Mission and Vision

We believe that when people receive God’s gift of salvation, they are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism is a sign of our new life in Christ and our experience of being cleansed from sin.

Baptism by water is a public sign that a person has repented of sin, received forgiveness of sin, experienced newness of life through Christ, and received the Holy Spirit. Baptism is a sign of the believer’s incorporation into the body of Christ.

Baptism is for those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and commit themselves to follow Christ in obedience. Baptism is for those who understand its meaning, are able to be accountable to Christ and the church, and voluntarily request it on the basis of their faith response to Jesus Christ.

We practice water baptism by immersion. However, we recognize those who have been baptized by another mode after their personal confession of faith. We encourage those who were baptized as infants and wish to become members of Summerland Baptist Church to be baptized upon their personal confession of faith.

Matthew 3:13-17; 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:2-6; 1 Corinthians 12:13

The Bible

We believe the Bible is God’s word, fully inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters of life. (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

God

We believe there is one God, creator of heaven and earth, who exists eternally as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 4:6)

God The Father

We believe that God the Father is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever present, unchanging, holy, and loving and has chosen to fully reveal himself through Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1; Psalm 139; Isaiah 6:1-3; Matthew 6:9-10; John 3:16)

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is God in human form, fully God and fully man. He was conceived through the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, was crucified, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father as our advocate. (Mark14:61-62; Luke 1:34-35; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:22-24)

Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity who indwells every believer for the purposes of comforting, equipping, guiding, and empowering to draw us closer to God. (John 14:15–18; John 16:13-14; Romans 8:26-27)

People

We believe all people were created by God in his image and therefore are precious to him. However, every person is a sinner by nature and commits sin by choice. Therefore, without a relationship with Jesus Christ every person is alienated from God. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3: 1-23; Romans 3:23; Colossians 1:21)

Eternity

We believe that people were created to exist forever, either in union with God through salvation and forgiveness from sin or eternally separated from God by sin. (John 3:16; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:23)

Salvation
We believe that God’s desire is for us to live in communion with him. By his grace he has provided the way, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Salvation is received by faith, not by works and is demonstrated by repentance. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 14:6; Titus 3:5)

Baptism

We believe baptism in water is a personal step of obedience, following the example and command of Jesus, identifying us fully with him. (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-5)

The Church

We believe the church is the family of God and is the hope of the world, commissioned to care for one another and to reach those alienated from God, so that together we might become fully devoted followers of Christ. (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:19; Colossians 1:18; 1 Peter 2: 9-10)

Christ’s Return

We believe followers of Christ need to be ready because at a time known only to God, Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return to establish his Kingdom, just as he said. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelations 21:1-2; Revelations 22:12-13)

Membership: Is it really important?

The New Testament (N.T.) is pretty clear that every local church had people who were members. Unlike our current culture that distinguishes between members and non-members (just try shopping at Costco as a non-member for a current example of this), the N.T. church did not have anything like that. The Church of the first century consisted of members and non-Christian observers who were checking out what this new faith was all about. It was pretty simple and clear: if you were a follower of Christ, you were a member of a local Church.

Some Christians currently question whether they need to have an official church home in which they participate as members. They point out that the N.T. nowhere teaches that you should take up membership in a local church and that most steps of membership and expectations of members are in fact just to meet the requirements of our current society laws. That is a good point, but it misses the larger N.T. message. For instance, the illustrative imagery of the N.T. repeatedly urges Christians to work together like a body or a family in their local church. This body or family of believers clearly had some concept of church membership since there were numerical records: records of widows, selection of church leaders, church discipline and accountability. Indeed the N.T. also tells us that those who filled their roles well as members in a local church could be considered for leadership roles like being a Deacon or an Elder. They clearly had all of the components of membership that some people currently view as ‘legalistic’ present in the N.T. church.

At Summerland Baptist Church, we believe that membership in the church is important and is in fact a natural step of faith and obedience. When we voluntarily align ourselves with a family of faith and willingly commit to loving God and loving people in a specific community, we put ourselves exactly where Jesus wants us to be. We live out our community relationships by following him together as a family of faith, encouraging one another, holding one another accountable, caring for each other and doing our best to love God and love people. To do this well, and to follow Jesus fully, we need to be where Jesus wants us to be. We need to be an active member of his body expressed through membership in a local church.

In our cultural context, membership is worked out a little differently than in the N.T., but the differences in culture don’t negate the larger truth – the Bible assumes every follower of Christ will be an active member of a local church. That is why we encourage you to actively attend, support, serve, pray for and officially join your local church. We believe it is what Jesus desires for us.

1 Corinthians 14:24-25; Acts 2:37-47; 1 Timothy 5:3-16; Acts 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 5; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-10; Matthew 16:18

1. Salvation

We believe that salvation through Jesus is the only hope for the healing of our relationship with God, each other, ourselves and creation.

2. Prayer

Prayer is foundational to our personal relationship with God and for seeking God’s purpose and direction for the Church.

3. Worship

It is our intention to cultivate lives of worship. Worship within the context of SBC takes place through individual surrender to God’s Holy Spirit in times of service, study, music, relationship and giving.

4. Spiritual Gifts

We seek to recognize and encourage the use of individual spiritual gifts and the active involvement of all believers in every aspect of Church and community life.

5. Discipleship

In the context of personal pursuit and intentional living, discipleship mentoring is prioritized for the spiritual development and training of all believers resulting in service in their areas of giftedness.

6. People

It is our intention to cultivate a friendly, caring environment that is welcoming to newcomers and addresses the needs of families and people of all ages.

7. Service

We desire to address the needs of people in Summerland and throughout the world as an expression of the love of Jesus while sharing the gospel message of forgiveness and redemption.

8. Small Groups

We value the development and nurturing of small groups as a place where spiritual growth can happen in a context of caring relationships in which people actively participate in encouraging, challenging, praying, serving and learning together.