About West Division Street Baptist Church
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Welcome to the web page of West Division Street Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. We believe that baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself - baptism as a symbol of entrance into the body of Christ and the Lord's Supper a regular reminder of the death, resurrection, and return of Christ. Baptism symbolizes the believer's death to sin and new life in Christ. Those baptized are done so in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together they are simultaneously God's pledge to us, divinely ordained means of grace, our public vows of submission to the once crucified and now resurrected Christ, and anticipations of his return and of the consummation of all things.
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
About Observance: We believe that the church is governed by Christ's laws, exercises the gifts He gives through the Holy Spirit, serves one another in love, and seeks to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. We believe that the local church meets on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, in observance of Christ's resurrection
About Love: God is love. He loves us and wants for us to spend eternity with Him. He also wants for us to express His love to others by meeting them where they are in life with the message of salvation.
