What we believe

We are not free to invent new approaches to worshiping God. We cannot worship what we do not know, and we cannot know God unless He reveals Himself to us in His Word. Adoration, godly fear, obedience, and praise come only from a heart that has been illuminated by God’s Word. God’s Word is central to worship. In other words, where the Word is absent, there can be no true worship of God. For this reason, worship is restricted to the divine means by which God has promised to communicate His Word to us. These means, known as the ordinary means of grace, include preaching God’s Word, singing God’s Word, praying God’s Word, seeing God’s Word in the ordinances, and fellowshipping around God’s Word.

As the pillar and ground of the truth, the most important function of the local church is the faithful preaching and proclamation of God’s Word. Biblical and Christ-centered preaching is the explanation and application of the Scriptures. The power of preaching is not found in oratory skills, in clever and relevant topics, or in the charisma of the speaker, but in the precision and accuracy of the exposition and application of the Biblical text. The Word changes lives; therefore, it is our goal to faithfully exposit and apply the Word. The goal of expository preaching is to preach verse by verse through the books of the Bible to discover the intended, historical, contextual, and theological meaning of the passage, and then to bring out the timeless truths so that we may submit to them and apply them to our lives.

We believe that the lyrics of our worship songs should be focused principally upon the explicit gospel of Jesus Christ. Though there is a rightful place to express our emotions verbally, such as singing about our love and adoration of God, for the most part, we desire to place the lyrical focus of our music on the life and work of Christ which, we believe, brings the most glory to God and the most edification to the saints. Moreover, GBC seeks to worship in a manner that highlights congregational singing. Therefore, we intentionally adjust the volume of the microphones and musicians as needed to aid, but not to dominate, the mutual singing of the congregation. In addition, we purposefully place our musicians and song leaders off to the side in order to keep our focus on the lyrics and to guard against creating a performance- or entertainment-based form of worship.

Our goal is to teach the whole counsel of God as we preach expositionally through the Bible. Though we seek not to become unbalanced in our theology by overly focusing upon one doctrine to the neglect of other truths, we firmly believe that the understanding of the absolute sovereignty of God affects every aspect of our church life, including our doctrine, our preaching, our philosophy of ministry, our counseling, and our worship. We stand upon the “five solas” of the Reformation as essential doctrines of the faith: Sola scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola fide (faith alone), Sola gratia (grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone). It is required of all church members to affirm, and have a basic understanding of, these five core doctrines. We also believe, love, and teach the Doctrines of Grace: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Efficacious Atonement, Efficacious Call, and the Perseverance of the Saints. Though we do not require full ascription to these doctrines for church membership, we do require church members not to be divisive or argumentative over these issues or any other non-essential doctrine that is held and taught by the church.

We seek to be a Christ-centered church, not a family-centered church. Yet, God has designed the family, and as a church body, we seek to promote family unity by encouraging, exhorting, and equipping our families to worship together at home and to worship together with the church on Sundays. We believe that it is important for each family to remain together during the worship service, and we believe that corporate worship should be a major part of our children’s lives. Though we are happy to provide a nursery for those less than three years of age, we encourage even the youngest children to remain with their parents in worship. We believe children are a blessing from the Lord, so we are thankful to God for them, and we do not view their sometimes obvious presence during corporate worship as a distraction. We also seek to encourage and equip fathers to carry out their responsibilities as the spiritual leaders of their families because parents are responsible to teach, train, and raise their children in the admonition of the Lord.

We believe Christians should take church membership seriously. Biblical church membership consists of Christians mutually submitting themselves in love to the care, oversight, doctrine, and discipline of a local church as they seek to be faithful and active in the life, fellowship, service, worship, and functions of the church body. The local church is the setting for Christians to utilize their spiritual gifts for the mutual edification of the body. We seek to create a family atmosphere that includes time for regular fellowship to build meaningful relationships centered on Christ Jesus.

God’s Word is our sole source of authority in counseling. It is sufficient to provide answers for all matters pertaining to life and godliness. Though the leadership of GBC offers formal Biblical counseling for its membership, biblical counseling takes place primarily in the regular preaching of the Word and organically in the weekly fellowship of the saints. Biblical counseling is a vital part of Christian discipling, and thus it is a vital part of the life of GBC.

