Our Mission Statement:

 

Centered on God’s will for every individual.

          Saved (1 Timothy 2:4)

          Sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

          Separated (2 Corinthians 6:17-18; Romans 12:1-2)

          Serving (1 Corinthians 15:58)

 

Bond them into the Church family using love.

          (Colossians 3:14; Philippians 2:1-2; Ephesians 4:2-3)

 

Boldly communicate God’s Word. 

          Preaching (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Timothy 4:2; Acts 6:4)

          Teaching (Mathew 28:20; Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

          Discipleship (Mark 3:13-14; Acts 20:20; 2 Timothy 2:2)

 

Create an eternal impact, locally and globally, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

          (Mathew 28:19-20; Acts 2:47; Acts 17:6; 1 Samuel 17:46b)

 

 

Pastor Philip Middleton

Pastor Philip Middleton, one of eight children, grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where his dad pastored a church on the southside of Indianapolis. He was saved at the age of 12 and the Lord called him to preach when he was 14 years old, while evangelist Jerry Chaney was preaching at his dad’s church. He graduated from high school in 2015 and enrolled in Hyles-Anderson College that fall. In February 2019, he began dating Victoria (Pankratz) and they were married in August 2020. He graduated from Hyles-Anderson College in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Theology with a minor in Missions.

Upon graduating from Hyles-Anderson College, he and his wife moved to Indianapolis, where he served as an assistant pastor and youth pastor for 16 months until the Lord called him to be the Pastor of Calvary Bible Baptist Church in September 2022.

They had their first child, Joy, in November 2022. He is passionate about soul-winning, discipling new converts, and teaching the next generation that the old-time religion still works!

Our Beliefs:

The Scriptures

THE SCRIPTURES:

We believe that the Word of God consists solely of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments and that these are the sole authority in faith and life. We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration, which applies to the original Scriptures. We believe that the Masoretic Text in Hebrew and the Textus Receptus in Greek are the preserved Word of God. We believe that the King James Version is to be used in all the ministries of this church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)

 

THE GODHEAD:

We believe there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), existing as a unity of three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; Isaiah 61:1-3). These three Persons are co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal. (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 2:19; I Timothy 2:5)

 

THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST:

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 the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1:1-2; Luke 1:35) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5; Romans 5:1-2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into 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 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:24;7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2) We believe in that “blessed hope” and personal, imminent, pre-millennial, and pre-tribulational coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and We believe in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom. (I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

 

SATAN:

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin; that he gave occasion for the fall of man; that he is the unholy god of this age; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he is destined to the judgment of eternal justice in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:5-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; I Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10)

 

THE CHURCH:

We believe that the Church is a congregation of believers baptized by immersion upon a credible confession of faith and associated by covenant faith, fellowship of the gospel, and observation of the ordinances of the Church governed by His laws; that it is to exercise the gifts, rights and privileges invested in it by His Word; that it has the absolute right of self-government, directed by the Holy Spirit, and is answerable only to Christ, and that in matters of membership, policy, government, discipline association, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Matthew 18:15-17; I Corinthians 1:2, 6:4-5; 7:17; 11:16; I Timothy 3:1-15) We believe that to the Church has been committed two ordinances; they are baptism and the communion of the Lord’s table. We believe that Scriptural baptism is the immersion of the believer in water and that it is a testimony of the believer’s identification by faith with Christ in His death and resurrection as our substitute. (Matthew 18:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-39) We believe that the communion of the Lord’s table is the partaking of the bread and the cup by believers in remembrance of the death of Christ on our behalf, that it is to be partaken of by baptized believers only, and that it is to be observed after thoughtful self-examination until He comes. (Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-32)

 

SALVATION:

We believe that salvation is possible only through the substitutionary and vicarious death of Christ for man (Galatians 1:4; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24; 3:18).

We believe that faith in the finished work of Christ is the only condition for salvation from sin; that this salvation is wholly of grace; and that no works, however good, make that salvation more secure. (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; Romans 10:9-13)

We believe that every person immediately upon acceptance of Christ as his personal Savior receives the gift of eternal life and is made at once a child of God, as such, a special divine providence watches over his welfare so that he is kept in a state of glory. ((John 1:12; 10:28-29; Romans 8:28-29; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 1:6; I Peter 1:5; I John S:10-13) We believe that while salvation is not by works it is unto good works which are a result of the believer living his life under the control of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:8-10; 5:18; Galatians 5:22-25)

We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

We believe that every believer possesses two natures; that through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit provision is made for victory of the new nature over the old nature; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (John 3:5-9; Romans 6:13; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16)

 

EVANGELISM & MISSIONS:

We believe that it is the duty of the saved to witness by life and word to the truths of the Bible and to assist in giving the Gospel of Christ to all the world by praying, giving, and going in obedience to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8, I Corinthians 15:19-20)

 

THE BAPTIST DISTINCTIVES:

Biblical Authority: The Bible is the final authority on matters of faith and practice. No human opinion or church decree can override the Bible. (II Timothy 3:16; John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12; II Peter 1:20-21)

Autonomy of the Local Church: The local church is an independent body accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the church. All human authority for governing the local church resides within the local church itself. (Colossians 1:18; Acts 13-14; 20:19-30; Ephesians 1:22-23)

Priesthood of the Believer: God’s Word assures believers that we have direct access to God without the need for a human priest. No other mediator is needed between God and people.(Hebrews 4:14-16; I Timothy 2:5-6; I Peter 2:5-10)

Two Offices: Scripture only mentions two church offices – Pastor (also referred to as elder or bishop) and deacon. (Philippians 1:1; Acts 6:1-7; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9; I Peter 5:1-4)
 
Individual Sole Liberty: Each person must make a personal decision of faith in Christ. (Romans 10:9-17; 14:1-23)
 
Saved, Baptized Church Membership: Local church membership is for those individuals who give a testimony of personal faith in Christ and have publicly identified themselves with Him in believer’s baptism. (Acts 2:41-47; I Corinthians 12:12; II Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 4:3)
 
Two Ordinances: 1) Baptism of believers by immersion in deep water, identifying the individual with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection,  and 2) the Lord’s Supper, commemorating His death for our sins, are the two ordinances. These have no part in salvation, but rather serve as pictures of what Christ did for us. (Matthew 28:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-32; Acts 2:38-43; 8:36-38; Romans 6:1-6)
 
Separation of Church and State: God established both the church and the civil government, and He gave each its own distinct sphere of operation. The government’s purposes are outlined in Romans 13:1-7 and the church’s purposes in Matthew 28:19-20. Neither should control the other, nor should there be an alliance between the two. (Matthew 22:15-22; Acts 5:17-31)

 

CHURCH, STATE, & HOME

We believe that God has ordained three basic institutions by which human society is to be organized. These institutions are the home (Genesis 2:23-24), the government (Romans 13:1-7), and the local church (Acts 11:26). Being first established, the home is the basic building block of all human society and is responsible for the propagation of the human race, the rearing and training of children, and the establishment and operation of the other two institutions. Government is ordained of God to maintain order and discipline among humans. It is a minister of God to reward those who do good and to punish those who do evil. The local church was established by Christ as the institution through which He would organize men to do His works of evangelizing the lost, teaching the saved, and worshipping Him.