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Who We Are and What We Believe
The people of God at First Baptist Church in Thomson, Georgia, have a long and rich heritage of faith and practice that goes back to November 14, 1859. Dr. William Pitts, a local pharmacist and a member of the Sweetwater Baptist Church a few miles south on the Wrens Highway, along with a few members of Sweetwater were led by God to found a Baptist Church closer to town. It became the Thomson Baptist Church and later took the name of the First Baptist Church in Thomson.
We are a people who embrace all that is wonderful and good in the Christian faith with particular emphasis on those Biblical teachings and principles that we hold dear.
Below are our core values and Baptist distinctives.
OUR CORE VALUES
- The Lordship of Jesus Christ: We believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of the world. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6
- Evangelism: We are driven to reach people with the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…” Matthew 28:19
- Service: We celebrate the spiritual gifts of every believer and encourage believers to use their spiritual gifts by serving God and His Church for His Glory. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” James 1:22
- Worship: We make private worship and the corporate worship of God a hight priority. Jesus said, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” Matthew 4:10b
- Discipleship: We hold to the authority of the Bible as the inspired Word of God and use it as the source for educating our church about God and His plans for His church. “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17
- Missions and Ministry: We are committed to missions and ministry as we reach our hurting world. Jesus taught in a parable, “As often as you did it unto the least of these, my brothers, you did it unto me.” Matthew 25:4
OUR BAPTIST DISTINCTIVES
- We practice baptism by immersion as a witness of one’s faith in Jesus Christ.
- We practice a Lord’s Supper of grace. Anyone who professes Jesus Christ as Lord is welcomed to receive the Lord’s Supper when it is served.
- We practice soul freedom. We believe everyone is free to go directly to God in prayer to seek salvation, daily encouragement, strength and counsel.
- We practice the priesthood of every believer. We believe every believer is a priest before God to serve Him, the church and community.
- We practice the autonomy of the local church. This means we are free to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to determine our beliefs and values, our worship and our mission, to select our leadership, and relate to other churches to minister through missions, education and benevolence.
- We practice the separation of church and state. We believe in the free exercise of religious faith without government interference and we believe no laws should be established to support one religious group over another.
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