OBJECTIVE:Ministries

Statement of Faith

God:

God is the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the Universe and all that is in it. God is a Singular, Eternal, and Infinite being Who is composed of three Co-Equal Persons (the Trinity): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The manifestations and roles of these Co-Equal Persons are distributed according to the following Divine Org Chart:

Jesus Christ:

Jesus Christ, the Son, was born of a virgin via the Holy Spirit, lived sinlessly, performed various and sundry miracles, died vicariously, was bodily resurrected and ascended into Heaven, and is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father. All matters are secondary in importance to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Sovereign, Creator, Redeemer, and Judge.

Salvation:

Salvation is only by Grace and only through personal Faith in Jesus Christ through His atoning death and resurrection (see "The Crucifixion"). The Saved will enjoy everlasting conscious blessedness in the presence of God, while the Unsaved will suffer the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

The Bible:

The Bible is the Infallible Word of God made manifest via Verbal Plenary Inspiration and reveals God's plan and purpose in the ages. The King James Version (KJV) is the only English version that is authoritative, having been translated under the watchful eye of the Holy Ghost from original manuscripts found in the basement of Temple Church that were taken from the Holy Land by the Knights Templar during the Second Crusade.

Creation:

As per Genesis 1 & 2, the Universe and all that is or ever was in it was created by God the Father in Six Literal Days, He then taking a Seventh Day of Rest, as is His Divine Prerogative. Biblical research tells us that this happened between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. The exact year is an adiaphoron, but the order of magnitude is salvific since a magnitude or more difference would contradict the Biblical account of the Fall of Man, the root cause of Sin and the necessary precondition for Salvation.

Mankind descended from Adam and Eve. All plant and animal life was created fully formed and was presented to Adam in the Garden of Eden for naming. Most of these original names (such as for what we today call the "kangaroo") have been lost and are considered adiaphoric (although we would find Adam's names for wombats, ankylosauruses, etc. terribly interesting.)

In all other matters regarding the intersection of Science and the Truth of God's Creation, we remain faithful to the grammatico-historical/normative interpretation of Scripture and the principle that truth cannot contradict Truth.

(Learn more about our stance on Creation from OBJECTIVE: Ministries' Dr. Richard Paley.)

The Flood:

God destroyed, as is His Divine Prerogative, all wicked life on the planet approximately 4,000 years ago via a Global Flood. The only survivors were Noah, his family, and those righteous animals they took with them on the Ark as per God's command, thus establishing a New Covenant with Mankind, of which He reminds us through rainbows. Today, all people and animals are descended from these survivors, save fish which were not subject to His Wrath as they were righteous and serve as symbols for Christ.

The Crucifixion:

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the pivotal moment in the history of the Universe, as it is then that the Sins of Mankind were absolved through the Sacrifice of God the Son. (The salvific state of intelligent creatures on other planets is adiaphoric at this time. Should the science of Design Inference detect alien communications, God will revel to us whether He has already sent them their own Messiah or if we are to inform them of the Passion of the Christ via mathematically encoded evangelism.)

While we support the use of archeological discoveries related to the practice of crucifixion as a means to further connect people to Christ's Passion and the suffering He went through on our behalf, and while we acknowledge the evidences that three nails were most likely used to affix Him to the Cross, the Bible teaches Doctrinal Ignotoclavianism: i.e. that the number of nails used in the Crucifixion is an adiaphoron, and thus not a matter of importance to Faith. Those that would foment doctrinal dispute over this matter (Triclavianists, Quadriclavianists, Duodeclavianists, and others of their ilk) are engaged in heresy and must be either corrected or expunged from the body of the Church lest they lead the ignorant away from the Word of God, and thus Salvation.

Baptism:

Proper Biblical baptism is by full aquatic immersion of an affirming believer after Salvation in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Baptisms are a symbolic act of rebirth and do not themselves grant Salvation (see "Salvation" above). Paedobaptism and other involuntary/unknowing baptisms, as well as so-called "sprinkle" baptisms in general, are improper pastoral malpractice that may lead to people mistakenly believing themselves to be Saved only to learn their mistake upon death when they find their souls in Hell instead of Heaven.

Eschatology:

The Pretribulation Rapture of the Church, who will be taken bodily into the air to be in the presence of Christ (Parousia), will be followed by the Seven Year Tribulation culminating in the Premillennial Second Coming of Christ, Who will appear resplendent with white woolly hair. (Portrayals of the post-Tribulation Christ with long straight hair are in error and may cause the ignorant who are left behind during the Rapture to mistakenly seek out and follow rock musicians aligned with the Anti-Christ.)

Fellowship Baptist Eschatogram.

Christ will descend from Heaven with His Saints (i.e. us who were Raptured) and will establish His Millennial Kingdom on Earth from the Throne of David in Jerusalem. The nations that survived the Tribulation will be divided into those who are with Him (The Sheep) and those who are against Him (The Goats). The Sheep will live in His Kingdom, wherein great blessings will be bestowed and all the animals that have been hidden from Mankind (dinosaurs, pterosaurs, yeti, etc.) will once again frolic in peace as they did in Eden. The Goats will go to Hell.

After 1,000 years, Satan will stir a revolt, then he and those nations who side with him will be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. Furthermore, all the unsaved who had previously died will be resurrected and also cast into the Lake of Fire.

Thus begins New Heaven and New Earth. We pray we'll see you there!