About Us

We are very pleased that you are considering visiting us here at ARBC!  Here’s what to expect at one of our typical morning worship services:

• Our service typically lasts for about an hour (11:00AM to Noon).  Most everyone comes a few minutes early to secure their preferred seating, and to prepare their hearts for worship as the pianist plays meditative music.
• One of the deacons call the congregation to worship from the Psalms and then prays.
• After the Psalm of Meditation, our song leader leads the congregation in a hymn. Our hymns are selected to direct our hearts to worship the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Three in One.
• After the first hymn, one of our elders will lead the congregation in hearing from God by reading a portion of the Scriptures.
• After another hymn another elder will lead us in a time of pastoral prayer, asking God to be pleased to meet with His gathered people and bless the prayers, the praises, and the preaching. This is followed by a responsive reading from the Scritpures.
• The pastor/preacher enters the pulpit and brings to the congregation a 40-50 minute message from God’s Word.  We regard this time of preaching not only to be a continuation of worship (listening to Christ speak to us through His Word and by His Spirit), but also to be primary and indispensable to the worship service.
• After the preaching we respond to God’s word with a hymn of praise and then an elder concludes the service with a Benediction (Blessing).
• It is our custom to observe the Lord’s Supper (Communion) on the 1st Sunday of each month at the end of the morning worship, and to then join together in a fellowship meal (potluck).
• As far as ‘what to wear’, you will find that people at ARBC dress anywhere from casual (jeans) to business (suit and tie), but with a concern to be modest and non-distracting to other worshipers.
• There is an area in the foyer (equipped with speakers, pews, and a large window to the sanctuary) that is reserved for families with small children to train their sons and daughters to worship.

We invite you to come and worship our Triune God with us.  We trust that you will find our services God-centered and soul-enriching.

WHEREFORE WE RECEIVING A KINGDOM WHICH CANNOT BE MOVED, LET US HAVE GRACE, WHEREBY WE MAY SERVE GOD ACCEPTABLY WITH REVERENCE AND GODLY FEAR: FOR OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE. [HEBREWS 12:28,29]

We believe in God-centered worship. As we gather on the day which God has set apart for worship, we come together to give Him the glory that is due His name. We should not come together primarily to feel better or to be entertained but to reverently honor and please God.

We are not a ‘seeker-sensitive’ church. Our primary desire is not to accommodate our worship to what pleases men, but to be sensitive to what kind of worship pleases God. But what kind of worship pleases Him? Does it really matter how He is worshipped? We believe that it does matter, especially to God. God has not left us to our own imaginations or devices, but He has told us in His Word how He is to be worshipped. The Bible prescribes for us, not only the proper attitude of worship, but also the basic elements of worship, which are these: the reading and preaching of Scripture, prayer and praise, the observance of the ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and giving of our tithes and offerings to the Lord. We believe in the primacy of preaching because it is through the reading, exposition, and application of the Bible that God saves sinners and sanctifies His people.

We also sing rich hymns of the faith (old and new) because their content is thoroughly biblical, doctrinally sound, and honoring to the Lord. We believe that the Word of Christ should dwell “richly” in our congregational singing (Colossians 3:16-17), and that the songs we sing should neither be irreverent, vainly repetitious, or shallow.

AND THIS IS HIS COMMANDMENT, THAT WE SHOULD BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS HE GAVE US COMMANDMENT. [1 JOHN 3:23]

The most important question you can ask a church as you consider committing yourself to its ministry and membership is: “What do you believe?” 

The formal principle of the Protestant Reformation was the belief that the Scriptures alone are the final authority for faith and practice. The Bible tells us what we are to believe about God and what duty He requires of us. It is God’s complete and final revelation to us; therefore, we must not add to it or subtract from it. We believe that the Bible is sufficient to ‘thoroughly equip’ us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). We believe that the Bible (the revelation given to us through the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone) is the foundation of the church that has already been laid. The church’s foundation is complete and sufficient. Therefore, special revelation in the form of visions, dreams, tongues, or prophecies have ceased.

However, we live in a day of doctrinal vagueness and confusion, so we need to be clear about what we believe the Bible teaches. Therefore, we are a confessional church, i.e., we have a written Confession of Faith that clearly states what we believe the Scriptures teach. We fully subscribe to the historic London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. We do not hold our Confession as equal to or above Scriptures, but as an accurate expression of the system of doctrine taught in Scriptures. As such, it is a great help in our faith, both as an assistance in controversy and as an instrument of edification and instruction.

