1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments to be both the verbal and inspired Word of God, authoritative, inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed.
2. The Godhead
We believe in one Holy Trinity, existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; eternal in being; identical in essence; equal in power and glory; and having the same attributes and perfection.
3. The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God and is totally unable to regain his former position apart from God's grace.
4. The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. We believe that all children who die before the age of accountability, and all persons who have never had the mental capacity to understand the plan of salvation are saved through the grace of Jesus Christ and that our redemption and salvation are guaranteed to us by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God, where, as His people's High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy.
5. The Personality of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He also in the present age regenerates believers in Christ, baptizes them into the Church, the body of Christ, indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts upon each one, and fills those yielded to Him.
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation is a gift of God in grace and is received by man through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Salvation is a spiritual rebirth which is an act of God and not of man.
7. The Eternal Security of the Believer
We believe that all true believers, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever. Those whom God has justified, He will also glorify. Consequently, the truly regenerated soul will not totally fall away from a state of grace, but will be preserved to everlasting life. The preservation of believers depends on the unchangeable love and power of God and the nature of the Covenant of Grace. True believers may fall into sin but will never rest or find satisfaction except in the full fellowship of God.
8. The Church
We believe that the church, the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age, irrespective of their affiliation with any Christian organization.
9. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, which are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today.
10. The Priesthood of the Believer
We believe in the priesthood of the believer. That is to say all people born of God have equal status before, and direct access to, our Lord. We believe every man is his own priest.
11. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own, the Church (the "rapture"), and His subsequent premillennial return (the second coming) to earth to set up His kingdom.
12. The Eternal State
We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming for the Church, when soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.
13. The Responsibility of the Believer
We believe that all believers should seek to walk by the Spirit, not bringing reproach upon the Lord and Savior, and that believers are to serve the Lord in holiness, righteousness, and humility all the days of their life.
We believe that it is the obligation of every believer to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the gospel to all the world.
We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the Lord in prayer and to support it as good stewards with our time, talent and finances as the Lord has prospered them.
We believe in the standard of tithing of income to the church so there will be sufficient funds to support the work that the Lord has given the church to do here on earth.
We believe that God intends a relationship between one man and one woman for one lifetime. A marriage relationship should not be dissolved for any reason not justified by the teachings of the Word of God. Many times marriages are not compatible and are dissolved.
We believe that God can put these broken hearts back together and make of them Christians that are whole and complete through the cleansing blood that was shed on Calvary.
We believe that all sin can be forgiven with the exception of sinning against the Holy Spirit.
We believe that "alternative lifestyles" including, but not limited to, homosexuality, adultery, fornication, etc. is sin and is against every fundamental teaching in the Holy Scriptures.
We believe that the Christian life should exemplify unconditional love for one another as God loves us.
We believe in a very strong pro-life position: that an unborn child is a human being whom God is creating. At the point of conception, we believe that the child is alive.
14. Church Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus instituted the ordinance of baptism and the Lord's supper to be observed by all believers until His return.
Baptism - Baptism shall be a prerequisite for membership in the church, it being fully understood that the ordinance is not necessary for salvation. This ordinance is simply an outward sign of an inward spiritual change. The baptism shall be administered with the approval of the Minister and the Board of Elders. The mode of baptism, being only a testimony to a spiritual reality, shall be by sprinkling or immersion at the candidate's option. We shall accept any mode of baptism administered by any other Christian church.
The Lord's Supper - The Lord's Supper shall be administered as frequently as the Elders shall order. We believe in open communion. Open communion means that if a person is a member of the body of Christ they are welcome to participate in the Lord's Supper. Membership in West Meade Fellowship is not a prerequisite.
Dedication of Children - It shall be the policy of the church to have children dedicated to the Lord when desired by the parents who are members or associate members. The dedication of children shall not be considered an ordinance. Child dedication is a commitment to the Lord, on the part of the parent(s), to raise the child to the best of their ability in a Christian atmosphere and to the best of their ability teach them the way of the Lord. The church does not in any way believe that this dedication has anything to do with the salvation of the child. When the child reaches the age of accountability (the time in the child's life when they are mature enough to know right from wrong and have to make a conscious decision), it will be their own decision as to their accepting or rejecting the calling of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into life eternal. Child dedication is not a mode of salvation and shall not be considered baptism.
