Why I Love My Independent Fundamental Baptist Church

Why I Love My Independent Fundamental Baptist Church

Last year I wrote an article about “What’s Wrong With The Independent, Fundamental Baptists” and this year with time to reflect I wanted to write the flip side of “Why I Love My Independent, Fundamental Baptist Church.”

It is a Soul Winning Baptist Church

Earlier this year, God was burdening my heart to be a more active soul winner, and I really tried to share my vision to others.  I was starting to get discouraged that not everyone was coming out to our Church Wide Visitation or our Downtown Street Ministry.

I had seen and heard of so many churches where everyone in church was involved in these major local ministries.  I questioned, “Why not ours?”  Then I heard my pastor say, “I am not going to brow-beat everyone into coming to every ministry opportunity.”  It was later in retrospect that I realized that God wasn’t necessarily burdening everyone as He was burdening me.  Not everyone was at Church Wide Visitation because so many of them were already involved in other soul winning ministries available through our church.

I sat down to count them once and I realized how balanced our pastor was and how far our church actually reached in regards to reaching the lost.  Here are just some of the outreach ministries available: The Bus Ministry, Reformer’s Unanimous, Rock of Ages Prison Ministry, Bearing Precious Seed Ministry, Outdoorsmen Ministry, Rescue Mission Outreach,  BSU Campus Outreach, Downtown Street Ministry, Ladies Visitation, Nursing Home Ministry, and believe it or not … the list can keep going.  

There is no doubt in my mind that our church is an active Soul Winning Baptist Church, and that is reason #1 I Love My Independent Fundamental Baptist Church.

It is a Mission’s Minded Church

I know Satan hates people being won to the Lord.  I know he hates when missionaries go to lands where the gospel has never been preached and where heathen cultures are rescued by the light and hope found in Jesus.

As I pass through our church’s halls they are lined with at least 100 missionaries that our church supports.  That means over 100 families are reaching the lost, and the money we send as a church makes a difference.  The prayers, the letters of encouragement, the unexpected gifts that come from our church to theirs help keep God’s word in towns, cities and rural villages that may never have had a chance to hear about the blood of Jesus.

If my church wasn’t missions minded, we would keep our money.  We would be self-centered.  We wouldn’t be fulfilling that part of the great commission. (Acts 1:8)  Ironically, after I wrote this, I pulled up our church’s web-page and my pastor’s current post is exactly about this mission’s minded vision.  That is just another reason Why I Love My Independent Fundamental Baptist Church.

They preach the whole counsel of God.

In hard times, when the accuser of the brethren is having a hay day with my mind and I feel very alone and unloved, I sometimes have the thought, “Why do I even want to go to a church where I feel so alone?”  It is in those moments that think about those persecuted for their faith in the Middle East.  I think about those churches who under communist control lost all freedom to actually preach the truth of Scripture.  I think of the Christians hiding in the catacombs waiting to hear the stories of Christ.  I think of those in the east who meet in caves today and share one Bible between the whole church and swap pages between each family for the week … just to read God’s word.

Then I think, “I am able to worship God publicly, and I have the freedom to do it in a church where God’s word is faithfully taught and nothing is left out.”

My pastor is currently teaching in Ecclesiastes during our Sunday School Class.  Earlier this year he taught the fundamentals of dispensations.  Last year he taught about Revelation and the end times.  I remember a few classes recently on the preserved Word of God, the King James Version.  He has preached so many practical messages on hope, grace, separation, modern philosophies, and so many other messages that have convicted my heart and other times have encouraged me.

Still, that is just a portion of what we are taught.  We have many more qualified teachers and classes.  We have a Bible Institute where you can go deeper into doctrines, evidences of faith and practical ministry.  I Love My Independent Fundamental Baptist Church because I can look and say that in the past 12 years, our church is faithful to preach the whole counsel of God. 

My pastor really does have a shepherd’s heart.

I was raised in a pastor’s home.  I have been intricately involved in the inner workings of the ministry.  I have been to preacher’s meeting, and sat around the table with missionaries.  I have been under six other pastor’s (besides my father) as an adult and I understand that each man is just a man called by God to work in a ministry.  I don’t expect to agree upon everything with everyone, and at times I have had to submit my will to the authority of my pastor, but I will say this: I love my pastor.

I am not saying this is “the way” to do things, but as a sheep in a flock I have grown to love these things about my pastor.

He isn’t a “numbers” kind of guy.  We have rallies, special days, conferences, revivals but the entire time I have been here we have never had a competition in any form for any numbers in any way.  We don’t know how many even come to our church.  We do have a large church but I honestly have no idea how many people come or how much is given in the offering, because that is not the emphasis of our ministry. From all obvious accounts, my pastor’s heart is to win the lost and disciple them … not to see who has the biggest church.

Consequently, this type of thinking does help a pastor preach the truth without regard to “losing the biggest giver in church”, but I have also seen his heart to not purposely offend or hurt his flock as well.  There is a balance that comes from having a right view of your people, and a people will trust their leader because of this.

All the other reasons

I can go on and on as to Why I Love My Independent Fundamental Baptist Church: their doctrine, their separation from the world and it’s philosophies, their love for other pastors and helping them, their clean and modern facilities, their emphasis on safety and accountability in children’s ministries, their widow’s ministry, and their support network for Christian and home education.

All in all, I know I am blessed.  Why did I write this?  Because sometimes we all need to sit down and count our blessings and recently in church I’ve been seeing all mine.  I bet if you sat down and asked God to open your eyes, you would see why God picked your church for you as well.