Purpose
To glorify God
Mission
Making Christ-followers of all peoples
Vision
Building redemptive communities of all peoples who communicate the truth of Christ to the world
Church Government
Southgate Baptist Church is an independent autonomous church subject only to Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church.
The church follows the biblical pattern of governance that is vested in the pastor-elder team leading the church, deacons serving the church, and the congregation building the church.
Godly men are nominated, vetted, and affirmed as pastor-elders, some who serve vocationally as paid staff and others who serve voluntarily as lay pastors.
Godly men are nominated, vetted, and affirmed as deacons, who serve and help meet the needs of the body of Christ at Southgate.
What We Believe
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.
We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that they are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct and harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men and women, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ.
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is not only true God, but true Man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe in his sinless life, his substitutionary atonement, his bodily resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven, his priestly intercession on behalf of his people, and his personal, visible, premillennial return from heaven.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, his personality and his work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation. His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost and empowering the believer for godly living and service.
We believe God created humanity, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We further believe all persons are sinners by nature and choice and are, therefore, spiritually dead. We also believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior.
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, and was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received through faith apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. We believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern.
We believe that the church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head and is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have been immersed upon a credible confession of faith and have associated themselves for worship, instruction, evangelism, and service. The ordinances of the local church are believers’ baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We also believe in the interdependence of local churches and the mutual submission of Christians to each other in love.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal existence of all people in either heaven or hell, in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.
Statement of Faith
This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing statement of faith accurately represents the teachings of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members.
We believe the Bible, God’s holy Word, containing the Old and New Testament Scriptures, are the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. By inspired we mean that God so supernaturally directed the writers of Scripture that without excluding their human intelligence, their individuality, their literary style, their personal feelings, or any other human factor, His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy, the very words of Scripture bearing the authority of divine authorship. Thus, the Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God- breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life. There are no other writings similarly inspired by God. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. We believe in a literal interpretation of these Scriptures according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning.
Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 8:20; John 5:39; John 12:48; John 17:17; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:19
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, a sovereign, infinite, and intelligent Spirit, the Maker and supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all honor, confidence, and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons ─ the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Godhead is equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the outworking of the eternal plan of God.
Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 83:18; Psalm 90:2; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29-30; John 4:24; John 10:30; John 15:26; John 17:5; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 3:3; 1 John 3:5; Revelation 19:11-20
We believe in the absolute deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; that He is equal with God the Father and God the Spirit, and of the same nature. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. We believe He lived a sinless life and performed miracles; that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. We believe He will return at any moment for us and that we will later rule upon the earth under Him; that He will judge believers’ works at His Judgment Seat and sentence unbelievers to final perdition at His Great White Throne.
Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:34- 35; John 1:1, 2, 14, 29; John 5:22; John 8:58; John 10:30, 37, 38; John 16:28; Acts 1:9‒10; Acts 2:18‒36; Romans 3:24‒26; Romans 8:34; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11‒15; 2 Corinthians 5:19‒21; Galatians 4:4‒5; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:5‒8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13‒18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; 1 Peter 1:3‒ 5; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:1‒2; 1 John 3:3; 1 John 3:5; Revelation 19:11‒20
We believe in the absolute deity of the Holy Spirit; that He is equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature. We believe He was active in creation; that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness; that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel and thereby glorifies not Himself but Christ; that He is the agent of the new birth; that at salvation He baptizes, indwells, seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer; that as the believer submits to this leadership, the Holy Spirit will fill and be the influencing control in his life; and that He was active in the process of inspiration in that ‟holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
Genesis 1:1‒3; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5‒6; John 14:16, 17, 26; John 15:26; John 16:8‒11, 13, 14; Acts 5:30‒32; Romans 8:16, 26‒27; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13‒14; Ephesians 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:21
We believe in the Biblical account of the creation of the physical universe, angels, and man; that this account is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, instantaneous creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that God created out of nothing the heavens and the earth, including all life, each “after its own kind”; that mankind was created in the image of God by a direct work of God and not from previously existing life forms; and that all people groups bear the image of God and are descendants from the historical Adam and Eve, the first parents of the human race.
