One of the things that make Trinity Baptist Church different from other Baptist Churches is our acceptance of pastoral authority. We acknowledge that God has commissioned and equipped His men to make any or all decisions concerning the program of the local church (Amos 3:7; I Tim. 4:11; I Tim. 5:17). We acknowledge the command God gives us in (Hebrews 13:7, 17) to remember and obey the pastor and submit ourselves to him. This eliminates the politics, and unscriptural voting that takes place in most all churches. Our church family rejects majority rule or congregational rule in the house of God.
Distinctive of ours is stated in our motto, “having the everlasting Gospel to preach”. This is taken from Revelation 14:6. We believe that all mankind must come to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. This means that all men in all ages or dispensations must be saved by faith alone. That saving faith comes through hearing the Word of God. We believe that God is not a respecter of persons and that no one has ever been saved by their own merit. We believe that no one will ever be saved by their own merit (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5; Romans 4:5). We acknowledge that God has dealt with mankind differently over the course of history and in God’s equity He reveals His Gospel to each soul, never showing preference or special treatment to anyone. The message has always been the same, though stated in different ways throughout the Holy Bible. We reject the thought of other “gospels” or plans of salvation involving good works. We reject the notion of Old Testament saints being saved through the sacrifice of bulls and goats. Furthermore, we believe that when a man accepts Christ as his Saviour that he is eternally saved or sanctified by the power of God, not by his own holiness. The thought of losing one’s salvation implies that one must do something to keep himself saved, thus you have works salvation or legalism. We reject the thought of someone losing their salvation. Jesus has always been and always will be the answer for the sin problem of mankind. This is what is referred to as the “everlasting gospel” (I Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 10:43; Galatians 3:6-11).
One more thing that sets us apart, we do not pass an offering plate at Trinity Baptist Church nor do we take up “special” offerings. We have trouble locating such practices in Scripture. We do find in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ stated that His house “shall be called a house of prayer”. This is what the Saviour wanted all the heathen nations to perceive His House or His Church to be. See Isaiah 56:7. We believe that many preachers, some of good intentions, have over emphasized the command to tithe and offer up monetary gifts to God. Make no mistake, we believe in Scriptural tithing and giving of offerings. Anyone that is a born-again believer and not tithing is robbing God and they are not in good standing with God, their church or the lost. We acknowledge the Scripture in which Jesus disallowed and physically enforced that no “man should carry any vessel through the temple” (Mark 11:15-18). Furthermore, we remember the passage in which Paul admonished the church at Corinth to “lay by them in store what God hath prospered” them upon the first day of the week, “that there be no gatherings” when he came (I Corinthians 16:2). It seems that this idea of taking “special offerings” is not something new. We are simply trying to do things God’s way. We believe that the Church house and those who are saved truly belong to God. Doing things God’s way has never been popular or understood by the lost or by the religious hierarchy for that matter. Our practice of gathering the tithes and offerings at Trinity Baptist Church consists of placing a wooden box or chest at the exits and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through the Word of God to tell the folks when and what to give. See: 2 Kings 12:9.
