OUR BELIEFS
WHAT WE BELIEVE MATTERS
Our beliefs are the foundation for how we think and act. As a church on a mission to help people learn and live the ways of Jesus, our beliefs are based on what He said and how He lived. As we look at Jesus's ways, we see three orientations - UP, IN, OUT - that help give our beliefs a helpful framework. If a label is helpful, we're a Christian-evangelical-protestant-baptist church that really loves Jesus and cares deeply about the people of Pittsburgh.
UP
Jesus (God the Son) enjoyed an eternal connection with
God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
IN
Jesus invested in the community of people who followed Him.
OUT
Jesus engaged with the disconnected so that they may come to know God.
UPWARD BELIEFS
We believe that there is one God who is the Creator of everything and that he exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 64:8; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 16:7-15; Hebrews 1:2-3
We believe that God created us to worship him and give him glory.
Isaiah 43:7, 21; Psalm 96:9; Matthew 4:10
We believe that sin has kept us from knowing God and worshipping him but that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, was physically resurrected, and now offers a restored relationship with God to all who believe in him.
John 3:16; Acts 2:22-39; Romans 3:21-24
We believe that salvation is a free gift given at God’s initiative and must be received personally by faith.
John 5:24; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9
We believe that every believer should be baptized by immersion as a symbol of their new birth in Christ and should participate in the Lord’s Supper as a symbol of remembrance of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, to celebrate our unity in Christ and to anticipate His return in victory.
Matthew 26:26-30, 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42, Romans 6:3-5, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Revelations 1:5-8
We believe the Bible to be God’s Word, a true and fully accurate account of God’s love for us. Its purpose is to teach us how to have a relationship with him, worship him, and bring him glory.
Psalm 19:7-10; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21
INWARD BELIEFS
We believe that Jesus established His body, the Church, on Earth. The Church is made of all believers throughout the world and exists for the purpose of declaring the gospel and glory of Jesus throughout the world.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Colossians 1:18-20; 1 Peter 2:9
We believe the church (global and local) is a diverse family of people from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, no longer living for themselves but for the name of Jesus, for the glory of God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Every believer should be identified with a local body of believers for the purpose of mutual encouragement, spiritual growth, and accountability.
Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 3:12-25; Hebrews 10:24-25
OUTWARD BELIEFS
We believe that God cares about every need of every person and that the church, as Christ’s body, is to show his love and care for every person. Every member of the church is called to be a minister of the gospel through acts of loving service and a willingness to share the truth of the gospel with everyone at every opportunity.
John 13:34-35; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Peter 4:8
We believe that the scope of God’s love is worldwide, and this church is committed to taking the gospel to the farthest and most unreached places of the world.
Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:13-15; 1 Timothy 2:3-4
the baptist faith and message
As a church cooperating within the Souterhn Baptist Conventipon, we affirm the Baptist Faith and Message. For a more in-depth explanation of our doctrinal beliefs, check out the Baptist Faith & Message.