VALUES STATEMENT FOR FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF GAINESVILLE
We are Christ-Centered.
We value Christ as the center of our faith which means we strive to live and love like Jesus taught. Jesus is our great teacher, whose words guide us as our own life stories unfold. Jesus Christ is the “author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
Everyone is loved here.
According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second greatest, he said, is to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, we love our neighbors. (Matt. 22:34-40) Who then is our neighbor? Each person is our neighbor.
Everyone here is imperfect, but everyone is growing to be like Jesus.
None of us at First Baptist Church are perfect. Our heart’s desire, however, is to grow to look and act more like Jesus. We value the following gifts for growing together in love: prayer, study of the Bible, fellowship with one another, worship, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We are Bible-based.
Throughout Christian history, the Bible has inspired and informed followers of Jesus. At First Baptist Church, we value the historic Baptist principle of “Bible freedom,” which simply means the Bible is central in the life of the individual and the church. Each person is challenged to experience the joy of understanding the Bible. So, we provide a variety of resources to that end, including our worship services (where the Bible is preached), small study groups, mentorship, books, and classes for all ages.
We value partnering with other Christians locally and globally as we share God’s grace.
At FBC, we value partnerships with individuals, organizations, other churches, or denominations. We work locally and globally to share in practical ways the love of Jesus for everyone. So, we join with others in the great adventure of being the presence of Jesus wherever we go.
We value prayer as a spiritual practice to deepen our friendship with God, our relationships with others, and our personal growth as individual human beings.
We believe prayer is an essential practice to grow in “wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and others” just as Jesus did. (Luke 2:52) Prayer is a practice that helps us find joy and peace in Christ, that helps us discover God’s work in our lives and the world, that gives us the spiritual strength to change our lives to be more like Jesus, and that inspires us as we see God answer the prayers of God’s people.