Mission and Beliefs
— Our Mission and Vision
Family is a buzz word today. We use this word to describe the relationships we have with those who are our kin and we use “family” to describe the close relationship we may enjoy with co-workers. When we say “Trinity is a family” I think this is what we mean: we genuinely love each other. But this is no mere friendly affection. It is an unconditional love, the kind of love Jesus would want in his family. We don’t always live up to this, but our aim is to love one another without strings attached. And not only do we love one another, but we ask God’s help in portraying that same unconditional love to everyone, especially those outside our fellowship. We believe Jesus died for them too and everyone has a place at the table in Jesus’ family.
Being Baptist is not Trinity’s primary goal. But it is a large part of who we are. It does not mean we belong to this denomination or that convention, although it does mean we voluntarily cooperate with other Baptist groups for the sake of evangelism and missions. For this church, being Baptist amounts to four primary Baptist distinctives. Other protestant churches share these beliefs. It’s just that for 400 years Baptists have championed these causes:
- Bible Freedom: We love God’s Word and believe that every believer has the freedom and responsibility to read and interpret it for themselves under the Lordship of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- Church Freedom: We celebrate and defend the autonomy of the local church. This body of believers is independent. We look to Jesus alone as the Head of the Church. We own our own buildings, call/hire our own staff, pay our own bills, and even send our own missionaries. While we affiliate with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and cooperate with several other groups, these associations are voluntary and they reflect relationships with like minded people who share our values and missions goals.
- Soul Freedom: We believe every person is created in the image of God and that everyone is both free and responsible to decide for themselves regarding their relationship with God. We call this doctrine the Priesthood of All Believers. Each believer is a priest and all of us can approach God based on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who died that we all might have access to God.
- Religious Freedom: We believe in a free church in a free state. As Americans, we hold dear the First Amendment of the US Constitution which secures religious liberty for people of all faiths or no faith. Baptists come from a history where we have been all too familiar with the hardships of being identified with the religious minority. Religious liberty means to us that the government should remain neutral in religious matters. The state should not engage in any action that will support religion (no establishment) nor take any steps to hinder worshipers as they follow the dictates of their conscience (free exercise).
— What We Believe
The following beliefs of the TBC family are just highlights of our major beliefs. The list is not intended to be exhaustive. We believe…
- Jesus is the Son of God, that he came in the flesh, lived a sinless life, and died as the sacrifice for our sin in order that he might bring us to God.
- Jesus rose physically from the dead, ascended to heaven and is coming back one day.
- The Bible is God’s Word and is the highest earthly authority given for instruction of God’s people, the church.
- Jesus is the Word of God made flesh and he alone is the Lord of scripture and the only guide for biblical interpretation. We believe the Bible traces the history of God’s relationship with his people, Israel, and that it points in all ways to Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the goal of history.
- Jesus is to be the center of a believer’s life and the church.
- Jesus established God’s Kingdom on Earth, that his Kingdom advances through the gospel of Jesus Christ and that Jesus has called all his followers to partner with him in building the Kingdom of God by sharing the gospel with every person.
- In the triune God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God wants a relationship with every person.
- God is Holy and sin separates us from God but Jesus saves everyone who places faith in him.
- God calls every believer to be involved in a local church, to be active in telling others about Jesus, and to be faithful in giving financially to God’s work through the church.
- God’s definition of Biblical marriage is one man and one woman for life.
- Every believer should go on a mission trip at least once, giving an entire week or two weeks to the task of serving others and sharing Christ.