top buttons
banner logo
worship
     HomeMinistriesMissionsAbout UsEventsContact

Our Staff

 

Dr. Rodney Kelley, Pastor

Tom Young, Associate Pastor (Music)

Gary Wimblerly, Administrative Pastor (Outreach)

Matt Thistle, Assistant Pastor (Youth)



Our Vision

Our Vision is simple, it is to see the Lord's work honor Him.  We must serve the Lord with hearts of obedience and determination to fulfill His commission.  We must also preach and teach the Word of God with grace, yet without compromise.  Our church is not about us, it is about Jesus.
Our Music

Our music is traditional hymns, some choruses, and Southern Gospel.  Music is only one part of worship.  Worship without a sincere heart before God is of no value.  Our music, though enjoyable, is not about how it makes us feel, but about how it honors the Lord.  Worship focused on man is idolatry. 
Our History
Our church began in 1954 as Normandy Baptist Temple.  In 1955, Dr. W. A. McMillan became the pastor and faithfully served in that capacity for forty-five years.  Over the years, God sent many staff members to serve with Dr. McMillan.  In 1992, Pastor Kelley resigned from a pastorate in Alabama to join the staff of NBT.  Through the years, he served as the Minister of Music, Associate Pastor, and Co-Pastor.  In February of 2000, the church unanimously elected him as the next pastor.  On December 31, 2000, Dr. McMillan passed the torch of the ministry to Pastor Kelley.  

Before his retirement, Dr. McMillan recommended that the church change its name.  After prayer and counsel, the church voted to change the name to West Jacksonville Baptist Church.  God has richly blessed us in our past, and we look forward to even greater blessings as we surrender to His plan.
Our Statement of Faith

The Holy Scriptures.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21;).

The Godhead.
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19: 2 Cor. 13:14; John 14:10, 26).

     1. The Person and Work of God the Father
          (1) We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power.
          (2) We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and     
               answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through Jesus
               Christ.

     2. The Person and Work of Christ.
          (1) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing
               to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that
               He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor.
               5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8).
          (2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the
               cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is
               made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1
               Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
          (3) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right
               hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor,
               and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).

     3. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
          (1) We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness,
               and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all
               believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption
               (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12- 14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).
          (2) We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and
               appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled
               with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).
          (3) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God
               uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order
               that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12).
          (4) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, were
               temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of
               the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from
               sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God
               frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8;
               14:21-22).

The Depravity of Man.
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is hopelessly depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4: 17-19).

Salvation.
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). We believe that salvation is a free gift available to all who will call on Jesus Christ and accept this free gift. (John 3:15-16, John 12:46, Rom. 10:9-13, Rev. 22:17) We believe that Jesus died for the sins of all the world, and that through Him alone is salvation made possible. (1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:14, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 John 5:12)

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
     1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in
          Christ forever (John 6:3740; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).
     2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation
          through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty
          as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

The Church.
     1. We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely
          made up of born-again persons (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
     2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and
          defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
     3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts
          13:14; 15:19-3 1; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
     4. We recognize water baptism by immersion, and the Lord's Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of
          obedience for the church in this age (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:4 1-42; 18:18; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).

Separation.
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (Rom. 12:1-2, 14:13; 2 Cor.6:14-7:1; 2 Tim.3:1-5;
l John2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).

The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His Church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; I Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 4;13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6).

The Eternal State
     1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to
          judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).
     2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with
          the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body
          are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess.
          4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6).
     3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and
          torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the
          Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but
          to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark. 9:43-48; Luke 16:
          19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).

The Personality of Satan.
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

Creation.
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin (Genesis 1-2; Ex. 20:11).

Civil Government.
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

Human Sexuality.
     1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a
          marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism,
          bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of
          God's gift of sex. Any employee of the church becoming pregnant or causing pregnancy as a
          result of consensual intercourse, outside of the marriage relationship, shall be terminated from
          employment. Furthermore, we believe that any sexual relationship with a minor is perverted and
          deplorable, and totally unacceptable before God. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev.
          18:1-30; Rom 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).
     2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen.
          2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23).
     3. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has
          ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the
          church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors and
          deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensing and ordination by the
          church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)

Divorce and Remarriage.
We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. God loves divorced people and although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Mal. 2: 14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).

Abortion.
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, and inexcusable taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 5 1:5; 139:14-16: Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).

Missions.
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:4648; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20).

Lawsuits Between Believers.
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian's insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32).

Giving.
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17).

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.



Contact Us Site Map Home Page