Our Purpose and Principles

Our Purpose

To Glorify God by building a relationship with Him based on 'truth, and relationships with others based on LOVE.

Our Guiding Principles

The Lord Jesus Christ has charged the church with the task of making disciples (learners) of the nations. We do this by loving people into a relationship with Him that is real and personal, and by expanding on that relationship by relating to other believers in the Body of Christ. This means:

1. Making the Bible our sole source of authority for our beliefs and actions.
2. The Bible is our authority and standard for all we do. It is our purpose to fit our life to the Bible, not to make the Bible fit our standards. We do this by:
3. Regular and Consistent Study and Teaching of the Bible.
4. Putting the Bible at the center of all we do - striving to be faithful to its teachings and principles.
5. Letting the Bible speak for itself, interpreting it literally and grammatically in its historical context.
6. Living by Biblical standards and principles while recognizing that our culture does not recognize them.
7. Building real relationships with the people and world around us.
   The Bible declares that "all have sinned" and as a result are separated from God, Who now offers a renewed relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ. Our message is one of reconciliation and peace with God. We do this by:
8. Acknowledging the serious nature of sin violating God's standards) and dealing with it Biblically.
9. Confessing our sin and submitting to God's standard of accountability.
10. Reaching out to the people and community around us while demonstrating a growing, Christ-centered life.
11. Placing a priority on relationship and people.
12. Working together in unity and Christian love.
    The Bible instructs us to live together in unity and love. We are to build up one another, and encourage each other. We strive to model the presence of Christ in our lives by:
13. Placing a high priority on purity of life in accordance with the teaching of the Bible.
14. Modeling a lifestyle that applies the Bible to every aspect of daily life.
15. Nurturing faith in the younger generations of believers in a spirit of humility and cooperation.
16. Communicating with God through prayer which is reflected in daily life.
    It is our responsibility to develop a relationship with God through regular prayer and reading the Bible. Prayer is personal and corporate communication with God that is based on more than asking God to act in our behalf. Biblical prayer is found in the ACTI model. A- adoration, C- confession, T- thanksgiving I- intercession. Prayer should be actively lived out daily by:
17. Regularly and consistently seeking God in prayer as individuals and regularly coming together corporately for times of prayer.
18. Committing ourselves to God in prayer with a conscious submission of our daily problems and challenges to the principles of the Bible.
19. Submitting to God's will in all things, not insisting that we get "our way."

Lakewood Baptist Church seeks to be FAITHFUL to God in the midst of an unfaithful world. We desire to be true to the revealed will and standards of our GLORIOUS LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST in all that we do.