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Written by Gregory Scalise

Category: The Life of the Church

Published: 17 October 2022

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What We Believe 

These selections are taken from the network of churches we belong to, the American Baptist Churches USA; you can learn more about our network here.

Foremost among beliefs firmly held by American Baptists is the acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and our Lord, and that through belief in Him we are assured of eternal fellowship with a loving God. For us, the foundation of Christian belief–and the greatest event in all history–is the drama of the first Easter week: the death of Christ, in which He took upon Himself all the sins of the world, and the Resurrection, which offers glorious proof of His teaching and His triumph over sin and death.

Holy Scripture always has been for us the most authoritative guide to knowing and serving the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer). As the divinely-inspired word of God, the Bible for us reveals our faith and its mandated practice.

American Baptists partake of two ordinances exemplifying obedience to our Lord’s commands: believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We insist that baptism be administered only to those who have the maturity to understand its profound significance: resurrection to new life in Christ. And we follow the biblical example set by Christ when we fully immerse in water, a beautiful symbolic statement of that new life. The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, commemorates the sacrifice of our Lord. The bread and cup that symbolize the broken body and shed blood offered by Christ remind us today of God’s great love for us–just as they did for the disciples 2,000 years ago on the eve of the crucifixion

We have taken to heart the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19–the call to evangelism: “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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (NRSV). Since 1814, American Baptist churches and the mission societies they created have been committed to mission: to see the glory of God revealed in all the earth; to see Jesus Christ proclaimed as Savior and Lord to all people and nations; to see churches started and growing; to see the renewal of God’s creation; and to see God’s justice and peace reign in all the world.

We take seriously all that Christ did during His brief but momentous years of teaching and nurturing disciples and followers. We accept the ministries Christ modeled as our ministries. In sincere imitation of our Savior’s work, we have attempted to be holistic. Understanding God’s word as revealed in Scripture is of great importance to us, and our churches have emphasized learning and teaching as vital responsibilities. And because Christ ministered to the physical needs of persons and acted as an advocate for those who had been mistreated, we hold that seeking justice is an important component of ministry. We accept the wisdom of the New Testament writer James, who maintained that those who truly have faith in Christ necessarily live out that faith expressing compassion for others for whom He died.

Upcoming Events:

         Giant Church Yard Sale. -  Saturday, June 11. 9AM to 2 PM  Furniture, small appliances, dishes, glassware, old tools, some old toys, picture frames, and miscellaneous items. 

         Mansfield Family Fun Night- Tuesday, July 13   6PM to 9PM. Cotton Candy for Sale. Come join the fun and take a tour of the church.

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Written by Thomas Dill

Category: The Life of the Church

Published: 03 June 2016

Hits: 8529

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Written by Betty Cheyne

Category: The Life of the Church

Published: 08 March 2021

Hits: 1245

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Written by Joomla

Category: The Life of the Church

Published: 09 January 2011

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A church that has been here in Mansfield since 1838, we are an integral part of Mansfield's Fabric. Sustained through a church fire and other key events in town History, ours is a varied and colorful past. Today we enter the 21st century with a state of the art web site. Some old, some new!

Read more: Our History