SO WHEN THEY HAD APPOINTED ELDERS IN EVERY CHURCH, AND PRAYED WITH FASTING, THEY COMMENDED THEM TO THE LORD IN WHOM THEY HAD BELIEVED . [ACTS 14:23]

Christ is the Head of His church, but He has appointed that the church be led by elders who labor in teaching in preaching, serving Christ, and shepherding His people.

AND THESE WORDS, WHICH I COMMAND THEE THIS DAY, SHALL BE IN THINE HEART: AND THOU SHALT TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY UNTO THY CHILDREN. [DEUTERONOMY 6:6,7]

We practice an age-integrated model where all ages worship together in the Service; we do not have any systematic age segregation.

We encourage families to bring their children into the Service, as we do not have a nursery. Crying and cooing babies do not bother us. Moreover, we believe it is important for children to worship with their parents and be taught how to sit through the Service (Ezra 10:1, Matthew 18:1-5). Feel encouraged to sit toward the front where it is easier for the little ones to see and hear what is happening and stay involved (Matthew 19:13-15).

Quietly take the time to explain the parts of the Service and the actions of the Pastor and ushers. Sing the hymns, pray, and voice the responses. Children learn liturgical behavior by copying you. We also understand that children have a sin nature; you are welcome to remove them from the room for instruction and training, but please come back (Ephesians 6:1-4)!

The foyer has been arranged for the instruction and training of children. It is equipped with several pews, a large window into the sanctuary, and speakers so you can hear and see the service as you disciple your children to worship.

Furthermore, we invite our soon-to-be adult children to converse with our church family adults – to glean wisdom from them as they grow and mature into the next generation of church members and leaders (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Remember that how we welcome children in Church directly affects how they respond to the Church, God, and one another. Let them know that they are at home in the house of worship.

The presence of children is a gift to the Church, and they are a reminder that our congregation is growing. Please welcome our children and give a smile of encouragement to their parents.

WHAT THING SOEVER I COMMAND YOU, OBSERVE TO DO IT: THOU SHALT NOT ADD THERETO, NOR DIMINISH FROM IT. [DEUTERONOMY 12:32]

This is a question we get asked a lot, and there is not an easy answer. In part, that is because the word “reformed” has come into widespread use and means different things to different people.

There are presbyterian churches that say no baptist can be reformed because reformed necessarily means the baptism of infant children of believers.

There are baptist churches that call themselves reformed and simply mean that they embrace, after some fashion, the sovereignty of God in salvation.

We mean something different by calling ourselves a reformed baptist church.

By reformed, we mean that we trace our theological roots to the English Reformation (and by extension to the broader Protestant Reformation) of the 17th century. We are a confessional church, confessing the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, not simply as a “statement” of faith that is written down and then ignored, but as a useful tool summarizing what we believe the Scriptures teach on a number of important doctrines.

This means that we believe the Bible teaches the Doctrines of Grace, sometimes summarized as the 5 Solas of the Reformation.

We take a high view of the Scriptures, believing they are infallible, sufficient, and authoritative for the life of the Christian and the church.

We hold to covenant theology (the baptist variety taught in our confession, known as 1689 Federalism, and distinct from that which is taught by our Presbyterian brethren), believing the Scriptures are clear that God relates to men through means of various covenants graciously made by a loving Creator with His creatures.

We are creedal, believing the historic, orthodox creeds of the ancient church are still valuable summaries of biblical truth and safeguards against heresy. We affirm: The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Definition of Chalcedon, and The Athanasian Creed.

We affirm there is a clear distinction, but also a relationship, between Law and Gospel. The Law has three uses: the civil use, the pedagogical use, and the moral (or sanctifying) use. By it’s very nature, the Law of God, and its requirements of perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience, point us to the saving work of Jesus Christ, which is the Gospel (or good news).

By baptist, we mean that we believe the Bible teaches the distinctiveness of the New Covenant (Covenant of Grace) and the baptism of confessing believers by immersion. This is sometimes called credo-baptism. Our understanding of the practice of baptism is arrived at from exegesis of the biblical passages dealing with baptism, and our understanding of biblical covenant theology.

By church, we mean that we are not a social club, or political activist group, but we are one local expression of the body of Christ, those who are gathered to Christ, our Head and Mediator of the New Covenant, by the work of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God the Father.

If you have any further questions about this, please talk to our pastor. He’d be excited to share a cup of coffee and geek out over all of this!