The New Testament pattern for a church is a simple one. The steps below are set forth in the books of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.
- First, Jesus Christ is the head of the church. It has no human headquarters or government outside its walls. There is no denominational hierarchy or massive institution to make rules for or take money from a local congregation. While we fellowship with all Christians holding basic Bible truths, we are not formally or informally joined to any group or organization of churches. Our sole accountability is to God and to one another.
- Second, a man or group of men enters a town or city, preaches the gospel to the lost, and gathers those believers into a regularly assembling congregation. This was done in DeLand during 1986 leading to the formation of THE BIBLE Baptist Church in February 1987.
- Third, the founding evangelist stays on to pastor the church or turns it over to a man of his prayerful choosing.
- Fourth, the pastor along with the congregation will select men to serve as bishops and deacons who meet the specific qualifications set forth in the New Testament. These men will aid the pastor in his personal relationship with the Lord and in his ministry to the members of the church.
At present our founder still serves as pastor and the congregation has recognized several men to serve with him as deacons. We also have one assistant pastor in a full time status.
The Pastor
Brother James Knox serves as pastor of our church. His duties are summarized as follows:
1. Study and teach God’s word to the church.
2. Strive to live an exemplary Christian life.
3. Seek to help men and women understand that Jesus Christ can and will meet all their spiritual needs.
The pastor is paid through the donations made by those in church fellowship. The amount of this compensation is determined by the deacons. The church does not provide insurance, retirement, a vehicle or vacation money, it being understood that a pastor, like all men, is to fund these things from his wages.
Our pastor is in much demand as a speaker in other churches. The congregation graciously allows him to be used in this way. The expense of these trips is borne by the pastor or the churches he visits. They are not paid for by THE BIBLE Baptist Church.
The Pastor’s Wife
Lilian and James were married in August 1982. While Lilian is a diligent worker for the Lord, her duties are to her husband and children first and then to those who make up the church.
While she is ever willing and able to help in any way, we recognize that she, like all wives and mothers, is primarily responsible for serving her family.
Our Assistant Pastor
After many years of faithful service in our church, Brother David Brown was put on staff as an assistant to the pastor in 2007. His duties focus primarily on the youth of our church, but he is busy in every area of service to the pastor, the church and the community.
Our Deacons
These men are scripturally selected based on several factors: an exemplary walk with the Lord, a good reputation in the community and a manifest interest in the well being of all those who make up their church family.
Simply stated their duties are:
- To encourage and strengthen the pastor and congregation and to guard them against moral and doctrinal error.
- To oversee the business and temporal affairs relating to the church.
The deacons meet with the pastor on a regular basis for prayer and planning, to appropriate funds, and, on rare occasions, to deal with matters of trouble or strife within the fellowship.
We print a bulletin once each month to keep everyone up to date on events, prayer needs, etc. In the January bulletin each year we print a list of names for you to know. Listed will be the deacons, the Sunday school teachers and those who head each of our outreach ministries. This list will help you in knowing who to contact when the Lord places a specific desire to help or serve upon your heart.
We do not have business meetings and we do not take votes. A careful reading of the New Testament will reveal that the Lord never instructed His church to do these things. They had prayer meetings and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. We have an added advantage in that we have the written scriptures to show us how to conduct ourselves.
Anyone who has been in a church where business meetings are conducted knows that they accomplish three things; none of them good.
- First, they detract from precious time that could be spent singing, praying and preaching.
- Second, they invite division and strife, the great enemies of any church.
- Third, they give a forum to malcontents who use the opportunity to sow discord among the brethren.
No wonder God in His wisdom never told the church to hold such meetings.
Our church leaders continually take input and insight from all the believers, take careful note of the needs of the hour, with the pastor bring these matters before the Lord in prayer, seek the prayerful support of those who love the Lord and love their church, and proceed according to Biblical principles. This is the method set down by the Holy Spirit 2000 years ago, and it works to this day.
