ABOUT SBC
You will receive a warm welcome at Salem Bible Church. We are a church family of believers in Jesus Christ and God’s Word, the Bible.
Let me share a little about our church. We meet together in order to WORSHIP the true and Living God, Jesus Christ. He is the head of the Church, His Body. (Eph. 1:22-23) You will notice that we do things a little differently than many churches today. We believe with all our hearts that all that is done in the local church ought to be done so that “Christ might have all the preeminence”. (Col.1:18) Our focus is upward. Our worship is GOD-CENTERED. We meet together to lift our hearts to Him and praise Him and glorify Him. Therefore, we avoid the modern “new wave” trends in Christendom today, which seem to cater to man. Our purpose as a church is not to create an atmosphere of entertainment for men, but rather we meet to worship God and to come to know Him in a deeper way. (Jer. 9:24; Phil. 3:10) We believe that God is infinitely holy. (Isa. 6:1-3) We come in His presence with reverence, in awe of His Person, and with hearts desirous to bow before Him and honor Him. Consider the following passage: “Give unto the Lord glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (I Chron. 16:29)
You will also notice that our MUSIC IS CONSERVATIVE. We believe it is honoring to God. We believe that the trendy pop and rock music has no place in the worship of the Lord of glory. Rather than lowering the standards of the church’s music to “entertain the young people and keep them happy”, we believe it more profitable to introduce young people to good, quality, Christ-honoring music. Much of what is being passed off as “Christian music” is nothing more than night club or rock music with shallow Christian words added. We believe that it is not honoring to God to copy the world’s earthly, sensual music and bring it into the church. God deserves the best. After all, music is to be sung “to the Lord” and not to men. “Sing unto Him a new song…” (Psalm 33:3) Of course this will not be popular in a culture that caters to youth and virtually worships entertainment. Again, our goal is to please God, not men. (I Thess.2: 4)
Another difference you may notice here is our emphasis on “PREACHING THE WORD”. There is a trend today to de-emphasize preaching by incorporating plays and skits into the service in a “theater” type setting. Good, old-fashioned sermons have been replaced by skimpy “sermonettes”. However, the Scriptures plainly warn us to “preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season.” (II Tim. 4:2a) The Bible emphasizes the ministry of preaching the Word. That is our emphasis. We come to bow our hearts before God’s Word and say AMEN to its truths. Part of the reason preaching is being de-emphasized in some circles is because doctrine is no longer appreciated. This should be no surprise to us, for Paul warned that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” (II Tim. 4:3-4) Salem Bible Church is committed to emphasizing what GOD emphasizes in His Word, regardless of whether it is popular or not. God knows better than we do what we need to hear! In a day when many seem to shy away from teaching doctrine, by God’s grace, we are determined to continue preaching the whole counsel of God and contending for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)
Another important function of the local church is MINISTRY. We believe that God has equipped every believer to serve Him, and that every believer should be using his/her gifts for the glory of God. (I Pet. 4:10) That includes ministry in the local church. We hope you will find us to be a caring group of believers, who seek to “provoke one another unto love and good works” (Heb. 10:24-25).
The purpose of the local church is to grow together, and minister to one another in love in such a way that the whole Body (the church) is strengthened, and the life of the indwelling Christ is manifested (Eph. 4: 11-16) to the world. We encourage believers (young and old!) to become active in the church through various forms of ministry. Christianity is not a “spectator sport”. (I Cor. 12:7-27)
Of course, we also seek to reach out to others who do not know Christ. The Lord’s GREAT COMMISSION is our command to tell others the good news of salvation through faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the Cross (Matthew 28:19-20). It is our belief that when the church service ends on Sunday morning, our individual service in the community as ambassadors for Christ begins (II Cor. 5:18-20)! As a church, we seek to get the message of Christ out to our local community as well as around the world. We send gospel papers to every home in Salem, have evangelistic services, and encourage each individual believer to be involved in personal evangelism. We also support overseas and local missionaries, as well as a local Bible institute. Jesus said to “make disciples” and to “teach them all things whatsoever I have commanded you”. We see this as our Christian responsibility and great privilege.
We also believe strongly in the individual PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER. The church, the Body of Christ, doesn’t HAVE a priesthood. It IS a priesthood! (I Pet. 2:5-9) Every true believer is a priest in God’s sight, (male or female; young or old) and is to worship, praise, and serve the Lord. As a priest, he/she is personally accountable and responsible to Jesus Christ. (Rom. 14:12) We believe that the Christian is to live under the principle of grace and should demonstrate the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit daily. (Gal. 5:22-23) Love, joy and peace as well as holiness and purity should characterize the life of a New Testament priest.
While to some, Salem Bible Church might seem a bit “old fashioned” and not “contemporary”, we do not believe that this is a bad thing at all! Not all forms of worship men offer to God are accepted by God! (Gen.4: 1-7; II Sam. 6:1-10; I Chron. 15:13) While we seek to minister to modern man and address modern problems in helpful, relevant ways, we believe with all our heart that the “old fashioned” Bible is all we need for life and godliness (II Pet. 1:2-3)! The old fashioned truth from God’s Word does not mean “dry and dusty”. We believe the Bible is living, fresh, exciting, and produces great JOY in the heart! God’s Word and God’s ways may be old, but they are never out of date.
As you can gather, our emphasis as a Bible church is on the BIBLE. We attempt to avoid the extremes of emotionalism on one hand and the deadness of liturgy & tradition on the other hand. Our goal is to emphasize the Word of God and pattern Salem Bible Church after the model found in the New Testament. The church is a living Body of born again members functioning together in harmony in such a way as to carry out the will of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, in conjunction with His Word, the Bible. By following this pattern, the life of Christ is manifested and glorified. That is our purpose. If you are not presently attending a sound, Bible believing church, we would LOVE to have you become a vital part of this assembly of believers!