Because God takes church membership and holiness seriously, GBC takes church discipline seriously. Yet, church discipline should not be viewed principally as excommunication, which is only the last step of the process, but as loving restoration that takes place between and among Christians who hold each other accountable to God’s Word. Church discipline naturally flows out of the fellowship and counseling ministry of the church. Healthy and effective church discipline, therefore, is rooted in a desire to restore others in love and a spirit of meekness. If a church member who is in open rebellion against God does not repent after hearing one person, then two, and then the church collectively, GBC is committed to carrying out church discipline even though it causes us much pain and sorrow to remove our spiritual fellowship until public repentance restores the broken union. Restoration, not excommunication, is the goal.

We are submitted to a plurality of elders whose life and doctrine are submitted to the authority of God’s Word, and to deacons who carefully and lovingly look after the practical needs of the congregation. Scriptures alone determine the church’s doctrine, purpose, standards for membership, and discipline. Therefore, our elders rule by teaching, preaching, and applying the Scriptures. For this reason, though the major logistical decisions are introduced to the congregation with the desire for collective agreement after a season of prayer and consideration, we do not make any decisions based upon a popular or democratic vote. Rather, we seek to be led by the Spirit through the wisdom and counsel of our elders and the harmonious agreement of the congregation.

We seek to encourage, embolden, and equip our members to be mission-minded. We believe that every Christian is called to be a missionary, but we believe that mission work starts in the home with family worship and flows out of a life that is spiritually immersed in a daily communion with Christ. We are called not only to witness to our lost family members, but also to share our faith with those in the community as we pray and send out missionaries to the world. Therefore, we purposefully seek to promote, encourage, and equip our members for family worship, personal evangelism, and international missions.

Holy Scripture is the written revelation of God, verbally inspired of the Holy Spirit through the instrument of holy men, self-testifying, infallible, and authoritative in all that it says, forming the complete canon of the Old and New Testament, which is necessary and sufficient for a proper knowledge of God, self, and salvation.

God, who in one essence subsists in three coequal and coeternal persons—namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is without mixture and without division a holy, absolute, infinite, immutable, personal, spiritual, omnipotent, omniscient, and righteous being, who in His own eternal and independent counsel, ordained all that transpires in time, created all that has and will exist in space, and sovereignly governs them providentially to their final, predestinated purposes and destinations.

Man was created morally upright in the image of God to glorify and enjoy Him forever within the covenant of works by taking dominion and filling the earth with the children of God, yet has fallen from this original state by Adam’s transgression, which has brought universal death and depravity to the human race, consequently disenabling any person from properly fulfilling their divine purpose, which in return ensures the universal wrath and judgment of God.

Jesus Christ, who is one in essence with God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin in His incarnation, having without mixture or confusion a divine and human nature in one person. He is the only Savior of the world, and the Redeemer and Head of the Church—anointed by the Spirit as Prophet, Priest, and King in His baptism, establishing righteousness by obeying the covenant of works in His life, legally propitiating for the sins of His people in His death, bringing forth life in His resurrection (establishing the gospel of the covenant of grace), and being exalted by God with all power, authority, and honor in His ascension, where He continues to mediate and reign in heaven until He subdues all of God’s enemies underneath His footstool.

Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit (who has been sent by Christ into the world to testify of Christ Jesus, and to convict the world of sin) whereby He graciously and effectually applies the redemptive benefits of the cross to the elect by imparting faith through the power of the gospel (which legally unites believers to the imputed righteousness of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and brings them into the adoption as children of God) in regenerating and indwelling them (which establishes a holy nature that leads to the mortification of the flesh and progressive sanctification) as He continues to strengthen them in the knowledge of the Lord so they persevere in repentance, faith, and good works with the assurance of future glorification and life eternal with God.

The church is the universal and invisible body of Christ that consists of all the elect throughout history that is visibly manifested in time through local fellowships of believers who have committed to be accountable to one another under the headship of Christ by collectively submitting, instructing, admonishing, and caring for one another under the oversight of their ordained leaders; as they have been spiritually united together in Christ Jesus to uphold the truth in holiness by worshiping God through preaching and teaching, singing, reading the Word, observing the ordinances, carrying out its discipline, and seeking to make disciples and reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Though Christ Jesus has already fulfilled many of the Old Testament prophecies when He engrafted believing Gentiles with believing Jews into the Kingdom of God at His First Coming, the church still awaits the consummation of the Kingdom, the general resurrection of the dead, the Day of Judgment, and the creation of the New Earth which will occur at the Second Coming of Christ.

