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Church Staff
Pastor Alan Garbutt
Pastor Alan and his wife Debbie began their ministry at Faith Baptist Church in July 2017. Alan has been in the pastorate for over thirty years serving churches in Raleigh, North Carolina; Sylvania, Georgia; and West Point, Mississippi.
Alan grew up in a Christian home, but it was not until he was a sophomore at Bob Jones University that he accepted Christ as his savior. Shortly after his salvation he surrendered to full-time ministry.
His desire and heartbeat for the ministry is to see people grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and in their love for the Lord while using their gifts in the Lord’s service.
Alan holds a bachelor’s degree in Church Administration and a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies, both from Bob Jones University located in Greenville, SC. In addition to pastoring at Faith, Pastor Alan also serves on the board of Baptist Home Missions and Rapidan Baptist Camp in Rochelle, VA.
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What We Believe
What We Believe…
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We believe in the verbal (every word) and plenary (complete) inspiration of the Scriptures in the original manuscripts; that the Old and New Testaments are equally inspired and without error or contradiction; that they are accurate and reliable in science, history, and every other matter they discuss; that we have the complete and only written revelation by God to man in the sixty-six books of the Bible as it now stands; and that anyone who adds to or takes away from this completed revelation is cursed of God. (2 Samuel 23:2; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:89, 105; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19).
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We believe in the one true and living God, eternally existing as one in essence yet three in person. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; Romans 8:9; Romans 14-16).
GOD THE FATHER
We believe that God the Father is Father in His relationship within the Trinity and His relationship with those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior; that He orders all things after the counsel of His own will and in so doing concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; and that He is the object of our worship and praise. (Psalm 65:2; Psalm 139:1-24; Psalm 147:5; Matthew 5:45; Matthew 6:24-34; John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5).
GOD THE SON
We believe that the Lord Jesus is coequal and coeternal with the Father; He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; that He is God manifest in the flesh, very God and very man; that He was sent by the Father for the purpose of being the perfect sinless sacrifice for the sins of mankind; that He died in our stead, was buried and rose bodily the third day according to the Scriptures gaining victory over death for us; that He is the object of our faith; that He is the only way to the Father; that He is imminently coming for the saints; that He will reign as King of Kings on earth for one thousand years; and that He will judge evil works of darkness at the end of time. (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 1:26-36; John 1:1,4; John 3:13-17; John 14:6; Acts 16:31; Colossians 1:6-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:11-15).
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person equal with the Father and Son and of the same nature; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; that He bears witness to the truth; that He is the agent of the new birth; that He baptizes all true believers into the body of Christ; that He indwells and sanctifies all of them, sealing and thus securing them unto the day of redemption; that He endues, guides, teaches and helps believers; and that it is the privilege and duty of the saved to be filled (controlled by) with the Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-7; John 14:16, 17, 26; John 16:7-15; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:9; Romans 8:14; 16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:13-14). -
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct immediate, creative acts of God without any evolutionary process. (Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-3, 10; Colossians 1:16).
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We believe that man was created by God in His image, sinless and innocent, but that by disobedience to his Creator he incurred both physical and spiritual death; that all men through choice and an inherited evil nature are totally depraved, and if not saved will endure eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7-3:24; Psalm 51:5; Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Revelation 20:14-15).
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We believe that sin is the transgression of the Law of God; we believe in the universality of sin, that is, everyone has sinned; that sin separates man from God; that there is no remission of sin apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God and man’s repentance. (Luke 24:46-47; Romans 3:10-26; Romans 6:23, 7:23-24; 1 John 3:4).
