Core Beliefs
The following paragraphs simply summarize what we believe as a church family. We believe the Bible and teach it to be perfectly true. Every belief and teaching of HBT flows directly from the Bible as our sole rule of faith and practice.
Our church has always had an open door policy. Feel free to ask any question about our ministry. We welcome questions as well as your examination concerning the Scriptural correctness of our purpose and position. Below are answers to some questions we are frequently asked.
Our church has always had an open door policy. Feel free to ask any question about our ministry. We welcome questions as well as your examination concerning the Scriptural correctness of our purpose and position. Below are answers to some questions we are frequently asked.
Baptists
This church is a Baptist church by conviction and principle, not by affiliation. As Baptists we believe the following: The Bible is our sole rule of faith and practice. We believe the church should be autonomous or self-governing. We believe that every Christian has equal access to God personally and does not need a human mediator. Baptists believe that every Christian should worship God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience and that the freedom to do so must be protected at any cost. We believe that each person is individually responsible for his decision to accept Christ; that the work of Christ is a finished work and that every believer is thus eternally secure.
Independent
As an Independent Baptist church, we are not affiliated with any particular Baptist group or denomination. Thus we are able to support our own missionaries, select our own leaders, and support institutions that believe as we believe without the politics that often accompany denominationalism. There are currently more than 13,000 independent Baptist churches in America and thousands more around the world.
We believe it is important for every Christian to become a part of a local New Testament church body. To become a member of HBT you must first be saved and have a Scriptural baptism from a Baptist church of like-faith. If one is baptized under the authority of HBT, he automatically becomes a member of this local church. One who has a Scriptural baptism in another Baptist church of like-faith may transfer their membership to HBT by requesting a transfer of letter from their sending church demonstrating their good standing in that church. In the unusual circumstance preventing the transfer of a letter, one may enter the membership of HBT through a statement of faith verifying one's understanding of and adherence to, the doctrine and practice of this local church.
We believe it is important for every Christian to become a part of a local New Testament church body. To become a member of HBT you must first be saved and have a Scriptural baptism from a Baptist church of like-faith. If one is baptized under the authority of HBT, he automatically becomes a member of this local church. One who has a Scriptural baptism in another Baptist church of like-faith may transfer their membership to HBT by requesting a transfer of letter from their sending church demonstrating their good standing in that church. In the unusual circumstance preventing the transfer of a letter, one may enter the membership of HBT through a statement of faith verifying one's understanding of and adherence to, the doctrine and practice of this local church.
Scriptures
We believe the Bible to be the very Word of God; that as such, it is inspired or God breathed and that it is therefore inerrant as well as authoritative in all matters it may address. For reasons of textual credibility, we believe God has graciously preserved His Word for English-speaking people in the King James Version of the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
The Church
We believe the Bible speaks of the church in a local sense; that the church of Jesus Christ is neither invisible or mystical, rather, it is identified in Scripture as a group of believers with a Scriptural baptism who have banded together for edification, exhortation, and evangelism as commanded in the Great Commission; that our service for Christ should flow from that institution. God has given two ordinances to the church, these being the ordinance of baptism, which maintains the purity and doctrinal integrity of those entering the membership of the local church and the ordinance of the Lords Table. (Mark 16:15; Acts 2:41-47; 1Corinthians 11:17-34, 12:12; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11-16)
The Saviour
We believe that Jesus Christ is eternally existent with the Father and that He is the only begotten Son of God; that He became man being born of a virgin and lived a sinless life in order that fallen man might be redeemed. He is truly God and truly man. We further believe that all who will turn from sin and call upon Christ will in fact be saved. (Luke 1:30-55; John 1:1-15; Philippians 2:5-8)
The Salvation of Man
Although all men stand as sinners before God, the Bible clearly teaches that God loves the sinner and has provided the means whereby all men might be saved from the penalty and power of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died as a substitutionary payment for the sins of the whole world. He physically arose from the dead and then ascended into Heaven. Any man who places his trust by faith in this sacrifice can be saved. This is the only way to resolve the conflict between sinful man and a Holy God. It is the only way to receive eternal life. (Luke 24; John 3:16; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 5:8-10; 1Peter 3:18)