When we lay out what exactly Vine Street Baptist believes we start with the Bible. The Bible is where we discover what it means to be a Christian. The Bible is complete and total truth. The Bible is God’s Word and the final authority in the life of a believer, we believe it is without error, and that it says everything a person needs to know to be saved and live a life pleasing to God.

There is one God in three persons, completely equal and yet distinct beings with distinct roles. These three are the Father, the Son, and the Spirit who have always existed and always will exist. We are a church that believes in the Trinity, a doctrine that man cannot fully comprehend or explain, yet a belief that is biblical truth. God directly created the universe and everything in it including man. God also is personally involved in the universe and sustains life in the universe.

Man was originally made to be in relationship with God and be His stewards over the Earth. But mankind rebelled and rejected God, we call this sin, and every single person has rejected God in favor of their own ways. This has resulted in mankind standing guilty before God and deserving of death both physical and spiritual.

Only with the help of God through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit can man be saved from sin and destruction.

We believe that God, in His love, made a way for humans to be regenerated and restored. Through faith in Jesus Christ alone by turning away from sin and following Him can someone be saved and made new by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is God the Son, who, out of obedience and loyalty to God the Father, came down to earth as a man. He is fully God and fully man. He was miraculously born of a virgin and lived a life completely pleasing to God the Father. He suffered and died on a cross as a sacrifice to pay for humanity’s rebellious rejection of God. Jesus Christ then rose physically from the dead and ascended to heaven where He now reigns as ruler over the universe and is the advocate to the Father for all believers.

Christ will one day physically come back to earth and the church places hope in His eventual return. The church awaits His return by continuing to live faithfully with Him and spreading His message.

One day those who believe in Christ will not only be fully renewed in Spirit but also renewed physically. Those who believe in Christ will enjoy a perfect relationship with God in paradise forever. Those who continue to reject God will receive punishment in the form of separation from God and all of the good things that come from Him forever.

The church was mandated by Christ in the Bible and local church membership is comprised of believers that have been baptized.

Baptism is a public symbol of a believer’s commitment, loyalty, and obedience to Christ. Baptism is by immersion, symbolizing the renewal of a person. The Lord’s Supper is a time where believers examine themselves and remember what Christ has sacrificed. The bread and the cup are symbolic of the body and blood that was shed by Him as a sacrifice for our sin. This church maintains that both ordinances are only for the believer and are symbolic. These acts do not have any power to save, they are used as a symbol of obedience and a reminder of what Christ has done.

Every church within the Southern Baptist denomination is self-governed, meaning the denomination does not have any authority over the local church. We associate with the Southern Baptist denomination on the basis of shared doctrine and mission. The churches within the Southern Baptist denomination cooperate with each other but do not govern each other. The local church is the governing body for Christians who have membership in that church with the Word of God as the final authority.

We do agree with the “Baptist Faith and Message 2000” document created by the Southern Baptist Convention.