Our Beliefs
Calvary Baptist Church of Chester, PA is one of 5,200 congregations (with over 1.3 million members!) of American Baptist Churches USA that share with more than 42 million Baptist around the world, a common tradition begun in the early 17th century. That tradition has emphasized :
The Lordship and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Believers’ baptism.
The competency of all believers to be in direct relationship with God and to interpret Scripture.
The importance of the local church.
The assurance of freedom in worship and opinion.
The need to be Christ’s witnesses within society.
We are committed to the Bible as the divinely-inspired word of God to the local church, to mission, to service, and to evangelism.
The following are representative of the tradition and practice of American Baptist :
1. American Baptist believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God that serves as the final written authority for living out the Christian faith.
2. For American Baptist, the local church is the fundamental unit of mission in denominational life.
3. American Baptist partake of two ordinances : believers’ baptism and The Lord’s Supper
4. American Baptist believe that the committed individual Christian can and should approach God directly, and that individual gifts of ministry should be shared.
5. American Baptist take seriously the call to evangelism and missionary work.
6. American Baptist support religious freedom and respect the expressions of faith of others.
7. American Baptist acknowledge that God’s family extends beyond our local churches, and that God calls us to cooperative ministries.
8. American Baptist have been called to be Christ’s witnesses for justice and wholeness within a broken society.
9. American Baptist celebrate the racial, cultural, and theological diversity witnessed within it’s membership.
10. American Baptist heed the biblical call to renewal and the need for a vital witness in a new millennium.
The Church Covenant – Calvary Baptist Church
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 Ghost, we do now in the presence of God, angels, 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 it’s prosperity and spirituality; to sustain it’s worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrine; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; 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 deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from all intemperate acts; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other Church, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
And now unto Him, who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, be Power and Glory forever.
Amen.