Our Values
The Preeminence of God’s Son
We believe that Christ is to be preeminent in everything, or as Colossians 1:18 says, “That in everything [Christ] might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things . . .” This means Christ is to be the central object of our faith (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14, 19-20; 2:5-10) and the central subject of Scripture (see 1 Corinthians 2:2; Luke 24:27; Matthew 5:17-18). For these reasons and more, Providence Baptist Church aims to make Christ supreme in our worship service, adult Sunday school, small groups, and evangelism so that he is preeminent in everything we do.
The Proclamation of God’s Word
We believe that for Christ to be preeminent in everything, His church must center all things around the proclamation of his Word. This looks like the church singing God’s Word, seeing God’s Word (Communion), saying God’s Word, praying God’s Word, and preaching God’s Word when it meets together. That’s because God’s Word has the power to reprove, correct, and train His people in righteousness, so “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16). Providence Baptist Church not only trusts the proclamation of God’s Word to build up believers, we also trust God to use His Word to transform the lost, as Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” For these reasons and more, we place the teaching and preaching of God’s Word at the center of our worship, adult Sunday school, small groups, and evangelism.
The Power of God’s Gospel
We believe that the gospel is the wonderful mystery that the Bible unfolds about Jesus Christ. As Paul says in Romans 1:16, “the gospel . . . is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). In fact, we believe the gospel is so powerful that if a church gets the gospel right, it will prove difficult to fail according to God’s standards, but if a church gets the gospel wrong, it will prove impossible to succeed according to God’s standards. As George Whitefield once said, “Other men may preach the gospel better than I, but no man can preach a better gospel.” For these reasons and more, Providence Baptist Church proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ in every worship service, every sermon, and in all that we do as a people saved from our sins by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Presence of God’s Spirit
We believe that the church is the people in which God’s Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:18). This truth dictates that the church is to live in a way that corresponds with its status in Christ as the temple of God’s Holy Spirit. As God’s temple, believers are to be filled with the Spirit, which means they are to be influenced by God’s Spirit so that holiness results from both their words and deeds (see Colossians 3:16-4:1; Ephesians 5:18-6:9). Ultimately, we understand that apart from the presence of God’s Spirit in the life of the church, we are nothing and can do nothing—but through the presence of God’s Spirit in the church, the church is empowered to make disciples of all the nations (see Matthew 28:19), lovingly serve one another (see Galatians 5:13), be kind to one another (see Ephesians 4:32), encourage and build up one another (see 1 Thessalonians 5:11), pray without ceasing (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and fight the good fight of faith ( see 1 Timothy 6:12), just to name a few aspects of our calling as God’s Spirit-filled people. For these reasons and more, Providence Baptist Church desires to be a people who reflect the Spirit of God in our worship and in our lives.
The Priesthood of God’s People
We believe that every believer has direct access to God through Christ’s vicarious life, death, and resurrection, which means that the church is a fellowship of priests serving together as a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9) under the lordship of Jesus Christ. This means that every member of the church has the responsibility to intercede for one another (1 Timothy 2:1), proclaim God’s Word to one another (Colossians 3:16), and celebrate the Spirit’s presence among the church in worship, prayer, praise, and fellowship (1 Corinthians 3:16). This priesthood also requires that we use the gifts that God’s Spirit has sovereignly given us (see 1 Corinthians 12:11) to serve one another sacrificially and to go into the world for Christian service and witness. Finally, the priesthood of all believers affirms that Christ has placed the priestly rule into the entire congregation’s hands through the exercising of the keys of the kingdom (see Matthew 16:13-19; 18:15-20; 28:19-20). For these reasons and more, Providence Baptist Church exists to equip God’s people to serve and fellowship as God’s priests for His glory