top of page

About us

History of Hillcrest Baptist

 

On April 27, 2003, thirty-two people met to discuss the possibility of forming a new church.  It was decided that the name of this new church would be Hillcrest Baptist Church.  On May 18, 2003 the members of Hillcrest Baptist Church unanimously voted to purchase this building which at the time was only partially completed.  Work began immediately to renovate the building to turn it into the church, what is now the social hall.  Since then, we have come a long way, and built a new sanctuary to accommodate our ever growing church family. We hope to continue to grow more and more and continue serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

​

​

​

​

​

​

Our Beliefs

 

I. The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

​

II. God

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

​

   A. God the Father

                       God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and                             the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He                         is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become                           children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward

                       all men. 

    B. God the Son

                      Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was                                        conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed                            and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human                        nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored                        the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made                          provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a                            glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them                                before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right                                hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of                            man, and in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He                          will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive                        mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord. 

    C. God the Holy Spirit

                      The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the                                        Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts                                Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the                              Savior, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts                                      believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His                                  church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the                          Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature                        of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship,                                evangelism, and service. 

​

III. Man

Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by His Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence; whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. 

​

IV. Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption or the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

B. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

C. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. 

​

V. God's Purpose of Grace

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is a glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the State of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the cause of Christ, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 

​

VI. The Church

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, committed to His teachings, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

This church is an autonomous body, operating through democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In such a congregation members are equally responsible. Its Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons.

The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages. 

​

VII. Baptism and the Lord's Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. 

​

VIII. The Lord's Day

The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employment's, work of necessity and mercy only being excepted. 

​

IX. The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. 

​

X. Last Things

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will he raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

bottom of page