This church is a Baptist church by conviction and principle, not by affiliation. This means that we believe the basic Bible teachings for which Baptists have historically stood. As Baptists, we believe the following: the Bible is our sole authority for all matters of faith and practice. The church should be autonomous or self-governing. The believer does not need a priest, other than Jesus Christ, to come boldly to God. Every Christian has equal access to God personally. God's Word gives us two ordinances for the church-baptism and the Lord's Table. Each person is individually responsible for his decision to accept Christ. The separation of church and state is biblical. The believer is eternally secure and cannot lose salvation. There are two biblical offices in the church—pastors and deacons. For more information, please submit a question in the form below.

As an independent Baptist church, we are not affiliated with any particular Baptist denomination or ruling body. Because of this we can support our own missionaries, select our own leaders, and support institutions that believe as we believe. In short, our church answers to the headship of Jesus Christ rather than a denominational body.

To be a member of Bethel Baptist Church, a person must first have placed his faith in Christ for salvation. As a Christian, there are three ways to join the church. Someone may join the church by baptism. A person who has been a member of a church of like faith may become a member by letter from that church. Alternately, someone may join the church by statement that he has been saved and baptized. 

To be baptized means to profess Christ publicly as your Lord and Savior before a group of believers. It is a picture of  Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.The Bible says in the book of Acts that those who received Christ were gladly baptized. Baptism does not save anyone and is for saved people only.

Ultimately, Christ is the head of the church. On a daily basis, the church is primarily led by the pastor and church staff. This team works together in prayer and decision making to follow the leading of God for our church ministry. Also, the pastor will bring matters that God has laid on his heart before the leadership of the church to review and discuss. Pastor will bring matters of importance before the church for a vote. This provides a high level of accountability as well as a great spirit of team cooperation as we follow God's leading for this church.

The best thing a Church can do for its community is give out the gospel. Bethel Baptist has many organized ministries geared towards giving out the gospel with structured teams. Bethel also is blessed with a great body of believers that follow the Great Commission and take the Gospel with them wherever they go.

Bethel is involved in a program called "Soul Food" to provide food for the elderly and shut-ins within our community. We are active in the nursing homes and retirement homes of the area. We minister to families outside the church as needs arise and we have  the ability to help. We have an outreach to those who are incarcerated in the jails and prisons.  Every need is carefully evaluated and cared for to the best of our ability.

We do not operate on programs to ensure that our members will give, but rather we preach the Word of God and trust the God of the Word to touch hearts to give to the work of the ministry. God expects a tithe from every believer, and it is when one gives beyond the tithe that he gets on blessing ground. The only time one would be contacted about their giving is when they either request it or when they receive their annual giving statement.

The best way to stay informed about what is going on at Bethel is to be here. But if a special need arises or information needs to go to the church during the week, an email of the announcement can be sent to your address.

We do offer transportation to our services. We have a van ministry that operates in Richmond Hill. If you need transportation please call the church offices at (912)756-3324.