We believe that God has placed us in communities— our family community, our church community, and our local community. We desire to see each of these communities transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We take spiritual responsibility for the community in which we belong.

1.  The Scriptures: The Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
2. God: There is one and only one living and true God. He reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
   1. God the Father: He reigns with providential care over the universe He created, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to His purposes.
   2. God the Son: Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation, He was conceived by the Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Taking upon Himself the human nature, He lived a perfect life in obedience to the Father. He died a substitutionary death on the cross which has made provision for redemption of humans from sin. He was buried and raised on the third day and appeared to His disciples. He then ascended to Heaven where He presently resides at the right hand of God the Father and serves as the Mediator between God and man.
   3. God the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired the writers of the Bible. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin. He draws men to the Savior. He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ at the moment of regeneration. He bestows spiritual gifts upon every believer for the purpose of serving the church and fulfilling the Great Commission.
3. Man: Man is God’s special creation, made in His own image. They were created by God as male and female. They were created by God as innocent of sin and given freedom and choice by their Creator. Through his own choice, man sinned against God and brought sin to the entire human race. Each man is born with an inclination toward sin and can only be redeemed by God’s grace. Being image bearers, every man possesses dignity of life.
4. Salvation: Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who surrender their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There can be no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
5. God’s Purpose of Grace: Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with both the sovereignty of God and the free agency of man. Every true believers will endure to the end.
6. The Church: A New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by a covenant agreement. A local church observes two ordinances, is governed by God’s laws, exercises their spiritual gifts, and seeks to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
7. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of each local church. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act symbolizing the believers faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life. It is a visible testimony of faith in Christ Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church memorialize the death of Christ and anticipate His second coming.
8. The Lord’s Day: The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for regular observance. It is set aside to commemorate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion — both public and private.
9. The Kingdom: The Kingdom of God refers to both God’s general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge His as King. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.
10. Last Things: God, in His own way and His own time, will bring the world to its appropriate end. Jesus will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be condemned to Hell for eternity. The righteous will be resurrected and given new bodies and rewards.
11. Evangelism and Missions: It is both the duty and the privilege of every follower of Jesus and of every church to seek to make disciples of all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness accompanied by a Christian lifestyle.
12. Education: Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ’s people. In Christian education, there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility.
13. Stewardship: God is the source of all blessings, both temporal and spiritual and all that we have we owe to Him. As prescribed by the Scripture, Christians should contribute of their means regularly, cheerfully, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of God’s word on earth. This giving is done primarily through their local church.
14. Cooperation: Christ’s people should, as occasion requires and allows, organize into associations and conventions to best advance the Kingdom of God. This cooperation serves only to carry forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries and in no way should have authority over an individual local church. At FBC Union, we partner with the Newton County Baptist Association, the Mississippi Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention.
15. The Christian and the Social Order: Christians are under a biblical obligation to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of biblical principles.
16. Peace and War: It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all on principles of righteousness and should do all in our power to put an end to war. Christians recognize that the true remedy for war and the true promotion peace comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
17. Religious Liberty: God alone is the Lord of the conscience. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. No ecclesiological or denominational group should be shown special favor by the state. Similarly, the church should not resort or delegate to the civil authorities to carry out the work of the church. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.
18. The Family: God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is specifically designed as the union of one man and one woman for a lifetime. The husband and wife are both equal partners in the marriage, but with unique roles and responsibilities. Children, from the moment of their conception, are a blessing from the Lord. Parents are to model a proper marriage for their children and are to serve as the primary disciple-makers of their children. Children are to honor and obey their parents.