Denominations Defined
W hat D oes I t M ean to B e a...
BAPTIST
B
aptists are a Protestant (meaning non-
Catholic) denomination within the Christian
church. There are different branches within
the denomination such as Free-Will, Fundamental,
Independent, Missionary, Primitive, Reformed,
Southern, and Seventh-Day Baptists. There are
even a few Charismatic Baptists but that’s a whole
other story.
CHURCH GOVERNANCE AND MEMBERSHIP
Baptists believe that each church is completely au-
tonomous and answerable to God alone. Baptists
believe that church and state matters should be kept
separate. Pastors and deacons are the only church
officers. Women are not usually ordained but their
place in ministry is very highly respected. People
join the church by "getting saved" and baptism or by
a letter transferring their membership from one con-
gregation to another. Each Baptist church has its
own statement of faith and standards of behavior.
Specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can
differ among Baptist churches because of this, but
all Baptists share certain beliefs and practices.
BAPTISTS AND THE BIBLE
All Baptists believe the Bible to be God's message
to mankind, written by men who were inspired by
God Himself, and in it's original form is inerrant (con-
tains no errors), and is the final authority of right and
wrong. The majority of Baptists support the exclu-
sive use of the King James Bible, believing that it is
the only bible that a Christian should read and trust.
GOD, JESUS, AND SALVATION
All Baptists believe that there is one God, eternally
existing in three persons known as the Trinity, com-
prised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
God, the Son (Jesus), was born of a virgin, lived a
sinless life, died for our sins, and is the only way to
salvation. Salvation is a free gift and cannot be
achieved by human effort. Baptists believe that any-
one who calls on the name of Jesus Christ will be
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saved. Anyone who does not, will face damnation
and go to hell. Baptists are well-known for their “fire
and brimstone”, “hell-fire” sermons. You may not
want to sit in the first row!
ETERNAL SECURITY
All Baptists, except the Free-Willys, believe in eter-
nal security. "Once saved, always saved," is a pop-
ular saying among Baptists. As their name implies,
Free-Will Baptists believe that a person has a
choice, a free-will, and can fall away and lose his
salvation if he turns away from God.
BAPTISM
All Baptists believe in full-immersion (actually sub-
mersion which means going completely under the
water) baptism, after a person has reached the age
of understanding, confessed their sins, and made a
public confession of faith. Baptists call this “the be-
lievers’ baptism.” Because an infant is not able to
“believe and understand”, they are not baptized.
Many baptists families do “dedicate” their infants
during a short ceremony in front of the congrega-
tion. Baptists do not believe in confessing sins to a
priest and, just like prayer, it is between the believer
and God. Only Charismatic (faith-healing, speak-
ing-in-tongues) Baptists believe in a separate Spirit
baptism. The vast majority of Baptists do NOT be-
lieve in this and aren’t afraid to tell you so!
THE LORD’S SUPPER (COMMUNION)
All Baptists believe in The Lord's Supper (Commu-
nion, the bread and wine, except they use grape
juice, symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus) and
it is generally open to all professing Christians. If
you attend a Baptist church but aren’t a Baptist, it’s
still okay to take Communion with them. Some
Baptist churches also add foot-washing as a prac-
tice. Baptists do not believe that communion, bap-
tism or church attendance is required for salvation.
However, all three are a standard practice of all
Baptists.
The COmMISSIONer
WORSHIP SERVICES
Most Baptist churches have a traditional form of
worship, which usually includes hymns, opening
prayer, choral music by a choir, soloist, or both, the
reading of Scripture, the collection of tithes and/or
offerings, a sermon, a closing prayer and an invita-
tion to come to the altar (podium and/or platform) to
receive Christ as your personal Savior (get saved).
MINISTRIES
Many Baptist churches have very organized out-
reach ministries such as weekly “soul winning”, in
which groups go out and evangelize the community.
Some churches have bus ministries where volun-
teers drive church buses and/or vans to surrounding
areas to bring people (mostly children) to the
church’s services. A few still practice open-air
“street preaching” in city parks or on street corners,
although this is rare. Like many other denomina-
tions, Baptist churches send out missionaries and
evangelists to other parts of the U.S. and to other
countries preaching the gospel. They often have
prison and nursing home ministries as well.
DENOMINATIONAL BRANCHES
The terms "Independent, Missionary, and Southern"
really don’t have much to do with doctrinal differ-
ences like the terms "Free-Will or Reformed" do.
They were established many years ago and founded
on differences of opinion in church governance,
missions direction and issues of slavery. Some-
times these terms are combined when naming a
church. It's possible to see a church sign that says
something like "Bethel Independent Missionary Bap-
tist Church." But some of the terms do not mix very
well. You shouldn’t see a church named Bethel Re-
formed Freewill Missionary Baptist Church unless
the church is thoroughly confused, which is defi-
nitely a possibility. Bless their hearts! The whole
"denominational" thing can be very confusing.
DOS AND DON’TS
Most Baptists tend to be conservative in their
lifestyles. A few Baptists do not listen to rock-n-roll
or other forms of modern music, allow dancing,
women to wear pants or have short hair, men to
have long hair or wear earrings, gambling, alcohol
or tobacco, sex before marriage, homosexuality, or
abortion. However, there is a growing trend in many
Baptist churches to incorporate more modern styles
of music and less harsh approaches to entertain-
ment and dress. To know exactly what a local
January 2011
church believes in or practices, it's best to give them
a call, check out their website, or ask the Pastor or
another church member.
There are at least 479 Baptist churches here in the
Tri-Cities. You can go to The Christian Community
Resource Guide website at www.tccrg.com and see
them all on one list or browse them city by city. You
will find a link to a website for those who have one.
Many of them have Facebook pages, as well. Go
check ‘em out and make some Baptist friends!
20 % of Americans, not just Christian
Americans, but ALL Americans, identify
themselves as Baptist.
Here are a few of the famous ones...
Preachers: Billy Graham, Dr. Martin King Luther, Jr.,
Jesse Jackson, and televangelists Adrian Rogers and
Charles Stanley, founder of In Touch Ministries
Presidents: Abraham Lincoln (raised Baptist),
Andrew Johnson, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, Bill
Clinton, and Al Gore
Businesspeople: J(ames) C(ash) Penney, depart-
ment store magnet, son of a Primitive Baptist lay minis-
ter; John D. Rockefeller, twentieth century oil tycoon;
S. Truett Cathy, billionaire founder of Chick-fil-A restau-
rants; Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay
Christian Resources (bookstores)
Entertainers: Johnny Cash, country music singer;
Jerry Clower, rural humorist, member of the Grand Ole
Opry, lay minister; Aretha Franklin, singer and daughter
of Baptist minister C.L. Franklin; Kevin Costner &
Chuck Norris, actors; Dan Whitney ("Larry the Cable
Guy"), son of a Baptist preacher, attended Baptist Uni-
versity of America
Writers and Authors: John Bunyan, author of Pil-
grim's Progress; John Grisham, bestselling author of
The Firm; Tim LaHaye, co-author of the bestselling Left
Behind series; and Beth Moore, evangelist, author,
teacher, and founder of Living Proof Ministries
Athletes: Reggie White, professional football defen-
sive end, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame;
Zach Johnson, professional golfer, winner of the 2007
Masters Tournament; Ryan Langerhans, outfielder for
the Seattle Mariners
Criminals: (don’t forget “once saved, always saved”)
Jesse James, an American outlaw, son of a Baptist
minister
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