Our Mission... TO KNOW CHRIST AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN
We believe God is leading us to accomplish this mission through the five purposes contained in the Great Commission and The Great Commandment. They are encapsulated in the acronym T.R.U.T.H.
- Trusting and worshipping God.
To "love the Lord your God with all your heart" is worship.
- Reaching the unbelievers.
To "Go and make disciples" is evangelism.
- Uplifting and discipling believers.
To "teach them all things" is discipleship.
- Taking care of human needs.
To "love your neighbor as yourself" is ministry and meeting needs.
- Having fellowship among believers.
To "baptize" is to incorporate into membership and fellowship with the body.
Statement of Faith
- THE BIBLE: We believe the entire Bible; all 66 books of the combined Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and are inerrant in the original writings. Through the providence of God, the Word of God has been preserved, and is the only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. (II TIM. 3:16-17; II PETER 1:20-21)
- GOD: We believe there is only one true, living, sovereign, holy, and eternally existent God. He exists in 3 co-equal persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-each being a distinct person with a distinct function, but all of one essence and all possessing the same nature, perfection, and attributes. The triune God is the creator and sustainer of all things, the source of all truth, and is worthy of worship, confidence, and obedience. (DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5, GENESIS 1:31)
- JESUS CHRIST: We believe that Jesus Christ is God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed many miracles, shed His blood on the cross as a vicarious substitute, was buried, bodily resurrected, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return literally, visibly, and personally in glory and power. (JOHN 1:1-3,14; MATTHEW 1:18-25; PHIL. 2:5-9; COLOSSIANS. 1:15; I CORINTHIANS 15:1-8; ACTS 1:11)
- THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe that the Holy Spirit is God, co-equal and co-existent with the Father and Son. He is the chief convictor of sin, the chief agent of regeneration and sanctification. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer from the moment of salvation and empowers every believer to live a godly life. (JOHN 14:16-19; 16: 7-15; I CORINTHIANS 6:19-20; ROMANS 8:9,11; TITUS 3:5)
- MANKIND: We believe that in the beginning God created mankind in His image, and is not in any sense the product of evolution, therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. Mankind was originally created with the ability to live perfectly for God's glory. (GENESIS 1:17,31)
- SIN: We believe that Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of mankind; therefore, all people have sinned and lost their ability to live for the glory of God. Mankind's fall has incurred both physical and spiritual death on all until there is forgiveness and salvation by the grace of God. (GENESIS 3:1-24; ROMANS 3:10-23; 5:12-21; 6:23)
- SALVATION: We believe the salvation of lost and sinful mankind is a free gift of God's grace apart from human works, based solely upon Christ's vicarious and atoning death, effected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and received only through faith in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification. (EPHESIANS 2:8-10; II CO. 5:21)
- ETERNAL SECURITY: We believe that since God gives us eternal life through Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation forever. Our salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the efforts of the believer. (JOHN 10:29-30; II TIMOTHY 1:12; HEBREWS 7:25; I JOHN 5:11-13)
- THE CHURCH: We believe that the church is the body of Christ and the family of God. It is made up of saved and baptized believers, who regularly join together on the Lord's Day for worship, fellowship, and ministry. (MATTHEW 16:18; I CO. 12:12-14; HEBREWS 10:25)
- EVANGELISM: We believe that it is the responsibility and privilege of every Christian to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to seek to make growing disciples. (MATTHEW 28:18-20; ACTS 1:8)
- ETERNITY: We believe man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union with God through salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally with God is heaven. Heaven and hell both exist where people will live eternally. (JOHN 3:16; 2:25; ROMANS 6:23; REVELATION 20:15)
- BAPTISM AND LORD'S SUPPER: Jesus instructed His followers to remember His death and resurrection. He gave the church 2 visible symbols (called ordinances) as reminders. These two ordinances are baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism by immersion is a one time act of obedience symbolizing the believer's 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 a new way of life. It serves as an outward sign of conscience confession of repentance and faith. The Lord's Supper is an ongoing symbol remembering our Lord's death, burial, resurrection and promised return.
(MATTHEW 28:18-20; 26)
Our Values
Faith is not worth much unless it translates into action. (JAMES 1:22). We at Highland Crest feel strongly that we must strive toward the practice of seven values:
Bible is our sole authority
"…and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." II TIMOTHY 3:15
Since God's word is the only completely reliable and truthful authority, we accept the Bible as our manual for living. Our first question when faced with a decision is "What does the Bible say?" We practice daily Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible memorization. The Bible is the basis for all we believe.
Autonomy of each local church
"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church…" COLOSSIANS 1: 17-18
Christ is the recognized head of our church, not any person, group, or religious organization. While recognizing the value of associating and cooperating with other groups of Christians, we believe every local church should be self-governing and independent from any denominational control.
Priesthood of every believer to grow, serve and equip others.
"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father..." REVELATION 1:5-6
The Bible teaches that every Christian is called to "full time" Christian service, regardless of his or her vocation. We practice the truth that every believer is a minister by encouraging every member to find a place of service and ministry. Every believer has direct access to God through prayer and Bible reading.
It is, of course, a perversion of this doctrine to say that all views are equally valid, that you can believe anything and still be a Baptist, or that the pastor has no unique role in leadership.
Tithing is an act of obedience and expression of love.
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." MALACHI 3:10
At Highland Crest we practice tithing for the support of the church, Christ's body, as He commands. We recognize that giving 10% of our income is the Biblical standard of giving. We believe that we give back to God what He has already blessed us with, and that through His love He allows us to be stewards of the wealth He bestows on us.
Immersion baptism after salvation.
"… having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." COLOSSIANS 2:12
We practice baptism by immersion under water, after salvation. This is the way Jesus was baptized, and the way the Bible commands.
Security of the genuine believer.
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." JOHN 10:27-29
We believe that when a person is genuinely saved, he is saved forever. Salvation from beginning to end is totally the work of God.
Telling others about Christ as His witnesses.
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." I PETER 3:15
It is the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News with those God brings us into contact with. We practice personal sharing about Christ and inviting friends to come to church.
History of HCBC
Highland Crest Baptist Church began with it's first worship service on January 4th, 1956. These first worship services were held in various homes from week to week. The church was originally constituted as Calvary Baptist Church on April 30th, 1956. In June of 1956 the first full time pastor was called, the Rev. Furman Rivers.
An exciting date in the history of Highland Crest was August of 1956. It was at this time that the church purchased 8 ½ acres of land at the corner of Highland and Military Ave.
The first few years continued with the church services being held in a store front, Chappell recreation center, and finally in an office building on Potts Ave. It was on July 2nd, 1960 that the ground was broken for the new building on the land at Highland (now Lombardi) and Military. On December 13th, 1961 the church voted to change it's name to Highland Crest Baptist Church. On December 16th, 1961 the first services were held in the new building, which is now the children's wing.
On September 20th, 1963 the church ordained its first deacons.
In June of 1992 the church entered a new phase with the arrival of the volunteer building team beginning their work on the new addition. The first worship service held in the new building occurred on December 20th, 1992.
