Our History
Pastor Ensley and his wife Arlene arrived on America’s Last Frontier at Prince of Wales Island, Alaska in June of 1995. With the call of God on their lives, their courageous mission was to start an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church. The purpose was to spread the Gospel of Christ and strengthen Christians of the land.
In September of the same year, New Hope Baptist Church held its first modest service in the Klawock School. In May of 1997 the Church moved to Isaacs Hardware Store and later to the Bell Tower Mall, also in Klawock. There it successfully continued to grow for years before moving to the City of Craig where the Church met in the band room in the Middle School. Since September of 2002, the church has had its own building located on Tanner Crab Court in the beautiful port town of Craig, Alaska.
New Hope will continue to teach all in attendance the blessings of living according to the teachings of God’s Word, with the full assurance of Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
In September of the same year, New Hope Baptist Church held its first modest service in the Klawock School. In May of 1997 the Church moved to Isaacs Hardware Store and later to the Bell Tower Mall, also in Klawock. There it successfully continued to grow for years before moving to the City of Craig where the Church met in the band room in the Middle School. Since September of 2002, the church has had its own building located on Tanner Crab Court in the beautiful port town of Craig, Alaska.
New Hope will continue to teach all in attendance the blessings of living according to the teachings of God’s Word, with the full assurance of Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
OUR TESTIMONY
New Hope Baptist Church is an Independent, Fundamental, King James, Baptist Church.
Established on August 31, 1997 by pastor Richard Ensley and co-founding pastor Justin Tony Parham, New Hope Baptist Church seeks to reach lost souls through the preaching of the Word of God. New Hope is a local Church that exists to serve as pillar and ground of the truth. NHBC members believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of all mankind’s sin an in the eternal security of all believers. We also place our faith in the divine virgin birth of Jesus Christ and His part in the Trinity of the Godhead. (1 Timothy 3:15)
New Hope Baptist Church also practices the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and the Baptism of believers in Jesus Christ under the command of the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20. New Hope believes in the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, given at Salvation. This was accomplished for the Lord’s work through His local church to assist others in knowing God.
This missionary burden for souls extends to the world over and has accelerated our cause for Christ. NHBC is not a museum for saints; but rather a place of service; not a perfect haven for the sinless, but a hospital for sinners saved by God's ever presence and Grace.
New Hope Baptist Church: preaching Christ as our only hope.
New Hope Baptist Church also practices the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and the Baptism of believers in Jesus Christ under the command of the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20. New Hope believes in the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, given at Salvation. This was accomplished for the Lord’s work through His local church to assist others in knowing God.
This missionary burden for souls extends to the world over and has accelerated our cause for Christ. NHBC is not a museum for saints; but rather a place of service; not a perfect haven for the sinless, but a hospital for sinners saved by God's ever presence and Grace.
New Hope Baptist Church: preaching Christ as our only hope.
OuR DOCTRINE
(NHBC Statement of Faith)
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the following Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.
SECTION I – THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe the sixty-six (66) books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God, inerrant, infallible, immutable, complete, final, and only revealed Word of God, preserved in the King James Version for the English speaking people, that it is the supreme and final authority of faith and practice. God has preserved the Holy Scriptures for us today, and they are the standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. We preach and teach with the Authorized King James Version Bible of 1611. (Psalm 119:89, 152; Isaiah 40:8; 11 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 11 Peter 1:19-21).
SECTION II – THE PERSON OF GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, wo is an infinite Spirit. This one God eternally and equally exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Supreme, Sovereign, Perfect Creator and Ruler of Heaven and Earth. Who is worthy of all possible praise, honor, and love. (Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20; John 4:24; 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7; Revelation 4:11).
SECTION III – THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe Jesus Christ to be God’s Only Begotten Son, who has eternally existed as God, and who is the true God man. We believe in the virgin birth, conceived of the Holy Spirit. His sinless life substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, and present High Priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. We further believe in the personal, visible, imminent, pretribulation, and premillennial return of Jesus Christ. Who will rule and reign forevermore. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-25; Luke 1:30-35; Juhn1:1-14; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 11:15).
SECTION IV – THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is an agent of the New Birth through conviction and regeneration, and that He seals and indwells everyone who trusts Christ as Savior. We also believe that the Holy Spirit fills and empowers believers, and that He distributes Spiritual gifts to all believers. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Personality, not a mere force or influence. Who is equal with God the Father and God the Son, and who has=d an active role in creation. Since the Holy Spirit is God. He eternally possesses all the attributes of God. The Holy Spirit’s job is that of restraining the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; convicting of sin, righteousness, and judgement. He seals, endures, guides, teaches, sanctifies, and helps the believer. (Genesis 1:1-3; Luke 24:49; John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Acts 5:32; Romans 8:9, 14-16, 3:26-27, and 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:13, and 13:1-13; 11 Thessalonians 2:7-8; Ephesians 1:13-14, and 2:20, and 4:11-12, and 5:18; 1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 2:3-4).
