What we Believe
Open Bible Christian Center is a proud Open Bible Church
Statement of Faith
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the only infallible guide and rule of our faith and practice.
(Psalm 119:89; Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21.)
Baptism
Baby Dedication
At Open Bible Christian Center we believe that children are a gift from God Child dedication is a public commitment you make before God, your church, and your family. The dedication service provides you, the parent(s), an opportunity to express publicly your desire to lead and spiritually nurture your child in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, so your child will develop a desire to love God and love others. One key step in marking your desire to nurture your child in the ways of God is to dedicate him or her to God publicly, through a child dedication ceremony. 1 Samuel 1:26-28 - 26 And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.
We understand baptism as a symbol or mark of spiritual obedience within the life of the believer. We see a number of symbolisms in baptism.The symbol of cleansing from sin. Water is a universal solvent. Anytime water is mentioned we consider the cleansing effect. We know that cleansing from sin involves a repentant act. In that action we have Godly sorrow over wrong-doing (sin). We turn from our sin to God for forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9 The symbol of freedom from the consequences of sin. Romans 6:4 speaks of death, burial, and resurrection. The symbolism here represents death to sin by burial in the water through baptism. In the visible act of water baptism we acknowledge that Christ has forgiven us and we are free from our sin. We have the symbol of new life in Christ. Romans 6:5 teaches us that we have resurrected life; and water baptism by immersion most clearly demonstrates that coming up out of the water is a resurrection to the newness promised in Christ. If you would like to be baptized, please talk to Pastor Ron to be added to the schedule. Each candidate for baptism will write out their personal testimony. They may be asked to share their testimony publicly. Each candidate will be baptized in this manner: they will crisscross their arms across their chest with their hand able to pinch their nose if needed and the officiate will then place his hand on top of those crossed arms in order to avoid inappropriate touch and submerse them under the water and bring them back up by placing their left arm under the small of their back. Each candidate will be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19.