Why We Exist
The purpose of Whitesville Baptist Church is to equip believers to know God intimately and make Him known the world around us. Our church desires to live out this mission in light of the first verse of Psalm 115: "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"
Five Essentials of Our Faith
1. God’s Word
- Jesus said that man should not live by bread alone, or merely eating food, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
- The writer of Hebrews tells us that the “word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
2. Prayer
- The life of Jesus was marked by prayer. Mark tells us in the opening chapter of his account of the Gospel that Jesus rose early in the morning to pray, "while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35).
- Before His death, Jesus prayed for all believers, those who would place their faith and trust in Him for salvation, that they would be made one (John 17).
3. Evangelisim
- The Great Commission given to the church is to make disciples of all nations. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).
- The Apostle Paul instructed the Colossians to "Continue steadfastly in prayer being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison”that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak (Colossians 4:2-4).
4. Community
- As the Body of Christ, we are instructed to live in community with one another, providing encouragement, support and instruction to those in our church family. "As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).
- "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (I Corinthians 12:27).
5. Family
- Teaching God’s word to our children is a commandment from Scripture. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
