Beliefs and Practices

Our Purpose

  1. THE EXALTATION OF GOD Through the awareness and acknowledgement of God's presence (John 4:24, Rev.1:5-6, Rev. 4:11), through the striving to become more like Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:21, Phil 3:10, Gal. 2:20), through the unity of the believers in the Holy Spirit (Eph.4:1-6, Psa. 133:1, John 17:3), and through obedience and submission to the word of God (Col. 3:16, James 1:21-22, II Timothy 3: 16-17).

  2. THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS Through the study of Bible doctrine (Acts 2:42, II Tim. 3:16-17), through practical application of Biblical principles (Rom. 12:2, Phil. 4:8), and through continual development of mature Christians who reflect the character of Christ (Eph. 4:12-15).

  3. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ONE ANOTHER Through sharing one another's joys, needs, and spiritual growth (Acts 2:42, II Cor. 9:6-7, Gal. 6:2), through the identification and use of spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:5-8, Eph. 4:11-14, I Peter 4:10), and through service and sacrifice to meet each others needs (Gal. 5:13, Eph. 4:16, I Tim.6:17-20).

  4. THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE WORLD Through involvement in the local and world community (Acts 1:8, I Peter 3:15-17), through reproduction of our life in Christ (Matt. 28:18-20, II Tim. 2:2), and through discipling by worship, growth and caring (Matt. 28:19-20).

The purpose of The Country Church centers in the person of Jesus Christ. We have been called together in submission to Jesus Christ and His teaching and to express His life. We will do so through:

Doctrinal Statement

  • TRINITY We believe in the only true God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; That these three persons are one (Matt. 28:19, John 15:26).

  • BIBLE We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God; that it reveals the only true way to our salvation; that after prayerful study of the Holy Scriptures, each man should follow the scriptures according to the illumination of the Holy Spirit (II Tim. 3:16).

  • JESUS CHRIST We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Matt. 1:18-20); therefore, truly God and truly man. We believe that this God-man, our Savior, did suffer, was crucified, died, and was buried, to be a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, and through His resurrection we are assured of eternal life (John 3:16-17).

  • SALVATION We believe that sin is self-separation of our will from God's will. Therefore, all have sinned (Rom. 3:23). The Holy Spirit awakens and convicts us (II Peter 3:9) of our condition (John 16:8) which leads us to repentance. Repentance turns to saving faith in Christ (John 20:31). God then pronounces us free from present sin (Rom. 3:24), and gives us new birth (John 3:3). We become His child by adoption (Rom. 8:17, Gal. 4:7) and He bestows to us an inward evidence of God's acceptance of us. This is the witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8:16).

  • HOLY SPIRIT We believe that the work of the Holy Spirit is to personally apply to the individual believer the work of Christ on the cross (John 15:26), and to lead that believer into a Christ-like life.

  • SECOND COMING We believe that Christ is returning and behold it will be a personal, visible, and glorious return for the saved (I Thes. 4:16-17).

  • ETERNITY We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the future judgment of the unsaved; and an eternal state of rewards, in which the righteous dwell in endless life, and the wicked in endless punishment (Matt. 25:45-56).

  • THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job I:6-7,Isa. 14:I2-t7, Matt. 4:2-11, Rev. 20:10).

  • THE CHURCH We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ is a spiritual organism made up of all born again believers of the present age and began on the day of Pentecost (Matt. 16:18, Eph. 1:22-23, Eph.5:25-27).

  • THE ORDINANCES We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ has left the ordinances of Baptism, the mode of which is by immersion, and Communion to be observed by the Church in commemoration of His person and work (Matt. 28:19-20, I Cor. 11:23-26).

  • MISSIONS We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and word to the truths of the Holy Scripture. It is the duty and privilege of the Church to take the Word of God to all the world, using sound missionary agencies and whatever media God may make available. We further believe that it is the responsibility of the Church to pay for laborers to be sent to the mission fields, to support them financially, and to pray for their ministry and their safety (Matt. 9:36-38, 28:18-20, Acts 1:8).

  • DEDICATION OF INFANTS Upon the request of the parents, infant children may be presented to the Lord in a service of dedication. It shall be clearly understood that such an act in no way involves baptism, christening, or any such thing, but is a voluntary act of the parents whereby they acknowledge their responsibility and pledge themselves to nurture their child in the faith of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and commit their child to God for His protection, guidance and blessing. This may be done at any regular service of the church after making arrangements with the pastor.