SECTION V – THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heave, and in His present life there as our High Priest and Advocate. (Matthew 28:1-7; Acts 1:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:4-9; Hebrews 4:14-16).
SECTION VI – THE REALITY OF SATAN
We believe that Satan is a real being, an angelic creation of God, who with other angels, rebelled against Almighty God, desiring to sit upon His throne. Satan is called an ‘angel of light.’ (11 Corinthians 11:14), who along with his demons, desires to devour every Christian, and hinder them in their Christian walk. Satan is under the control of God, and will someday be cast into the lake of fire (Job 1:7-12; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:2, 10)
SECTION VII – THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
We believe that God created all things in the universe in six (6) literal, twenty-four (24) hour days and then rested (ceased) on the seventh day. Therefore, we believe all forms of evolution to be false, including so-called “Theistic Evolution.” God is both the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. (Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17).
SECTION VIII – THE STATE OF MAN
We believe that man, who was created in the image of God, willingly fell into sin and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also Spiritual death, which is separation from God. All human beings are born with a sin nature and are sinners in thought, word, and deed. Because of the fall of man, sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Therefore, without Jesus Christ, all men are destined to spend eternity in Hell. The only way a person can escape the literal, eternal, conscious punishment of Hell fire, and enjoy the everlasting conscious blessedness of Heaven, is by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. (Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 3:1-6; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:23-24; John 3:16; Romans 5:12, 15-19; Revelation 20:10-15; Revelation 21 & 22).
SECTION IX – SALVATION OF SINNERS
We believe that Jesus Christ died as the substitutionary sacrifice for all men. The blood atonement He made is unlimited in its potential. It is limited only in its application, effectively saving all those who call upon the name of the Lord in faith. We believe that salvation is by grace, completely free from any human works or merit, and that through repentance and faith, salvation must be accepted as God’s free gift. Salvation is freely offered to all men since God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The salvation of a sinner is because of a person’s choice to believe on Christ, and not the result of “irresistible grace.” Once a person places their trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they can have full assurance of their salvation, knowing that believers are eternally secure in Christ. (Luke 13:3, 5; John 1:12, 3:16; 5:24; Acts 3:19, 16:31, 17:30, 26:20; Romans 1:16, 10:13, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; II Peter 3:9; I John 5:13).
SECTION X – ETERNAL SECURITY
We believe in the eternal security of the believer, that it is impossible for one who is born into the family of God, ever to be lost, because he is forever kept by the power of God. (I John 10:28-29; I Peter 1:3-5).
SECTION XI – THE CHURCH
We believe that the local church is the agency through which God has chosen to accomplish His work in the world. A New Testament Baptist Church is an organized body of believers, immersed upon a credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ, having two offices (Pastor and Deacon), congregational in polity, autonomous in nature, and banded together for work, worship, edification, the observance of the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
The local church, under the headship of Christ, is to be free from any external hierarchy and should not associate itself with any ecumenical, charismatic, neo-orthodoxy, neo-evangelical, or any other effort which compromises the Truth. We believe the church is to be governed by the Word of God. The financial needs of the local church are to be met by the Scriptural giving of the tithes and offerings of God’s people. It shall be the duty of each member to support God’s ministry here, through their cheerful and regular giving to the local church. (Malachi 3:8-10; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 11:42; Acts 2:41-47; Romans 16:17; I Corinthians 16:1-2; II Corinthians 6:14-17, 9:7; Ephesians 1:22-23, 3:10, 5:23-24; I Timothy 3, 6:3-5; I Peter 5:1-3).
SECTION XII – CHURCH ORDINANCES
We believe there ae two ordinances of the church. Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
A. Believer’s Baptism is to be administered by the local church in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism by immersion is commanded for all believers and is therefore an act of obedience which is symbolic of the believer’s identification with the death, burial, ad resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism signifies the washing away of sins and identifies us with the local church.
B. The Lord’s Supper is to be observed by the church on a regular basis and to be administered with the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, and to be observed by His Church until He returns. This ordinance should always be preceded by solemn self-examination. It is in no sense a re-sacrifice of Christ. Its purpose is to commemorate Christ’s death, to confirm the everlasting covenant in Christ’s blood, and to strengthen union with Christ in His love as well as union and communion with each other. I there is unforgiveness between embers this should be removed before coming to the table. As a guideline, only, the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper shall be observed, in months having five Sundays, on the fifth Sunday. (Matthew 3;16, 28:18-20; John 3:23; Acts 8:33-39; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 26:26-30; I Corinthians 11:2, 23-24).
