A Brief History
On the first Sunday in November 1972, twelve people met for the initial worship service at Nepean Baptist Church. Since then, Nepean Baptist Church has grown steadfastly in numbers, yet remains a sincere and caring ministry reaching out to all in need.
Nepean Baptist Church has seen God work in a variety of remarkable ways for over 40 years. Many have grown in their faith and this growth has led to numerous individuals becoming leaders and workers in both the local and global Church. Nepean Baptist Church is a fully self-supporting entity. It is affiliated with the Eastern Association of North American Baptist Churches.
We have adopted the teachings of Christ in this passage as Our mission statement: “Following Christ and Helping Others Follow Him”
And (Jesus) said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ~ Luke 9:23-24 ESV
- “FOLLOWING” – This term describes the main action our hearts and lives are engaged in. A biblical parallel for this term is “disciple”. A disciple was a committed follower and learner of a respected leader and teacher. Today, “disciples” is not a common word, but “followers” is. A new person might say “These people are getting in behind a leader of some sort. They think this leader is important. This person leads and guides this group and focuses their energies.”
- “CHRIST” – This communicates clearly who we are following. Jesus is the head of the church. Our teaching, service and message to point to Him as the leader and focus of our worship and energies.
- “HELPING” – This word says that we are a body of people who are available to assist in something. Though it is not popular in these days of “self-actualization, self-will and self-help”, we all need a group of people surrounding us that are willing to help. This word communicates our willingness to do just that, for each other and our community.
- “OTHERS” – Where the first two words “following Christ” show where our main, individual focuses lie, this word points our focus outward. Outward to our friends, co-workers, community, city, province and nation.
- “FOLLOW” – This word focuses our helping efforts. What are we trying to help people to do? To follow Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Jesus told us in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 to make followers, teach them to obey, baptize them, and reminded us that He would be with us always.
- “HIM” – Again, a reference to Jesus. We are not helping others so they will become members of our church, so they will tithe, or because we want them to learn “self-reliance”. We are not helping others so they will become followers of us, our doctrine, our pastor or our congregation. We want to help people become followers of Jesus Christ and rely on Him.
We believe:
…in living lives obedient to God, as followers of Christ.
…that focusing on God and His Word is central to our spiritual growth.
…in preaching and teaching God’s Word with the awe & authority it deserves.
…that loving and serving others as Christ did is central to our Christian calling.
…that developing biblical leadership is essential.
…in the proclamation of Christ’s message of love & salvation to non-Christians.
…in the nurturing of spiritual growth in the church through small group fellowships and organized Bible studies.
…in honouring God through public worship and personal devotion.
…in Christ’s call to be a visible & shining example of His Gospel message within our community.
…in building the future of the church through innovative youth programs that are culturally relevant and doctrinally pure.
We adhere to the published Statement of Beliefs of the North American Baptist Association. For a more in depth exploration of those beliefs, please follow the link below.