Good Hope Baptist Church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Missouri Baptist Convention, and the West Central Baptist Association. Therefore, we affirm the Baptist Faith and Message, which serves as our statement of faith, explaining our biblical convictions. The full text of the BF&M can be found here.
The Holy Scriptures
The Holy Scriptures are revealed to us through the written words of man, from divine inspiration from God. Being divine-inspired, the Word of God is affirmed as inerrant and infallible. GHBC adheres to the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, adopted in 1978, which can be read in detail here.
God
GHBC affirms the existence of the one living and true God who is triune. This does not imply that there are three Gods, but one omniscient, omnipotent, and immutable God who is consubstantial as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity exists with distinct personas, but without division of nature, essence, or being. God is both invisible and visible (through the Son), who is the creator of all things in the cosmos and on earth.
Mankind
God created two sexes, also known as genders, of male and female in His image. GHBC affirms The Danvers Statement, which can be read and studied in detail here.
Marriage
As the Creator, God "designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church." This is a quote from Article I of The Nashville Statement. The Nashville Statement was developed by a group of evangelical ministers, scholars, and theologians in response to the secular world's increasing acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals. GHBC affirms The Nashville Statement, which can be read and studied here.
Original Sin
The Apostle Paul, as a witness to the Word of God, proclaims that "sin came into the world through one man..." (Romans 5:12, see Genesis 2 and 3). Because of Adam's initial fall to temptation, sin has been passed to mankind throughout time. Therefore, all of mankind requires a Savior because of our sinful nature.
Salvation
Salvation is needed to be washed clean of your sins, which is achieved by believing in God's grace alone through faith alone in what Christ Jesus did on the cross, who died, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. Believing is achieved by first hearing the Gospel, in which the Holy Spirit stirs your heart, giving you the ability to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Baptism
GHBC affirms that baptism is an act of obedience for those called to follow Christ and have proclaimed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but it does not provide salvation. We also affirm that baptism is performed by immersion and withheld from those who have not made a conscious decision.
Lord's Supper
Good Hope Baptist Church follows Christ's command to eat of His body and drink of His blood, which symbolize the Lamb's sacrifice and anticipated second advent. GHBC offers the Lord's Supper to all who proclaim to be Believers. Nevertheless, we require those who have not been baptized to refrain from participating.
The Church
The church is the visible revelation of God's glory to the world. As the bride of Christ, the church is never to divorce itself from His teachings and must always strive to shine light on His holiness and glorify Christ. The church must be united and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Revelation
Christ Jesus will have a second coming (advent) in the future, at a time we do not know, which will be visible and personal. He will judge both the living and the dead to usher in the fullness of His eternal Kingdom.
