Why are we a Southern Baptist Church?

There are a number of compelling reasons we are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. First there are theological reasons. The SBC has a desire for faithfulness to scripture in the midst of changing times. We are encouraged by the recent additions to the Baptist Faith and Message, and support the entire document. Second, there are local reasons. We are located in close proximity to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and would like to facilitate the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry among seminary students.  Third, there are global reasons. The SBC plays a significant leadership role in bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth, especially to those who have never heard. It is our privilege to join forces with the SBC in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Won’t it be difficult to bring the whole family together especially with very young children?

Yes, it will pose new challenges to parents who are not used to being in Bible study and worship meetings with their children, particularly since we live in a society that tends to separates families for activities like this, and there is an underlying feeling that children can receive little from worship services because of their age.

We believe the long-term value will be greater than the short-term difficulty parents will experience as they learn to worship and learn together. Parents will have the privilege of training their children to hear and respond to God’s Word and to honor the other people in the room by their quiet and respectful behavior. We realize this may not be easy, and it will require patience. This is a process that may take some time to establish in each family, but the church is committed to supporting the process, and is prepared for disruptions that accompany the process from time to time. Parents will be provided with teaching and tools to help their children understand the theological concepts presented during the services, and after the services as we will encourage the heads of households to elaborate and complete the ideas presented, even to young children.

We realize that our culture does not support the idea that children can understand complex ideas at young ages and that parents are not qualified to teach. We reject this notion and believe that a rich transfer of truth can be accomplished during and after the services. We also believe that even though very young children may not understand everything that is said or done, they can understand something very valuable as they see the head of their household truly honoring and adoring God in worship and enthusiastically studying His Word.

Why do you not have a Sunday school program, and without it, how will you foster in depth Bible Study for each member?

We believe that the primary responsibility for Biblical training has been given to heads of households, while age segregation tends to impede spiritual growth. We are focused on training heads of households and their families together as a unit instead of disconnected individuals, which will give the family the opportunity to work out their discipleship journey together as a unified group.

We encourage men to teach God’s Word in their homes everyday Eph 6:4, Deut 6:6-9. We will also organize ourselves so that there is regular leadership contact with heads of households to encourage them in their roles.

With the emphasis on Biblical manhood and the head of the household, what about ministry to women?

We will cast a clear Biblical vision for godly femininity and raise up many wives and daughters to exemplify the most compelling virtues of their calling as daughters of their King. In view of the cultural assault of feminism and egalitarianism in the church, you would see us present a rich theology regarding the Biblical roles of women. A look at passages regarding the vigorous and effective women in the Bible would help to define some of the roles women played in redemptive history. i.e., Women participating in the life and ministry of Jesus, Sarah and the virtuous woman in I Peter 3:1-6, the Proverbs 31 woman, Lydia in the New Testament, Nabal’s wife I Sam 25:26-38, Gen 2:18, Eph 5:23, I Tim 2:12, 3:1-13, I Tim 5:14, Titus 2:3-5.

What kind of church programs will you be offering?

Instead of creating a portfolio of church building based programs, the elders will attempt to fan the flame of the ministries of the members in their homes and other areas of influence. We offer Sunday worship, men’s and women’s Bible studies, weekly prayer meetings, and various outreach events during the course of the year.

How will the Church seek to meet Christ’s commands for evangelism?

Several methods will be employed through both world missions and home missions. For world missions, we will support the SBC Cooperative Program as well as members with other mission organizations. We will encourage our members to seek and fulfill God’s specific role for them in world missions. On the home front, we will direct our efforts toward neighborhoods, family to family and workplace evangelism.

The work of evangelism in our homes (bringing the lost souls of our children to Christ), and in our neighborhoods will be a central focus of our equipping efforts, so that the head of the household is equipped to lead the family to evangelize friends and neighbors and co-workers. We will encourage the members to seek out those who do not know Christ in their areas of influence including neighborhoods, workplaces and among the fatherless.

The work of evangelism is central to the focus of the church, as we will constantly encourage one another to make "the word of reconciliation" the central focus of our households. We are not intending to hold a significant number of evangelistic meetings, but will rely on the members to be the evangelists in their spheres of influence. We hope to learn together how to effectively use our homes in practicing hospitality for evangelism. We realize that one who does not evangelize at home and at work will not be equipped to evangelize overseas.

How will the church make decisions?

Decisions will be made through Biblically qualified elders. Leadership will be shared among a group of mutually accountable elders who will also seek congregational support for eldership decision making in key areas of church life. The elders will appoint a “Chairman” who will coordinate the overall effort of the church.

The primary role of elders will not be to create programs, but to come alongside heads of households and equip them in their primary ministry as well as other ministries God is calling them to do.

How will you refrain from becoming reclusive?

First we want to acknowledge the unbiblical nature of retreating from society into a monastic mentality and to affirm our belief that we are called to be salt and light in the community. We trust that it will be difficult to be reclusive as we focus our people on daily prayer for the lost and for one another as well as on evangelistic ministry in our neighborhoods and businesses.

What about youth groups?

We first want to acknowledge that modern youth ministry is producing poor results as we are finding high percentages of kids in evangelical youth groups do not stay in the church after they leave the youth group and there is also a high promiscuity rate in our traditional youth groups. God has revealed his methodology for ministry to youth in Deuteronomy 6  and other places in scripture, and this practice produces the best results and causes daily training and focus.

We believe that the practice of comprehensive family segregation and separation is both unbiblical and harmful. When a father is disobedient to the teaching of Deuteronomy 6 at Hope Baptist, he will be exposed to the leaders of the church and should become the target of ministry and prayer so that he fulfills his responsibility. This should lead either to his salvation or his faithfulness.

The practice of separating youth from their parents in the church at a time when they desperately need to be in the family context to learn how to honor and obey their parents is producing negative results.

We also believe that as a general principle the family should be in training together and not exclusively as individuals. We submit that what we commonly call “adolescence” has become a socially acceptable way to keep a teen in a delayed maturation process and does not acknowledge the great positive impact youth can have. Instead of sidelining youth in peer groups, we will strive to put them in the place of leadership and service alongside mature adults.

We also believe that since “foolishness in bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15) that concentrating teens in youth group gatherings fosters immaturity, and is therefore not the best way to train the next generation.

What about youth who are not in a church family?

We welcome young people who are not in a church family, and we encourage our families to open their hearts and homes to these youths and bring them to our church, and into their discipleship lifestyle.