Genesis 1:1, 11, 24, 26, 27; Genesis 2:7; 21‒23; Exodus 20:11; Nehemiah 9:6; Jeremiah 10:12; John 1:3; Acts 4:24; 17:26-27; Romans 1:20; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Colossians 1:16‒ 17; Hebrews 11:3; Rev. 7:9
We believe in the existence of holy angels as created, spirit beings possessing intellect, emotion, and will, and that they do not die. Possessing great power, they exist for the express purpose of serving and glorifying God, and they also have a ministry to believers.
We believe in the existence of fallen angels, originally created to serve God but through an active rebellion led by Satan were led astray. Currently they oppose God and His people and stand under condemnation of God. They will be judged in the Last Day.
Matthew 18:10; Luke 1:26‒37; Luke 2:8‒14; Luke 20:36; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:14; 1 Peter 1:12; 2 Peter 2:11; Jude 6
We believe in the existence of Satan, who originally was created a holy and perfect angelic being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God. We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age and the ruler of all the powers of darkness, and that he blinds the eyes of unbelievers. We believe that Satan is the author of sin and the cause of the fall of mankind; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and mankind; and that he is destined to the judgment of an eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
Job 1:6‒7; Isaiah 14:12‒17; Ezekiel 28:14‒17; Matthew 4:1‒11; Matthew 13:25, 37‒39; Matthew 25:41; Luke 22:3‒4; John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 11:13‒15; Ephesians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:8‒11; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 2:4; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12:9‒10; Revelation 20:10
We believe that mankind was created in innocence (in the image and likeness of God) by a direct and instantaneous act and not by means of evolutionary processes. In the image of God, the first man and woman possessed intellect, emotion, and will. Although created in innocence under the law of their Maker, by a voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless state, thus mankind sinned in him, in consequence of which all mankind are totally depraved. The result of this depravity is that while still bearing the image of God (intellect, emotion, will) that image is now distorted. As partakers of Adam’s fallen nature, all mankind are sinners by nature and by conduct; and therefore are under just condemnation without excuse or defense. Consequently, instead of pursuing God, fallen man hides from God.
Genesis 1:26‒27; Genesis 3:1‒7; Romans 1:18, 28, 32; Romans 3:10‒19, 22, 23; Romans 5:12, 19; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:1
We believe in salvation by God’s grace through faith alone; that salvation is the free, irrevocable gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or whole by any human virtue or work, but received after the quickening work of the Holy Spirit has brought a person to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ all true believers possess the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish spiritually. We believe that salvation affects the whole person. We believe that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation.
John 1:12; John 3:16; John 10:28‒30; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:25‒26; Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Ephesians 2:8‒9; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Peter 1:3
We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God’s righteousness. We believe that this justification is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood.
Isaiah 53:11; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1‒9; Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:18‒21
We believe that the church exists in two aspects; that the invisible church is the Body of Christ for service and the Bride of Christ for glory; that the local church is a company of baptized believers who, together with their officers, meet regularly for worship, fellowship, instruction in the Word of God, prayer, the observing of the ordinances, and evangelism. We believe the ordinances of a local church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper; that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the holy head of the church (visible and invisible) is Christ.
We believe that the local church has been ordained of God to carry out His work in this age; that it is Scriptural for local churches of like faith and practice to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel, but that every local church is the sole and only judge of the extent and method of its own cooperation within the framework of Biblical revelation. We believe that on all matters of membership, church polity, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final; that its officers are pastor-elders and deacons, whose qualifications are clearly outlined in the Scriptures; that the true mission of the local church is the fulfillment of the Great Commission without any change in the order thereof.
Matthew 26:27‒29; Matthew 28:18‒20; Luke 22:19‒20; Acts 2:41‒42; Acts 6:5‒6; Acts 8:4; Acts 18:8; Acts 14:23; Acts 15:22; Acts 20:28; Romans 6:3‒13; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 5:11‒13; 1 Corinthians 11; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Corinthians 8:23; Ephesians 5:23‒29; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 2:12; 1 Timothy 3:1‒13; 1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Peter 5:1‒4
We believe that there are two church ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; that this baptism shows forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our death to sin and resurrection to newness of life and that it precedes church membership. We believe the Lord’s Supper is the other ordinance of a New Testament church and that by it the sacrificial death of Christ is commemorated by the use of the elements symbolic of the Savior’s sinless body and blood; that the Lord’s Supper is to be preceded by solemn self-examination; that the ordinances have no saving grace, and that they are for believers only.
