What We Believe

WHAT WE BELIEVE

At South Hill Bible Church, we believe….

1. The Bible, as originally given by God, is the complete Word of God, verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible (in every word) and therefore wholly without error. It is the final authority for Christian faith, worship, and conduct.
2. Jesus Christ the only begotten Son, was born of a virgin, died, and raised bodily from the grave.
3. All people have sinned, and sin spiritually separates everyone from God.
4. God offers redemption and restoration to all who seek His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ who died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice.
5. Salvation from sin cannot be earned by good works but is the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
6. Baptism and the sealing of the Holy Spirit take place at salvation. Through saving faith in Jesus Christ, we are eternally kept by the power of God.
7. The saved will be raised bodily into eternal blessedness and the unsaved into everlasting punishment.
8. There are two ordinances that are for believers only: baptism by immersion (whenever possible) and the Lord’s Supper.
9. The imminent, personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ will take place before the millennium.
10. God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship is immoral and therefore sin.
11. God created humans male and female and all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than God’s ordained gender established at conception is immoral and therefore sin.

(This is an informal summary of our current, as of June 26, 2022, doctrinal statement found in Article 3 of the SHBC By-Laws.)

VISION & MISSION

Our Vision: Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!

To them [saints] God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)

The Mission of South Hill Bible Church is, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

to fulfill the Lord’s Great Commission

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

and the Great Commandment

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

in every sphere of our lives, so that our triune God may be glorified in our lives both individually and corporately. We will do so in three main areas of emphasis.

WINNING people to Christ through individual and corporate outreach. This will be accomplished:
- By faithful teaching of the Word (content and conduct) to all men and women, boys and girls of all ages.
  - teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

- By humble reliance on the power and leading of the Holy Spirit,
  - If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)
  - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)
  - Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Acts 2:33)
  - And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)
  - So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31)
- By training and encouragement to share Christ with others,
  - but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (1 Peter 3:15)

BUILDING up new believers to maturity in their faith and strengthening the faith of mature believers. “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith…” (Jude 1:20). This will be accomplished:
- By faithful teaching of the Word (content and conduct) to all men and women, boys and girls of all ages. (Matthew 28:20)
- By use of intentional methods for discipling new believers. (1 Thes 5:11, Jude 1:20)
- By providing opportunities for fellowship and the building of strong relationships.
- By providing opportunities for accountability with and to each other.
- By intentionally developing a new generation of Christian leaders.

SENDING believers out into the mission field, (Matthew 28:18-20). Whether the field is their families, their neighborhoods, their workplaces, their cities, or to other lands – wherever the Lord leads. This will be accomplished:
- By keeping missions and missionaries visible to the congregation. Activities which support this goal may include
  - Making our supported missionaries known.
  - Having our supported missionaries speak to the congregation when they are in town or in the field (via technology).
  - Sponsoring and sending people (youth and adults) on short-term mission trips.
  - Sponsoring and sending people to courses such as Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.
  - Sponsoring and encouraging attendance at mission conferences.
- By connecting missionaries in the field with those who feel the Lord leading them to missions.

We will also look for ways to partner with other like-minded local churches and para-church organizations to accomplish any of the above areas of emphasis.

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