:22; II Thessalonians 1:9; Rev. 19:3,20; 20:10;14,15; 21:18; Psalm 51:7; Jeremiah 17:9; James 1:14; Romans 3:19; 5:19; Proverbs 28:13; I John 1:9; John 3:16; John 1:13; II Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:1

VII. The Church

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.  

Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:19-21; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25

VIII. Christian Conduct

We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow men; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.  

I Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:1-3; Hebrews 12:1-2; John 14:15,23-24; I John 2:3-6; II Corinthians 9:6-9; I Corinthians 4:2; Col. 1:9-10

IX. The Ordinances

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-26

X. Religious Liberty

We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.  

I Timothy 2:5; Romans 14:7-9,12

XI. Church Cooperation

We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in an association. Such an organization, whether a regional or district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in an association is voluntary and may be terminated at any time.

Acts 15:36,41; 16:5; I Corinthians 16:1; Galatians 1:1-3; Revelations 1:4,10,11

First Baptist Church of Monterey associates with the Conservative Baptist Association of Northern California and Nevada, also known as Next Generation Churches.  

XII. The Last Things

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgement, the eternal felicity of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked.  

Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:15; II Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 4:5; I Corinthians 15; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4-6,11-15
 

 

 

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First Baptist Church of Monterey

CHURCH COVENANT

Having been led by the Holy Spirit of God to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and having been obedient to Him in believer's baptism as taught in the New Testament, we do now in the presence of God and our fellow believers solemnly enter into this covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

 

We shall seek:

 

To maintain the personal discipline of regular prayer, worship, and study of the Scriptures that we may grow in the image of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

To pray for one another and to serve one another in Christian love; to forgive, even as we ourselves have been forgiven of God, and to seek reconciliation according to Christ's command.

To be mindful that we are called to be doers of the Word and not hearers only and thus to serve in this Church with our time, our talents, and our possessions.

To set a proper example before our families at all times; to train our children in the doctrines and duties of our faith; and to maintain family and private devotions.

To walk before all men that the light of God's presence may shine from our lives in such manner as to encourage them to come to Him Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; therefore, we shall not indulge in practices which might be detrimental to the moral, spiritual, or physical well-being of ourselves, our fellowship, or our community. Where personal habits and indulgence in pleasures may be an offense or cast a stumbling block in the path of others, we will voluntarily abstain from these practices in order to maintain a pure witness.

We further agree that should it be necessary to be absent from this congregation we shall seek out a church of like faith and practice where we can carry out the principles of the Word of God; or that upon changing residence to another community where there is a church of like faith and practice, we shall transfer our membership without unnecessary delay.

Believing in a loving God Who is sovereign in all the affairs of men and believing in the deity of our Savior, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His promised return to consummate history, and our essential oneness with others of like faith, we shall seek to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. May God help us as we seek to keep this covenant into which we have prayerfully entered as fellow members of Christ's body.

 

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