Matthew 28:19; Matthew 26:27‒ 29; Luke 22:19-20; John 3:22; Acts 2:41‒42; Acts 8:36‒39; Romans 6:3‒5; 1 Corinthians 11:23‒28; Colossians 2:12; Matthew 28:19
We believe in the priesthood of all believers; that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit.
1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 7:24‒25; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 2:27
We believe in the literal record of the Scriptures with regard to the following events: 1) the bodily resurrection of all persons; 2) the pretribulational rapture of the church; 3) the premillennial return of Christ to the earth with His saints and His reign on the earth for 1,000 years; 4) the fulfillment of God’s promises to the nation of Israel; 5) the rise of the Antichrist; 6) the final defeat of Satan and his hosts by Christ, and the consignment of Satan, his hosts of spirit beings and all unbelievers to the lake of fire; 7) the eternal fellowship of the saved with their Savior.
Daniel 7:8, 21‒25; Daniel 9:26‒27; Daniel 11:36‒39; Romans 11:1‒2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13‒18; 2 Thessalonians 2:3‒4; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 12:1‒2, 13‒17; Revelation 19:11; 20:4; Revelation 20:6, 10, 11‒13, 15; Revelation 21; 22
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all, including the authorities themselves, are answerable to God and subject to His inerrant Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We believe that we must obey the state unless it requires us to act contrary to the revealed Word of God. Despite the potential consequences, we must obey God rather than the state.
Exodus 18:21‒22; 2 Samuel 23:3‒4; Psalm 72:11; Daniel 3:17‒18; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 22:15‒22; Acts 4:19, 20; Acts 5:29; Acts 23:5; Romans 13:1‒7; Ephesians 5:22‒24; Titus 3:1‒2; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13‒14
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us with grace, gentleness, patience, and humility. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions.
Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:44‒47; Luke 6:31; John 13:34‒35; Romans 12:9‒ 10; Romans 12:17‒21; 13:8‒10; Philippians 2:2‒4; 2 Timothy 2:24‒ 26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17‒18
- We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders/sexes together reflect the image and nature of God. Altering one’s God-given, biological sex through behavior or surgery is a violation of God’s design for that person and exchanges the truth of God for a lie.
Genesis 1:26‒27; Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6; Romans 1:22‒27
- We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one naturally born man and one naturally born woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God commands and intends sexual intimacy and activity to be reserved for marriage between one naturally born man and one naturally born woman. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a naturally born man and a naturally born woman.
Genesis 2:18‒25; Matthew 19:4‒6; Mark 10:5‒8; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 7:2‒5; Hebrews 13:4
- We believe that any form of sexual activity that deviates from God’s plan for marriage (including, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.
Matthew 15:18‒20; Romans 1:18‒32; 1 Corinthians 6:9‒10; 1 Corinthians 6:18‒20
- We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor with the doctrines of Southgate Baptist Church.
Mark 12:28‒31; Luke 6:31; Acts 3:19‒21; Romans 10:9‒10; 1 Corinthians 6:9‒11
- We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God and that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastor-elders and deacons) of the church.
Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18-19; 1Timothy 2:8‒15; 1Timothy 3:4‒5, 12
- We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values. Parents should not exasperate their children, however, they are responsible for appropriate discipline of their children, including Scripturally sanctioned, corporal correction.
Genesis 1:26‒28; 2:18‒25; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4‒9; Psalm 127:3‒5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13‒14; Mark 10:6‒12; 1 Corinthians 7:1‒16; Ephesians 5:21‒33; 6:1‒4; Colossians 3:18‒21; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1‒7
We believe that God hates divorce and intends for marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. We believe that divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service. While recognizing that there are differing views on this issue amongst godly theologians, our position is that divorced men or those who are married to a woman who was previously divorced are not eligible to serve as a pastor-elder or deacon.
Malachi 2:14‒17; Matthew 19:3‒12; Romans 7:1‒3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth control, or population control, or the physical or mental well-being of the mother are acceptable.
Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:44
Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that a medical action or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a violation of the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate.
Exodus 20:13; 23:7; Matthew 5:21; Acts 17:28
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members.
Matthew 18:15‒17; 1 Corinthians 6:1‒8; Ephesians 4:31‒32