Man will never worship God acceptably apart from Divine revelation. This is because worship is the result of God first revealing Himself to man. Only after man sees who God truly is and is given a heart to fear, love, and appreciate Him, will man truly submit and dedicate his life and praise to God. This God-initiated worship means that where there is no revelation and knowledge of God, there is no true worship of God (John 4:22). Conversely, the more we know about God, the deeper our worship will be to God. In the end, God must first reveal Himself before man will truly worship God. Therefore, worship is always a response to the truth of God’s Word.

Worship is from God, and God has chosen to reveal Himself through Christ alone. Our knowledge of God comes to us through the person of His Son—Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). Furthermore, because of man’s impurity and unworthiness, worship must always travel back to God through Christ (1 Tim. 2:5). There is no other way to the Father except through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ Jesus will never be made known to us except through the truth that is found in Holy Scripture (Rom. 11:14-15). If worship is the byproduct of the knowledge of God, then worship must be rooted in the truth of Scripture. Faith is at the very heart of worship, and worshippers must live by every inspired word that has come from the mouth of God—words that are recorded in Holy Scriptures.

We must worship in truth, but the truth will never penetrate the heart apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10-16). Accordingly, we must also worship in the Spirit. Yet, the Spirit speaks to us by, in, and through the Scriptures. If the church today yearns to hear the voice of the Spirit, then the church must teach the Scriptures. Worship in the Spirit, then, must be based on the truth of Scripture. This is why the Spirit must empower our worship if worship is to be acceptable before God.

Spirit-illuminated truth sanctifies and changes the heart of the worshipper (John 17:17). Fear, love, adoration, and praise can only come from a heart that has been purified by God’s Word. Worship happens when the mind and heart of the worshipper is changed from rebellion and pride to submission and humility. However, this humility and devotion comes only from the heart being spiritually renewed and changed by the empowered truth of God’s Word. It is only when the worshipper has been sanctified by the Word that the worshipper can offer acceptable worship to God. Without holiness, worship is in vain.

Only after worshippers have been changed will they naturally, freely, and willingly offer up their reverence, submission, praise, and servitude to God (Matt. 16:17). Only after they have been given new eyes to see the majesty of God will they see that He alone is worthy of all their praise. Worship comes from God; it is to go back to God, for to God alone belongs the glory.

Our singing is designed to prepare our minds and hearts for hearing God’s preached Word; thus, we structure our worship so that the preaching occupies more time than the singing. What should be of central focus in churches is the cross and the pulpit, not a band and a big screen.

Worship is not meant to be a purely personal and individual experience, but a corporate and unifying one. Thus, worship must promote congregational participation to lift up songs of praise to our Most High King, and not turn into an entertainment-centered performance. Church is a time for bowing before God, showing deep reverence for Him in every aspect of worship. Furthermore, to keep the focus on the congregation, we intentionally adjust the volume and place the instruments to the side so that they do not overpower or overly stand out.

Because we believe that worship is our heart’s response (love, reverence, adoration, etc.) to God’s truth being spiritually revealed to our minds, we believe that the biblical soundness and clarity of the lyrics is the most important aspect of the musical portion of our worship. Lyrics must be Gospel-centered, Christ-centered, Trinity-centered, and have contextual clarity, showing the greatness and goodness of God.

Though multiple song forms can be fitting for worship, we seek primarily to use hymns, both new and old, for their lyrical excellence. We also aim to use instruments in an orderly manner, always with the emphasis off the sounds of the instruments and on the songs of our voices.

Our goal in singing should be to encourage and exhort our brothers and sisters as we lift our voices in praise and adoration of God. Success is not based on the musical presentation or aesthetically appealing musical elements or arrangement. It is based simply on God’s people worshiping in spirit and in truth, whether musical instruments are present or not. Musicians also should have a heart of service—desiring to serve the church with the talents God has given them.

There is no scriptural justification for having a third office in the church designated specifically to Music Leader; however, given the role they play in the church, we recognize how they are essentially a pastor/elder. It is not mere musical ability that qualifies a man to lead the church in music, though; they must meet all of the elder qualifications.