WHAT WE TEACH AND BELIEVE

God 

We believe in the one only true and living God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, who is infinite, eternal, unchanging, and is revealed in nature, and in scripture. We believe that he has been revealed to us in Holy Scripture as God the Father, the Head of the Trinity.

We believe in God the Son, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. We believe that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and walked the earth in human flesh, always fully human, and always fully divine. We believe that he died on the cross, his blood the atoning factor for our sins. We believe that Jesus lived to reveal God the Father, he died to redeem man, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for all believers. We believe that Christ will return one day and will receive His church.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, a person, who is the promise of God the Son, sent from God the Father to convict the world of sin, to comfort the church, and to teach, guide, strengthen and perfect every believer.

We believe in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. One God in three Persons.

The Sinful Nature of Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that after being tempted by Satan, man sinned. Since the original sin, all people have been born in sin. The original tempter was Satan, the personal evil, who with his angels has been working iniquity among the people of the world. Sin is defined as nonconformity to the will of God, and it leads to death and eternal separation from God.

Salvation

We believe that God provided a way for our reconciliation to Him, that Way is Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins with His death on the cross, His blood being the atoning factor. By accepting this redemption, we become joint-heirs with Christ and escape the condemnation and the wrath of God.

We believe that salvation is given to humanity by God’s grace, and received by humanity through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe those who do accept Jesus as savior are eternally secure.  We believe that every Christian is obligated to present the gospel to all mankind, that each may have the opportunity to eternal life.

The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is the absolute authority in determining the faith and practice of God’s people. We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible are inerrant, divinely and uniquely inspired, and are given to mankind written as they were inspired by the Spirit of God. These Scriptures are divinely intended for personal study and interpretation, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Church

We believe the church is a baptized body of believers in Christ covenanted together to obey the teachings of the Bible, in doctrine, worship, and practice.  We believe that the church is the Bride of Christ, and is His representative in the world, until his return.

We believe baptism to be the symbolic act of a saved believer representing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We believe that water baptism in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is in keeping with the command of Christ, as given in the scripture.

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is to be observed by the church by the taking of bread and wine as a memorial of the Lord’s death.

WHAT WE DO

WE EXALT THE SAVIOR IN WORSHIP 

The Bible instructs us to Love the Lord with all of our hearts, soul, and might. (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30)   We demonstrate our love for God in many ways, but worship is the ultimate priority for the believer. Worship is honor and adoration directed to God. It is our innermost being responding to God with praise, not only for all that he has done but also responding to all that he is. We worship God because He is God. Because He is God, He is good. Worship is coming to grips with the reality of the holiness of God. We exalt God or worship him through our actions, attitudes, words, and thoughts. Our goal in worship is to be totally and completely obsessed and consumed with who God is, and what He has done for us. Every other thought and concern takes a back seat to the glory that God has revealed to us through His Word and reinforces through the Holy Ghost. This is true exaltation. (John 4:23-24) Worship is done in a corporate setting. The people of God come together to worship God together. (Psalms 34:3, Hebrews 10:25)

WE ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER IN FELLOWSHIP  

We come together to worship, but we also come together in fellowship. We become part of the fellowship of believers through baptism. Jesus gave us the command to baptize. Baptism is not a symbol of salvation, nor is it a requirement to be saved. Baptism is a symbol of fellowship. It’s an outward manifestation of our incorporation into the body of Christ. (Ephesians 2:19; 1 Peter 2:9) The church is a body of Christ. Jesus Christ is the head, and all believers comprise the body. We are to belong, not just believe. The purpose of the body is for each part of the body to work in harmony with every other part, for the good of each part and the whole. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) Fellowship is predicated on the commandment of God that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:39) The members of the church are to love each other, just as Christ loved the church. (John 13:34, 15:12) Fellowship involves being concerned and involved in the lives of your Brothers and Sisters in Christ. (Romans 12:15) It is our fellowship with one another that serves as the litmus of our relationship with God. (1 John 3:14; 1 John 4:7-21)

WE EQUIP EACH OTHER BY DISCIPLESHIP 

Equipping is the same as being prepared. Discipleship is the process of becoming prepared. We are all called to be Disciples of Christ. In being a disciple, it is our job to make disciples. (Mark 1:17) The first order of making disciples is teaching. Jesus told us to make disciples by teaching them. (Matthew 28:20) The church is to preach Jesus, warning, and teaching, so that everyone may be presented man perfect in Christ Jesus. (Colossians 1:28)  God has given every believer certain gifts or talents that are to be used for the building of God’s kingdom. Not everyone has the same gift, but everyone has the same purpose for his or her gift. God builds his kingdom through the lives of people who are a part of the kingdom. Each gift that God gives us is for the benefit of one another and for the kingdom. (Ephesians 4:1-16) The church is to prepare its members to become and develop as disciples.

WE EVANGELIZE THROUGH STEWARDSHIP  

The Great Commission given to the church by Jesus himself is to evangelize. What that means is that the believer is commanded by Christ to be a witness. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47-49; John 20:21; Acts 1:8) Many believe that to fulfill this command one must become a full-time evangelist as a vocation. However, evangelism is not necessarily a vocation, but rather a way of life. Stewardship is what you do with the resources that God has entrusted you with. Stewardship involves your time, your abilities, your influence, and your money. Evangelism through personal stewardship involves how you invest what you have in order to win others to Christ. We are all stewards, and God requires of us faithful stewardship. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

WHO WE ARE

Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church is a covenant church. A covenant is a contract or promise. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have entered into a covenant with God. We are saved because we believed in the promises God made to us. First and foremost, he promised us eternal life. He also promised to never leave or forsake us, He promised to give us strength when we are weak, to be our help in trouble. The list goes on and on. There are literally hundreds of promises that God has made us in His word. However, there are always two sides to a contract, God promises us, but we also promise him. He promises to save us, we promise to submit to him. He promises to lead us, we promise to follow. The biggest promise or covenant agreement that we have with God is to simply trust him. God requires that we must have faith. In fact, it’s impossible to please God without faith. (Hebrews 11:6)

To hold up to our end of the covenant with God, we must have faith and also be faithful. We are in covenant with God as individuals, but also collectively as His church. The church covenant is an agreement with God, and with one another to be faithful to God, to his church, and to each other.

Each member of the Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church promises to do all within their power to keep the promises we made to God, His church, and His people. The promise is to be faithful. We are faithful to God because God is faithful to us. We are faithful to the church because the church belongs to God. We are faithful to each other because we are the church, God’s people.

We ask each new member to sign a copy of the Commitment Covenant. We want you to keep it, study it, and strive to stay in accordance with it. Remember, the promise you make is ultimately not to man, but it’s a covenant with God.