Doctrine
We proclaim a message of grace and truth in Jesus Christ, and our convictions come from our understanding of His Word, the Scriptures. The most important things we believe are the things Christians have believed regardless of age, culture, or language. However, in each culture, it is important to speak plainly and clearly to confusing or even controversial questions.
Northside Fellowship affirms the Baptist Faith and Message (2000 ed.) as an accurate statement of our faith, along with the supplementary statements of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and the Nashville Statement on Gender and Sexuality. You can read a simplified version of some of these beliefs below.
We believe that the whole Bible is God’s perfect Word.
It’s completely true and contains all we need in order to know and walk with God.
We believe in one God who eternally exists in three persons.
He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, perfectly holy, sovereign, and good.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He is fully man and fully God, the only Lord and Savior, who died for our sins and rose from the dead.
We believe that salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ.
Salvation from sin is a free gift for all who repent and believe; it’s impossible to earn, but it will completely transform our life and eternity.
We believe in the Church.
God designed His people to be gathered into churches who care for each other, grow more like Jesus, and make disciples among all nations. We believe baptism is for believers in Jesus, and we gladly celebrate the Lord’s Supper until He returns.
We believe that Jesus is coming back.
He will return to judge the living and the dead, giving everyone what they have deserved in Hell or what they have received by grace in Heaven. His kingdom will have no end.
Distinctives
Every church shares a family resemblance, but some of our practices can differ. Northside aligns most closely with churches that are Baptist, congregational, pastor-led, and cooperating.
Baptist
We believe that the local church is an autonomous gathering of men and women who have trusted Christ, proclaimed their faith in baptism, and made a covenant with each other for worship, witness, and holiness.
Congregational
Our church structure is congregational. This means the membership of the church makes the church’s major decisions through democratic processes. These decisions include things like adding and removing members, adding and removing pastors, voting on the church’s annual budget.
Pastor-Led
Pastors are called by God and appointed by the church to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph 4:12). The primary tasks of a church’s pastors (also called “elders” or “overseers” in the Bible) are preaching and teaching, counseling and praying, leading and administrating. Pastors are accountable to God and the whole congregation, even as each member is called to follow its leaders as they follow Christ.
Cooperating
Though we believe that every church is accountable directly to Jesus and should not be run by an outside organization, we know that we are just one part of God’s people, our brother and sisters around the world and through the ages. We confess the major creeds of historic Christianity, and we freely and happily cooperate with likeminded churches for fellowship, service, and outreach. Some of our closest partnerships include the Clay-Platte Baptist Association in the KC Northland, the Missouri Baptist Convention, the Southern Baptist Convention, and Send Network.
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