What We Believe
Supremacy of God
There is one God, living and true, who is spiritual and personal, and is seen as creator, redeemer, and preserver of our universe.
Lordship of Jesus Christ
We believe that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). His existed as God at the beginning of all things, He came and dwelt among us for the purpose of being sacrificed for our sins and overpowered death through His bodily resurrection. He is the only means to salvation and reconciliation to God (John 14:6). He now sits at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us (Romans 8:34). According to God's timing and purposes we believe that Jesus will return and gather His own, alive and passed unto Himself before He consummates His redemptive purposes (I Thess. 4:14-18). We are called through His life, death, and resurrection to a personal salvation.
Presence of the Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who is one in substance with God the Father and Jesus Christ. This Trinity is the way God expresses Himself in the world in creation and redemption. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells the life of the believer when salvation enters into that person's life. We believe that God “He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts" (2 Cor 1:22).
Salvation by Grace Through Faith in Jesus Christ
We believe that salvation and being reconciled unto God comes by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not by works; otherwise salvation is within our empowerment. It is a free gift that comes by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 2:8+9 and Titus 3:4-5)
Authority of Scripture
We believe that the Bible; which we also refer to as Scripture, is "God-breathed". By that we are asserting that God's Holy Spirit inspired into the fullness of truth the writers of the Bible. Because God is eternal and His character is consistent we can be confident that the teachings of the Bible are true and authoritative for how we live our lives, practice our faith and perceive our worldview (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Missions and Evangelism
It is the blessed privilege and responsibility of every Christian to actively share Christ that people might know Him (Matt 29:18-20) and to serve others in the Name of Christ so to be a living testimony of God's grace and to give glory to God (Matt 5:16). Every Christ follower is on mission. That mission field could be across the world or across the street. We also believe in cooperating with other like-minded churches so that we can participate in God's service in ways that we cannot do as a single church.
Freedom of Conscience
We ask with Paul “why should my liberty be determined by another man’s conscience?” (1 Cor. 10:29). And we seek His answer, “Let us no more pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother…Let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbringing” (Rom. 14:13).
Religious Liberty
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His word or not contained in it. The church and state should be separate. The church should not endorse political parties or candidates. Each person should be free to exercise his or her political conscience as God's Spirit and conscience leads without condemnation within the church.
Hope of the World
That like John, we shall see “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) for “behold, the dwelling of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3).
Memorial Baptist Church was founded in 1963.
Memorial Baptist church is a church of heart and hope and missions. The church began in the hearts of mission minded people of First Baptist Church in Staunton. In 1961, a mission-charged committee was created by First Baptist to explore the possibility of beginning a mission church in the north end of Staunton. As a result of that committee Memorial Baptist Church was organized.
First service was held on May 5th, 1963 in the W. J. Perry building in Staunton. Charter Sunday was held June 2nd, 1963 with 67 people signing the roll that day. Charter membership was closed on June 30th, 1963 with 89 members. Today our membership is over 1200. The congregation purchased its present location on Taylor Street on October 31st, 1964 and construction of the first building was completed July 3rd, 1966.
Due to increased membership, construction of a larger sanctuary began on the first Sunday in January 1976 and the service was in it on February 27, 1977. Additional education space was constructed in 1992 and dedicated on May 16, 1993. The current sanctuary, nursery area, music suite, offices and support facilities were construction in 2005-2006 and dedicated on February 18th, 2007.
Memorial Baptist Church has been served by eight pastors, Rev. Koy Peterson (interim), May-July 1963; Rev. William Thompson, August 1963-April 1967; Dr. Clyde Helms (interim), May-Nov. 1967; Rev. Bill Hinton, Nov. 1967-Nov. 1972; Rev. Temple Myers, Nov. 1972-June 2013; Dr. Bill Smith (interim), July 2013-July 2014; Rev. Mark Jones, August 2014 to February 2022; Rev. Todd Latham, May2022 to present.
Memorial Baptist Church continues to give generously to missions, to use its building for the community and to proclaim the gospel of a saving Lord daily in its missions.
Our Affiliations and Missions Partners
