Our Church . . .
History:
Heritage Baptist Church’s beginnings go back to
1976, when a group of 117 people from Farmville Baptist Church met
to form a new Baptist congregation in Farmville. Since that time,
our ministries and our facilities have been blessed with growth.
Today, Heritage Baptist Church offers the Farmville community two
distinct worship services – an 9:00 am informal worship service led
by a praise team and a traditional service featuring a sanctuary
choir at 11:00 am.
In addition, our programs on Wednesday nights and Sunday Bible
Studies provide opportunities for spiritual growth and fellowship.
In early 1998, Heritage opened the Heritage Weekday Education
center as a ministry to working parents in the Farmville area.
Today, our center provides Christian daycare to over 75 children. An
after-school program was added in 2002, caring for about 20 boys and
girls until their parents complete their workday. Christian
caregivers and teachers are having a positive impact on our
community.
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What We Believe:
Heritage Baptist Church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of
“The Baptist Faith and Message” as adopted by the Southern Baptist
Convention in 1963. We band ourselves together as a body of baptized
believers in Jesus Christ personally committed to sharing the good
news of salvation to lost mankind. The ordinances of our church are
Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
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Our Covenant:
As
a body of believers, the members of Heritage Baptist Church are held
together by our covenant with one another.
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to
receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and, on the profession
of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we now, in the presence of God and
this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with
one another as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk
together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this
church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort;
To promote its
prosperity and spirituality;
To
sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; and to
give it a sacred pre-eminence over all institutions of human origin;
To
contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry,
to the expenses of the church, to the relief of the needy, and to
the spread of the Gospel through all nations;
To
maintain family and secret devotions; to educate our children in the
truths of our faith; and to seek the salvation of our kindred and
acquaintances;
To
walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings,
faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our conduct; to
promote temperance in all things; and to be zealous in our efforts
to advance the Kingdom of our Savior;
To
watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in
prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; and to be slow
to take offense and always ready to seek reconciliation;
To
unite with another church upon removal from this place, in order to
carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s
Word.
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Affiliations:
Heritage Baptist Church is a local self-governing
(autonomous) church affiliated with the Southside Baptist
Association, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the
Southern Baptist Convention, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
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Baptism:
As
Baptists, we believe in baptism by immersion. Baptism is the act of
a believing Christian who desires to publicly acknowledge his
or her personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It is the symbolic
washing away of the old, sinful past and the rising again to
life in God’s grace. The act of baptism is the outward
expression of an inward decision.
Baptism illustrates Jesus’ burial and resurrection. From 1
Corinthians 15:3-4, we read, “…..Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised….”
Baptism does not make you a believer; it is a demonstration
that you already believe. It is important to understand that baptism
does not “save” you. You are “saved” only by your faith
in Jesus.
When is a good time to get baptized? As soon as you believe,
there is no reason to delay. As soon as you have confidence to trust
Christ with your life, you can and should be baptized. If you are
waiting until you feel you are perfect, you’ll never be ready. As
the Bible tells us in Acts 8:35-38, “Those who believed were
baptized…..that day!”
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Stewardship:
In
Luke 12:42-43, Jesus teaches us about stewardship. Stewardship is
God’s command to us to be responsible managers, accountable to God,
of all the things with which God has entrusted us. Thus, good
stewards are responsible managers of:
Life
– Every person is responsible to God for how he lives the life that
God gave him.
Others
– We are responsible for overseeing and caring for other servants.
This means that we are to care for and help others in need, but it
also means that we are to help each other grow in spirituality.
The
Gospel – The steward is accountable to God for faithfully
proclaiming His word.
Spiritual
Gifts – All of us have received gifts of God’s grace. A good steward
will faithfully use his gifts as God intended – to serve others and
glorify God.
Material
Things – God gives us material gifts too and our duty as his steward
is to responsibly manage these gifts and to use them as God
intended. We are to follow God’s example and give generously to meet
human needs and to accomplish God’s purpose in the world.
God appointed you as His steward. That’s a very special
relationship of trust. God made you his steward and he trusts you to
faithfully manage this responsibility.
Heritage Baptist Church believes in good stewardship – we are
accountable to God for how we manage all he has entrusted to us.
From the programs we conduct through how we manage the business of
the Church, we’re constantly striving to be good stewards both as a
body of Christ and as individual Christians.
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Membership
in Heritage Baptist Church:
There are several ways to join Heritage Baptist Church. At the close
of every worship service, an invitational hymn is sung. If you’d
like to join this congregation, simply walk forward and indicate to
the minister that you want to join the Church. You may also contact
the minister during the week and state your desire to become a
member.
Once you decide to join, there are several ways to become a
full member:
1. By Baptism. Any person who publicly professes faith in
Jesus Christ, followed by baptism by immersion and an affirmative
vote of the congregation shall be a member.
2. By Transfer of Letter. Any person who is a member
of another church of similar faith and practice, and who has
experienced baptism by immersion, shall be a member upon an
affirmative vote of the congregation and the receipt of a letter of
transfer from their previous church.
3. By Statement of Faith. Any person who has publicly
professed faith in Jesus Christ, has been baptized by immersion, and
has been a member of a church of similar faith and practice, shall
be a member upon an affirmative vote of the congregation.
Persons desiring to keep their membership in their home
church while participating in the life of this church may join by
Watchcare. This may also be done during the invitational hymn at
the conclusion of the worship service. No transfer or change in
church membership shall take place, but Watchcare members shall be
assigned a deacon, encouraged to participate in a Sunday Bible
study, other church functions, and treated as members. They shall be
given membership materials, such as offering envelopes, a copy of
the church Constitution, etc. However, Watchcare members cannot vote
on church matters or hold critical committee memberships.
After you have completed these steps, you will be invited to
attend the next “New Member Orientation.”
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