About us
Bible text: “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord." (2 Corinthians 4:5)
Brief history
In October 1982, a group of local Christians from Melbourne Hall Evangelical Free Church (in Leicester) met in Birstall to pray and they became the Birstall Fellowship (Church). We changed the name to Birstall Independent Baptist Church in February 2003.
As a local church
We are a group of believers who worship together and have a common understanding of the Bible, like the early church in Acts 2:42. We gladly submit to the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. We are independent, but not isolationist and we enjoy close links with many other evangelical churches - locally, nationally and internationally. We are not a sect. We do not as yet have our own building.
The following is a list of our basic beliefs:
- The Bible is the inspired, sufficient, inerrant and infallible word of God. It reveals God to us and our state before Him. It teaches us what to believe and how to behave.
- God shows us that all humans are sinners needing salvation and that we are helpless to save ourselves.
- We are saved by God's grace (favour that we do not deserve) through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for sinners.
- There is no other way to forgiveness of sins or to enjoy peace with God except through the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Repenting of our sin and personal belief (trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the work of God in our hearts, are all that are needed for salvation.
We are Baptists because we practise the New Testament teaching of baptising only those who have repented of their sin and trusted in Christ to save them. This baptism is by immersion in water.
A fuller outline of our beliefs can be found in the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.