SECTION XIII – CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT
We believe that the modern day charismatic movement, in all its forms, is unscriptural. We do believe in the power of God and the fullness of the Holy Spirit; however, this power is not evidenced by speaking in an “unknown tongue” or any other manifestation of a “gift.” The Word of God clearly states that when believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the Word of God with boldness. The modern day charismatic movement which officially began in the early 1900s, sidesteps the very reason for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2, when believers were filled with the power of God, they went out into the city, preached the Gospel, went soul winning, and souls were saved. (Acts 2; Acts 4:13, 19, 31).
SECTION XIV – RAPTURE
We believe in the ‘blessed hope,’ the personal, premillennial, pretribulation and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He will gather all believers unto Himself and take them to Heaven. This has been the Blessed Hope of every born-again believer in the Church Age. At that time, He will receive to Himself the resurrected bodies of those who have died in Christ and all those who are presently alive and in Christ. He will then come with His saints seven years thereafter to execute judgment upon the ungodly nations before the inauguration of His earthly millennial reign at His second coming to the earth. The Lord will cast the anti-christ and the false prophet into the Lake of Fire, send Satan into the abyss, and establish His earthly kingdom. The Lord Jesus Chris will reign one thousand years, thus literally fulfilling the covenant promises made to a believing remnant of Israel through the Patriarchs of the Old Testament. After the earthly reign of one thousand years, He will bring all the unsaved dead to the judgment of the Great White Throne and all who stand before that Throne will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever. Satan will also be cast into the Lake of Fire. (Matthew 7:21-23, 24:29-46; John 14:1-3; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:1-10; II Thessalonians 2:1-13; revelation 19:11-20, 20:1-15; I Corinthians 15:50-58; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Isaiah 11:1-16).
SECTION XV – DISPENSATIONALISM
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation but rather, are divine ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations-the age of law, the age of the Church, and the kingdom- are subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Genesis 1:28; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10, 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25, 27; Revelation 20:2-6).
SECTION XVI – SEPARATION
A. ECCLESIASTICAL SEPARATION - This church shall not knowingly support or cooperate with any individual or organization that is a member of, or in support of, the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, the modern Charismatic movement, or any such organization. This church does not adhere to or believe in, Neo-orthodoxy, Neo-evangelicalism, the ecumenical movement, hyper-Calvinism, the modern tongues movement, or any other belief’s or practices which would be in conflict with the doctrinal stand of this church.
B. PERSONAL SEPARATION – We believe the Christians should be separated from the world, and should abstain from all appearance of evil. Each member of this church should strive for a high level of personal separation to be a witness and testimony to a lost world. Rarely is anyone offended by a higher standard, but many are offended by a lower one; therefore, when in doubt, members should choose the higher standard of personal separation for their lives. It is the goal of this church that through the testimony of each member, we might bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 6:19-20, 10”31; II Corinthians 6:17-1; I Thessalonians 5:22; I Peter 1:14-16, 2:9).
SECTION XVII – HUMAN SEXUALITY
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of marriage. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, ad pornography are sinful perversions of God’s original intent for the proper and Biblical sexual relationship. Known homosexuals, transvestites or any other than heterosexual persons will not knowingly become members of New Hope Baptist church. The Deacons/Trustees shall give counsel and assistance areas of exercising a vote. Members may not vote to initiate any New Hope Baptist Church action, but rather the vote of a member is to confirm and ratify the direction the New Hope Baptist Church as determined by the Pastor.
SECTION I – THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe the sixty-six (66) books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God, inerrant, infallible, immutable, complete, final, and only revealed Word of God, preserved in the King James Version for the English speaking people, that it is the supreme and final authority of faith and practice. God has preserved the Holy Scriptures for us today, and they are the standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. We preach and teach with the Authorized King James Version Bible of 1611. (Psalm 119:89, 152; Isaiah 40:8; 11 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 11 Peter 1:19-21).
SECTION II – THE PERSON OF GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, wo is an infinite Spirit. This one God eternally and equally exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Supreme, Sovereign, Perfect Creator and Ruler of Heaven and Earth. Who is worthy of all possible praise, honor, and love. (Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20; John 4:24; 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7; Revelation 4:11).