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We believe that the salvation of sinners is by grace alone. Salvation is a free gift of God and that salvation is received individually by repentance from sin and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 1:12; Acts 17:30; Romans 3:24-26, 6:23, 8:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; Hebrews 9:24-25; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
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We believe that the church is the body of Christ, composed of all the redeemed. We believe that Christ gave Himself for the church; that He is its only true Head. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:20-23, 3:3-11; Colossians 1:18). We believe that the establishment and continuation of local churches are clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. We believe that the church is an assembly of baptized believers, voluntarily associated by covenant in the faith for fellowship, worship, and service; that its mission is the spread of the Gospel to all men, and to earnestly contend for the faith. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 3:9-17; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:2; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; Jude 1:3-4; Revelation 1-3). We believe that there are two Christian ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
BAPTISM
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; that it sets forth in picture the essential facts in redemption: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that it gives testimony to what has taken place in the heart of the believer and that there is no saving power in baptism. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 1:5, 10; John 3:23; Acts 2:41, 8:38, 9:18; Romans 6:3-5; Titus 3:5).
LORD’S SUPPER
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death to be observed until He comes; that the elements, the bread and the fruit of the vine, are only symbols of His broken body and shed blood. (Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 10:16-21, 11:17-34). -
We believe the Scriptures teach that Satan is the fallen created angelic being Lucifer, that old serpent, the devil; that he is the author of sin, and the cause of man’s temptation and fall. We believe that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; that his final doom along with his hosts shall be eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Job 1:6, 7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:1-11, 25:41; Revelation 12:9-10, 20:1-2, 7-10).
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HEAVEN
We believe that Heaven is a definite place where God abides. The angels of God dwell in Heaven. Jesus Christ our Savior is in Heaven now with the Father preparing a place for believers. Only the saved will enter into Heaven. In Heaven, there will be no more sin, sorrow, pain, sickness, death, curse, night, sun. Believers shall spend all eternity in Heaven in the service of our God. (Matthew 6:9, 24:36; Luke 23:43; John 3:16, 14:2-3; Hebrews 9:24; Revelation 21-22).HELL
We believe that Hell is a literal place of eternal punishment. Originally it was prepared for the devil and his demons; however, since man has also rebelled against God, many people will spend eternity in Hell. Hell is described as “everlasting punishment,” “torment,” the “lake of fire,” the “second death.” The worst punishment of Hell is the fact of eternal separation from our God for eternity. (Matthew 25:41, 46; Luke 16:23-28; Revelation 14:11, 20:15). -
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead: of believers, unto an eternal life of blessedness; of unbelievers, unto an eternal existence of punishment. (Daniel 12:2-3; Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:5-6, 11-15). We believe that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent. After the first phase of His coming, in which the Church is taken up to heaven, the great tribulation on earth will be followed by the coming of Christ and the establishment of His millennial reign. Then the kingdom will be delivered over to the Father for all eternity. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Matthew 24:21-31, 25:1-13; Revelation 19:11-20:6).
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We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8).
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Salvation
THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST
God Loves You
“For God so loved the world…”
God loves the world, and that includes you! What’s amazing is that God loves each of us even while we’re not very lovable. We have all broken one of God’s laws at least once. The Bible calls our evil deeds sin, and even one sin is serious enough that a just God cannot overlook it. (1 John 3:4, Romans 3:23, James 2:10)
God Gave You a Gift
“…that He gave His only begotten Son, …”
Seeing our sin, God chose to give His own Son, Jesus Christ, to help us escape its terrible penalty. (Romans 6:23) Jesus lived a perfect life on earth and died a brutal death on the cross - no because He was evil, but because we are. When He rose from the dead three days later, Jesus proved that He has the power not only to forgive sins but to give you eternal life. (Acts 3:26)
God Makes You an Offer
“…that whosoever believeth on Him …”
The only condition to having God’s forgiveness is to believe that Jesus died and rose again for your sin. (Romans 10:9) No other person or good deed can give you that forgiveness. If you turn from your sin and place your complete trust in Jesus alone, then you will have the gift of eternal life. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
God Makes You a Promise
“…should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Every person who trust in Jesus alone will escape eternal death and instead enjoy everlasting life with Him in heaven. (1 John 5:12-13, John 5:24) This promise is yours the moment you believer Jesus will save you.