First Baptist Church of South Holland

We believe the Bible is the Word of God
We believe in the King James Version of the Bible. We believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as payment for our sins, and rose from the dead on the third day. We believe that the only way a person can go to Heaven when he dies is to first place his faith in the payment that Jesus Christ provided with His shed blood on the cross. Once we are saved by putting our faith in Jesus, we are commanded to be baptized by immersion to show to others what took place when we trusted Christ; we do this in obedience, not to save us but to show that we have been saved. We believe in participating in the Lord's Supper on a regular basis to remember the payment Jesus made for us and to express our love to Him for that payment. The Lord's Supper is not kept to take us to Heaven but to thank Jesus for His sacrifice.

We believe that the Bible is what it claims to be: the Word of God.
We take instruction from the Bible literally; we believe what it is actually saying, not that it is an allegory or a fable. We take instruction from the Bible in the areas of life and faith and go to it for the answers to life. In a day when opinion polls and media agendas steer our social conscience, we believe that we should first seek God's opinion on any subject before forming our own.

We believe that the family unit should be strong and healthy.
The first institution God made on earth was the family. Programs in the church are geared to help build strong families. First Baptist Church provides fellowship, friendship, and support services through our social activities. We strive to be protective of our children. Background checks of everyone working with a child are required.

We believe that the church should be the moral conscience of a community.
Since God created civil governments, we work hard to cooperate with and work together with our elected officials and civil servants.

We believe that the only requirements for church membership are salvation and baptism by immersion.
People who are saved and baptized at First Baptist Church are members unless they request not to be. A person may join from another Baptist church by transfer. Persons wishing to join from a church other than a Baptist church must give testimony of their salvation and their immersion baptism and thereby join by Christian experience.

We believe that it is our responsibility, as outlined in the Bible, to spread the Gospel to our area, nation, and world.
Mark 16:15 says, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Matthew 28:19-20 says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

We believe that Christians should talk, behave, live, and dress like citizens of Heaven.
The basis for these standards is found in the Bible. We make no apology for our conservative beliefs in many areas, including music, social issues, dress, and behavior.

We believe that a church should be filled with participants, not spectators.
We believe a church should be described as a spiritual hospital where people come for spiritual healing, not a spiritual museum where the relics of "Pharisee-ism" are displayed. We have a first-class way of doing things. We are careful stewards of God's money. We strive to be honest and respectable.

We believe God's business is the greatest business in the world.