SECTION III – THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe Jesus Christ to be God’s Only Begotten Son, who has eternally existed as God, and who is the true God man. We believe in the virgin birth, conceived of the Holy Spirit. His sinless life substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, and present High Priestly ministry of Jesus Christ. We further believe in the personal, visible, imminent, pretribulation, and premillennial return of Jesus Christ. Who will rule and reign forevermore. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-25; Luke 1:30-35; Juhn1:1-14; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 11:15).
SECTION IV – THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is an agent of the New Birth through conviction and regeneration, and that He seals and indwells everyone who trusts Christ as Savior. We also believe that the Holy Spirit fills and empowers believers, and that He distributes Spiritual gifts to all believers. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Personality, not a mere force or influence. Who is equal with God the Father and God the Son, and who has=d an active role in creation. Since the Holy Spirit is God. He eternally possesses all the attributes of God. The Holy Spirit’s job is that of restraining the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; convicting of sin, righteousness, and judgement. He seals, endures, guides, teaches, sanctifies, and helps the believer. (Genesis 1:1-3; Luke 24:49; John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Acts 5:32; Romans 8:9, 14-16, 3:26-27, and 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:13, and 13:1-13; 11 Thessalonians 2:7-8; Ephesians 1:13-14, and 2:20, and 4:11-12, and 5:18; 1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 2:3-4).
SECTION V – THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heave, and in His present life there as our High Priest and Advocate. (Matthew 28:1-7; Acts 1:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:4-9; Hebrews 4:14-16).
SECTION VI – THE REALITY OF SATAN
We believe that Satan is a real being, an angelic creation of God, who with other angels, rebelled against Almighty God, desiring to sit upon His throne. Satan is called an ‘angel of light.’ (11 Corinthians 11:14), who along with his demons, desires to devour every Christian, and hinder them in their Christian walk. Satan is under the control of God, and will someday be cast into the lake of fire (Job 1:7-12; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:2, 10)
SECTION VII – THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
We believe that God created all things in the universe in six (6) literal, twenty-four (24) hour days and then rested (ceased) on the seventh day. Therefore, we believe all forms of evolution to be false, including so-called “Theistic Evolution.” God is both the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. (Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17).
SECTION VIII – THE STATE OF MAN
We believe that man, who was created in the image of God, willingly fell into sin and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also Spiritual death, which is separation from God. All human beings are born with a sin nature and are sinners in thought, word, and deed. Because of the fall of man, sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Therefore, without Jesus Christ, all men are destined to spend eternity in Hell. The only way a person can escape the literal, eternal, conscious punishment of Hell fire, and enjoy the everlasting conscious blessedness of Heaven, is by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. (Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 3:1-6; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:23-24; John 3:16; Romans 5:12, 15-19; Revelation 20:10-15; Revelation 21 & 22).
SECTION IX – SALVATION OF SINNERS
We believe that Jesus Christ died as the substitutionary sacrifice for all men. The blood atonement He made is unlimited in its potential. It is limited only in its application, effectively saving all those who call upon the name of the Lord in faith. We believe that salvation is by grace, completely free from any human works or merit, and that through repentance and faith, salvation must be accepted as God’s free gift. Salvation is freely offered to all men since God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The salvation of a sinner is because of a person’s choice to believe on Christ, and not the result of “irresistible grace.” Once a person places their trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they can have full assurance of their salvation, knowing that believers are eternally secure in Christ. (Luke 13:3, 5; John 1:12, 3:16; 5:24; Acts 3:19, 16:31, 17:30, 26:20; Romans 1:16, 10:13, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; II Peter 3:9; I John 5:13).
SECTION X – ETERNAL SECURITY
We believe in the eternal security of the believer, that it is impossible for one who is born into the family of God, ever to be lost, because he is forever kept by the power of God. (I John 10:28-29; I Peter 1:3-5).
SECTION XI – THE CHURCH
We believe that the local church is the agency through which God has chosen to accomplish His work in the world. A New Testament Baptist Church is an organized body of believers, immersed upon a credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ, having two offices (Pastor and Deacon), congregational in polity, autonomous in nature, and banded together for work, worship, edification, the observance of the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
The local church, under the headship of Christ, is to be free from any external hierarchy and should not associate itself with any ecumenical, charismatic, neo-orthodoxy, neo-evangelical, or any other effort which compromises the Truth. We believe the church is to be governed by the Word of God. The financial needs of the local church are to be met by the Scriptural giving of the tithes and offerings of God’s people. It shall be the duty of each member to support God’s ministry here, through their cheerful and regular giving to the local church. (Malachi 3:8-10; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 11:42; Acts 2:41-47; Romans 16:17; I Corinthians 16:1-2; II Corinthians 6:14-17, 9:7; Ephesians 1:22-23, 3:10, 5:23-24; I Timothy 3, 6:3-5; I Peter 5:1-3).
