What We Believe
What Kind Of Church?
Most people are a bit confused about "The Church" so you're not alone!
There are umpteen branches of the Christian church and they fall into two basic categories in terms of what goes on in their worship services.
- The Liturgical Churches - the ones that follow a specific types of format in their worship services. The Catholic Church, The Greek, Coptic and Russian Orthodox Churches, and The Church of England and a few others come in this category.
- The Non-Conformist Churches - the ones that are a bit more free-form in their worship. That means they can seem a bit unpredictable!
Albemarle is non-conformist.
We don't fit a specific mould, it's true. Having said that, we are on the traditional side so a service at Albemarle will have things like a call to worship, a few hymns or Christian songs, prayers, a couple of Bible Readings, a sermon, an offering and a blessing. There is usually a joke or two along the way as well because, although we have a structure, it is quite relaxed and informal.
Protestant or Catholic?
Another way to describe churches is to ask if they are Catholic (usually meaning, "Do they come under the authority of the Pope in Rome?") or Protestant (think Henry VIII, Luther, the Diet of Worms and all that Reformation history stuff).
By that standard, Albemarle is Protestant.
So Many Churches!!
Yup! There is a bewildering array of churches out there.
Basically, churches like Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Evangelical and a whole load of others have a LOT in common.
And yet, each one will have its own way of doing things and one or two beliefs that make them quite distinctive.
What Is Unique About Baptists?
So glad you asked!
Two things really:
- We don't have anyone telling us how to run our local churches. Every Baptist Church runs itself based on what works best for its own members.
- We don't baptize babies: we dedicate babies but we baptize believers when they are old enough to make their own decision to follow Christ. And when we baptize them we go all the way! We baptize by full immersion - at Albemarle we do this in our original Victorian baptistry (as one person remarked recently, "You have your own swimming pool!).
There are a few other things too but these are the most important and the most clear for people to see and experience when they come to us for the first time.
A Note For The Doctrinally Savvy
For those of you who know a bit more about doctrine, this is the Baptist Union's Declaration of Principle.
We believe:
1. That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
2. That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who 'died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day'.
3. That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelization of the world.
Want To Discuss This?
The journey into faith can be a long and very individual one. If you have any questions you think we could help with or if you are looking for a spiritual home and are wondering if it could be at Albemarle, please contact us. We are always happy to help people on their way to finding the answers to the questions life throws up.