What our congregation believes

Our statement of faith represents the doctrinal understanding of West Side Baptist Church in general, and it is our intention that the teaching and preaching at West Side Baptist Church reflect this understanding. This statement does not necessarily define the boundaries of our fellowship, but points both to the heart of the Christian faith and to our distinct perspectives as a particular body of believers. While some Christians will certainly differ with some of what is set forth below, they are nevertheless welcome to worship the Lord together with us. Our basis for unity and communion is a biblical confession of the lordship of Jesus Christ, and the absence of a scandalous lifestyle.

OUR statement of faith

  1. We believe the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the only inerrant Word of God. It is our only ultimate and infallible authority for faith and practice.
  2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Lord God is omnipotent; He is the Almighty. He is omnipresent, entirely present throughout all creation while not limited by it. He is omniscient, with nothing at all hidden from His sight, whether past, present or future. In all things He is limited by nothing other than His own nature and character.
  3. We believe the God we serve is holy, righteous, good, severe, loving and full of mercy. He created the heavens and earth, and everything in them, in the space of six ordinary days, and all very good. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Governor of everything that has been made.
  4. We believe in the true deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His continued intercessory work between God the Father and man, and in His personal return in power and glory.
  5. We believe in the full deity of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging Him together with the Father and the Son in the works of creation and redemption. He witnesses to the Truth, converts the lost, extols the Christ, and testifies to the righteous judgment of God. He comforts, teaches, testifies, guides, regenerates, empowers, sanctifies, and anoints. He has the quickening role in the work of saving the lost, and indwells the Christian enabling him to live a godly life.
  6. We believe that because of Adam’s sin all mankind is in rebellion against God. For the salvation of such lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary.
  7. We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and that faith without works is dead.
  8. We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling, the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
  9. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and lost; those who are saved to the resurrection of life, and those who are lost to the resurrection of damnation.
  10. We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

further reading

We seek to display our unity in truth with other faithful churches, not only in the present, but also with the historic Christian church throughout the centuries. We hold to the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon, which serve as a useful summary of our understanding of the Word of God. Read these creeds here.
We are in essential agreement with The London Baptist Confession of 1689. Read it here.
​Also, read our statement on governments here.