The Lordship of Christ

We affirm our primary commitment to the Lordship of Christ. We believe that as a church we should emphasize those things Jesus emphasized and "seek the mind of Christ" in all things (I Corinthians 2:16).

The Authority of Scripture

We believe the Bible, the inspired written word of God which reveals the living word of God, Jesus Christ, is our sufficient guide for faith and practice in the church, and in the life of the individual believer. The truths of scripture, as interpreted by the community of faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, shall guide all personal and social belief and action.

The high value which we place on the Bible indicates that the highest and most enlightened scholarship available to us be used to assist us in our understanding and interpretation. We are concerned that high standards of scholarship, coupled with academic freedom, remain basic ingredients of the university and seminary experience for students and faculty in all of our schools

The Competence of the Individual Believer

We affirm that the individual believer has both the ability and the responsibility to hear and respond to God. We accept with awe and gratitude God's direct involvement in individual lives and the call to all disciples to lives of ministry. We reaffirm the individuality of God's call. We believe men and women are equal before God: equal in competency, responsibility and suitability for ministry. The traditional Baptist affirmation of the priesthood of all believers means that we need no intermediary person(s) in our communication with God.

Individual persons are responsible for dealing with their sins through the means God has provided. While "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) none of us must continue to live under the cloud of past sins, but we are heirs together of new life in which "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for (we) are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28).

The Autonomy of the Local Church

The community of baptized believers governs itself and is accountable to God alone. The congregation itself has responsibility for choices concerning such issues as who will occupy the pulpit, criteria for membership, whom to ordain, and the accumulation and utilization of (material) resources. We believe we are responsible not only for decisions but also for the way in which we reach them. In this congregation it is our conviction that Christ's primary calling to all Christians, both male and female, is to servanthood rather than to control, and that the positions of pastor and deacon (as well as all other leadership positions) are positions of such service and not of authoritarian domination. We pray that the business of the church can be conducted in God's spirit of love, mutual respect, and patient waiting on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge that God's ways are different from those of the world, and that political manipulation has no place in denominational or church meetings.

The Separation of Church and State

The community of faith stands separate from the state which in no way shall be allowed to interfere with the governance of the church - either by prohibiting or encouraging the exercise of religion in private or in public. The church shall be vigilant in this matter, always ready to exercise the great responsibility required to preserve freedom.

Remembering that Christ died for the whole world and that our responsibility is to that same world, the church should not adopt narrow nationalistic positions.

A Worldwide Mission

God has given the church a treasure in the Gospel. Along with the knowledge and experience of God's love comes the responsibility for proclaiming the universal good news to a fragmented world. Our mission is to lift up Christ above narrow factional divisions in order that the recreating, redeeming, reconciling, healing, and sustaining power of God be available to all the world's people. The history of the people called Baptists has shown that diversity does not threaten our evangelical witness but that division has the potential for destroying it.

Denominational Participation

We at Greenwood Forest commit ourselves to an active involvement in Baptist affairs and affirm the following points:

• GFBC is currently affiliated globally with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.


• We endorse and encourage the study of our Baptist history and those distinctives which are Biblical in origin.


• We willingly associate with those believers in Christ who follow the historic Baptist principles as enunciated in this declaration.


• We uphold the principles of an egalitarian church membership and an autonomous church identity.


• We are committed to the representation of Greenwood Forest Baptist Church at appropriate local, state and national meetings of fellow believers.


• We will continue to make public our response to the current issues and trends of Christian life.