Our Objective and Mission Statement
To be a dynamic spiritual organism empowered by the Holy Spirit to share Christ with as many people as possible in our church, community, and throughout the world.
To be a worshiping fellowship, experiencing an awareness of God, recognizing his infallible person, and responding in obedience to his leadership.
To experience an increasingly meaningful fellowship with God and fellow believers.
To help people experience a growing knowledge of God and man.
To be a church which ministers unselfishly to persons in the community and the world in Jesus’s name.
To be a church whose purpose is to be Christlike in our daily living by emphasizing total commitment of life, personality, and possessions to the lordship of Christ.
The mission of Live Oak Baptist Church is found in Matthew 28:19-20: To lead people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then we seek to see the saved “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” and to equip them by sound biblical teaching and practical application and personal interaction to go out and lead others into a relationship with Christ.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20
Statement of Faith
We are a church with a long history of loving God and ministering to the community. We value relationships and authenticity. We are real believers doing life together.
On Sunday, we have just over 100 people of all ages, plus Nursery and Children’s ministries, and the dress code is “come as you are.” Since 50% of our members are under the age of 50, our worship style is genuinely blended with contemporary worship songs and classic hymns with an upbeat focus.
As a Baptist church, we use the Bible as our proof text and speak directly from it. We value our faith, family, and desire to reach every generation, and discipleship is a core value of our ministry model. Our ministry approach is we believe the Great Commission is God’s plan for our community as commanded in Matthew 28:16-20.
We R.E.A.C.H. our world through this model:
~Relationship Building
~Evangelism Engagement
~Authentic Worship
~Challenging Others to Lead
~Help Mentor Others for Discipleship
The (abbreviated) Statement of Faith
We believe in one true and living God, and that there are three persons in the God-head, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19, John 10:30, Eph. 2:11-18, 2 Cor. 13:14.
We believe the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, and the only rule of faith and practice. 2 Tim.3:14-17. 2 Peter 1:19-21.
We believe that man cannot save his own soul and that he is saved by Grace through Faith. John 3:16, Heb. 7:25-27, Eph. 1, 1 Peter 1:18-21, Eph. 2:8-9.
We believe that if you are once saved you are always saved. Phil.1:6. Phil. 2:12-13, John 10:26-29, Romans 8:28.
We believe that baptism is one of the two New Testament Ordinances, that baptism is by immersion: that believers are the only subjects of this ordinance. Matt. 3:13-17, Romans 6:4, Col. 2:12, Acts 8:38.
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is one of the two New Testament Ordinances; that it is a memorial supper; and that we are to observe it in remembrance of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. Matt 26:26-29, 1 Cor.11:26-29
We believe the punishment of the lost will be everlasting in the Lake of Fire and the joy of the saved shall be eternal life in Heaven with Christ. Matt. 26:46. 2 Thess.1:5-9, Rev. 20:11-15.
We believe the obligation is on every church and every saved person to Witness. Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Acts 8:4.
(This is an abbreviated statement of faith. You can see the full Statement of Faith in the Constitution and By-Laws)
God's Simple Plan of Salvation
Admit that you are a sinner. You are probably not as bad as you can be. But, the Bible says that all of us are as bad off as we can be because of the sin, even just one, that separates us from God. Knowing that we are sinners and that we will never get to heaven as we are, is the first step toward having our life changed. Do you feel a longing in your life, an emptiness in your heart that needs to be filled? God convicts us to accept Him. We must repent (tell God you are sorry for sin) and take the next step. Read Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:12
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12
Believe that Jesus Christ paid the sin debt for you and call upon Him to save you.
Because we cannot by ourselves have a relationship with God, and we cannot be good enough to get ourselves to heaven, God made it possible for us to be changed. By believing in our heart that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay the price God demanded for sin, we are saved. Being saved is having our sin taken away, making it possible for us to have a relationship with God and to go to heaven one day. The Bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That is, if we have confessed our sin and believe that Jesus died to save us then we can pray and ask Him to save us and He will. Read Ephesians 2:8,9 Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9,10,13
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8,9
But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:9,10,13
If you know you are a sinner; and you know your sins are keeping you from God; and you are sorry for your sins; and you ask God to forgive your sin; and you tell Him that you believe that Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood, and that He rose from the dead the third day, then you are saved in that instant. The Bible is very clear in telling us that we can know we are saved, not by our works but by Christ’s finished work on the cross. Read 1 John 5:13; Titus 3:5
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Titus 3:5
Now that you are saved you should do the following:
*Begin reading your Bible
*Learn to Pray
*Be baptized and join a good, Bible preaching church and get active in it
*Tell others about Jesus and what He has done for you
