It is important to know what a church believes. After all, faith is rightly at the core of any true church’s existence; and the content of a church’s faith should tell the most critical things about it. The people of East Park believe each of the following key doctrines taken directly from the Bible. And we thank God for giving us faith that is not just mental assent to these facts, but heart-felt dependence on them for life.

Concerning the Scriptures. The Bible, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the authoritative Word of God. Each word (verbal) and every part (plenary) was given by God ("God-breathed") through holy men who wrote under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit so that the resulting Scriptures were without error. (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

Concerning God. There is one, and only one, living and true God, infinite, eternal, holy, just, all-powerful, everywhere present, all-knowing, the sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth. In the unity of the Godhead there are three co-equal and co-eternal Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; 10:30; 1 Timothy 1:17) 

Concerning Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He is true God and true man, who lived a sinless life and made atonement for the sins of the world by His death on the cross. He bodily rose from the dead, ascended to the Father's right hand in glory, and will return to rule and reign on earth. (Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-3, 14, 18; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15; Colossians 2:9; 1 Peter 2:21-25)

Concerning the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, not a force. He convicts the world of sin and regenerates, sanctifies, teaches, comforts, indwells, and empowers believers. He sovereignly bestows upon all believers spiritual gifts for ministry in the body of Christ. Of these gifts, the miraculous sign gifts of tongues, healing, and miracles were temporary, apostolic gifts used during the founding of the church and the writing of the New Testament and are no longer present. (John 14:26; 16:7-14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 5:18; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2) 

Concerning Man. We accept the Genesis account of Creation literally, believing that man was created directly by God in His own image and did not evolve from any lower form of life. Although created without sin, Adam fell by voluntary transgression so that all mankind is now sinful by state, disposition, and act, justly under God's condemnation. (Genesis 1:27; 3:1-6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-19; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3) 

Concerning Salvation. The only way of salvation for sinners is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose atoning death, burial, and bodily resurrection comprise the gospel message. Those who place their faith solely in Jesus Christ as personal Savior are eternally secure and will live forever in God's presence, and those who refuse to accept the Savior will be separated forever from God in the lake of fire. At the moment of salvation, the believer becomes a child of God, is regenerated and justified, receives the Spirit of God, and is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. (John 1:12; 3:16; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:24; 5:1; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Revelation 20:15)

Concerning Sanctification. Sanctification is the divine work of setting apart the believer unto God. The Bible presents three phases of sanctification: initial sanctification (positional holiness before God from the moment of salvation); progressive sanctification (practical growth in Christlikeness throughout life by means of the Word of God and the Spirit of God); and ultimate sanctification (complete sinlessness at glorification). (John 17:17; Romans 8:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; 5:23-24; Hebrews 10:10-14; Jude 24)

Concerning the Church. The church, the body of Christ, was established on the Day of Pentecost, is composed of all true believers who are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, and will be completed at the Rapture. This "body" church is represented on earth in local churches. A local church is an organized, independent (self-governing) congregation of baptized believers associated together by a common faith for the purpose of worship, service, fellowship, and gospel outreach. To the church Christ has committed two ordinances: (1) believer's baptism (immersion in water), a symbolic identification with Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection; and (2) the Lord's supper, a symbolic commemoration of Christ's death. Christ has further committed to the church the task of world evangelization through preaching the gospel and establishing other biblical churches. (Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2:41-42; 8:12-13; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23)

Concerning Baptist Distinctives. We believe in the following distinctives which have historically identified Bible-believing Baptists.

B - The Bible as our sole authority for faith and practice

A - Autonomy (self-rule) of the local church

P - Priesthood of the believer (direct access to God without any human mediator)

T - Two ordinances: believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper

I - Individual soul liberty (freedom of conscience)

S - Saved church membership

T - Two offices: pastor and deacon

S - Separation of church and state (neither institution controlling the other)  

Concerning Separation. The Bible commands us as individuals and as a local church to separate ourselves unto our God from all worldliness and doctrinal error. Personal holiness and ecclesiastical purity of fellowship are essential to reflecting the holiness of God. Separation should always be done in brotherly love and for the glory of God. (Isaiah 6:3; Romans 12:1-2; 16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

Concerning Future Events. The next event on God's prophetic calendar is the Rapture, Christ's "catching away" of His church, which will then be followed by the Tribulation, a seven-year period of God's holy wrath and judgment upon the unsaved world. Christ and His saints will return to earth at the conclusion of the Tribulation, and He will establish His millennial reign upon earth. All unsaved souls will be judged by Christ at the Great White Throne, while believers will give an account for their Christian lives and receive rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46; Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:1-15)