SECTION XII – CHURCH ORDINANCES
We believe there ae two ordinances of the church. Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
A. Believer’s Baptism is to be administered by the local church in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism by immersion is commanded for all believers and is therefore an act of obedience which is symbolic of the believer’s identification with the death, burial, ad resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism signifies the washing away of sins and identifies us with the local church.
B. The Lord’s Supper is to be observed by the church on a regular basis and to be administered with the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, and to be observed by His Church until He returns. This ordinance should always be preceded by solemn self-examination. It is in no sense a re-sacrifice of Christ. Its purpose is to commemorate Christ’s death, to confirm the everlasting covenant in Christ’s blood, and to strengthen union with Christ in His love as well as union and communion with each other. I there is unforgiveness between embers this should be removed before coming to the table. As a guideline, only, the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper shall be observed, in months having five Sundays, on the fifth Sunday. (Matthew 3;16, 28:18-20; John 3:23; Acts 8:33-39; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 26:26-30; I Corinthians 11:2, 23-24).
SECTION XIII – CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT
We believe that the modern day charismatic movement, in all its forms, is unscriptural. We do believe in the power of God and the fullness of the Holy Spirit; however, this power is not evidenced by speaking in an “unknown tongue” or any other manifestation of a “gift.” The Word of God clearly states that when believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the Word of God with boldness. The modern day charismatic movement which officially began in the early 1900s, sidesteps the very reason for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2, when believers were filled with the power of God, they went out into the city, preached the Gospel, went soul winning, and souls were saved. (Acts 2; Acts 4:13, 19, 31).
SECTION XIV – RAPTURE
We believe in the ‘blessed hope,’ the personal, premillennial, pretribulation and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He will gather all believers unto Himself and take them to Heaven. This has been the Blessed Hope of every born-again believer in the Church Age. At that time, He will receive to Himself the resurrected bodies of those who have died in Christ and all those who are presently alive and in Christ. He will then come with His saints seven years thereafter to execute judgment upon the ungodly nations before the inauguration of His earthly millennial reign at His second coming to the earth. The Lord will cast the anti-christ and the false prophet into the Lake of Fire, send Satan into the abyss, and establish His earthly kingdom. The Lord Jesus Chris will reign one thousand years, thus literally fulfilling the covenant promises made to a believing remnant of Israel through the Patriarchs of the Old Testament. After the earthly reign of one thousand years, He will bring all the unsaved dead to the judgment of the Great White Throne and all who stand before that Throne will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever. Satan will also be cast into the Lake of Fire. (Matthew 7:21-23, 24:29-46; John 14:1-3; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:1-10; II Thessalonians 2:1-13; revelation 19:11-20, 20:1-15; I Corinthians 15:50-58; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Isaiah 11:1-16).
SECTION XV – DISPENSATIONALISM
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation but rather, are divine ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations-the age of law, the age of the Church, and the kingdom- are subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Genesis 1:28; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10, 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25, 27; Revelation 20:2-6).
SECTION XVI – SEPARATION
A. ECCLESIASTICAL SEPARATION - This church shall not knowingly support or cooperate with any individual or organization that is a member of, or in support of, the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, the modern Charismatic movement, or any such organization. This church does not adhere to or believe in, Neo-orthodoxy, Neo-evangelicalism, the ecumenical movement, hyper-Calvinism, the modern tongues movement, or any other belief’s or practices which would be in conflict with the doctrinal stand of this church.
B. PERSONAL SEPARATION – We believe the Christians should be separated from the world, and should abstain from all appearance of evil. Each member of this church should strive for a high level of personal separation to be a witness and testimony to a lost world. Rarely is anyone offended by a higher standard, but many are offended by a lower one; therefore, when in doubt, members should choose the higher standard of personal separation for their lives. It is the goal of this church that through the testimony of each member, we might bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 6:19-20, 10”31; II Corinthians 6:17-1; I Thessalonians 5:22; I Peter 1:14-16, 2:9).
SECTION XVII – HUMAN SEXUALITY
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of marriage. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, ad pornography are sinful perversions of God’s original intent for the proper and Biblical sexual relationship. Known homosexuals, transvestites or any other than heterosexual persons will not knowingly become members of New Hope Baptist church. The Deacons/Trustees shall give counsel and assistance areas of exercising a vote. Members may not vote to initiate any New Hope Baptist Church action, but rather the vote of a member is to confirm and ratify the direction the New Hope Baptist Church as determined by the Pastor.