OUR PRAYER 2023
We pray that...
- Our hearts will be captivated by God's wisdom.
- We will grow in using our unique God-given gifts & talents to serve others.
- We will do well in serving alongside Immanuel Baptist Church to build God's kingdom together.
OUR BELIEFS
GOD
The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God the Father
God the Father is Spirit and reigns with providential care over His universe and His creatures according to the purposes of His grace.
God the Son
In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, identifying Himself with mankind yet without sin. He made provision for men from sin, was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven. He is now exalted at the right hand of God and will return to finish His redemptive mission.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is fully divine, enables men to understand the truth, and exalts Christ. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. At salvation, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ, seals them until the day of redemption, and equips them with spiritual gifts.
GOD’S WORD
The Bible was God-breathed and written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. All Scripture is true and trustworthy in the original writings.
MAN
Man is made in God’s image and was innocent of sin and endowed with freedom of choice. Man sinned against God and brought sin to humanity. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the purpose of God.
SALVATION
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who put their faith in
Jesus Christ as Savior (His death, burial, and resurrection), which brings the believer into a relationship with God. After salvation, believers are set apart to God's purposes and enabled to progress toward spiritual maturity through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
THE CHURCH
The church is the Body of Christ, which includes all the redeemed of all the ages. In its local expression, it is a congregation of baptized believers governed by God’s laws and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by God’s Word.
ORDINANCES
Baptism
Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, symbolizing the believer's faith.
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of the church to memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
FAMILY
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage was ordained by God from the foundation of the world and intended as a lifelong union of one man and one woman.
SATAN
Satan is a person, the open and declared enemy of God and man, and he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.
LAST THINGS
God, in His own time and way, will bring the world to its appropriate end.
GREAT COMMISSION
It is the privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them.
For more information download our church
Constitution and Bylaws.
OUR HISTORY
Two traveling missionaries were sent by the North Carolina Baptist State Convention to the western counties where they organized the Cheoah Baptist Church, with 16 members in 1848.
The church continued there until 1907 when a building committee was formed and a church was built. This church (now known as the Old Mother Church) birthed the First Baptist Church in 1924 when a building committee laid the plans to construct the new church building at the end of Main Street. That building continued to serve the membership until the present one was built in 1961.
Early services were held one weekend each month, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. This enabled one minister to serve several churches at the same time. Later they were changed to twice each month. Saturday services were eliminated, and Sunday evening services were added. The pastor was called annually until 1949 when the Rev. Joe L. Orr was called for an indefinite period. Baptismal services were conducted in Tallulah Creek or at Snowbird Bridge. The last members to be baptized outside were Kim Jenkins and Robert Jenkins. They were baptized in Snowbird Creek at Parrette Bridge by Rev. Fred Lunsford, May 1998. Pastors since Joe L. Orr were; E. F. Baker, Edward G. Altland, Earl Payne, W. E. McPeters, Ed Sessom, Clifford Holland, David Blackney, Jerry Clark, Fred Lunsford, and Noah Crowe.
Plans for the present church building began in 1956 when the Rev. E. F. Baker was pastor. He led the search for a building site and prepared for a building fund. In 1958 the present property was purchased from Joe and Helen Carver. Additional property was obtained from John and Mattie Colvard and Cole Ghormley. The Hut property was added later.
The first services at the present location were held in the education building on Wednesday night, December 27, 1961. The Rev. Ed Altland was the pastor. The Rev. Earl Payne accepted the pastorate in 1964. The bonds were retired, and the Sanctuary and Parsonage were built, with the groundbreaking for the Sanctuary on April 2, 1967 and the Parsonage was completed in 1968.
To quote the late Rev. Earl Payne, "God blessed His people with materials only that it may be used for Spiritual ends. The Rev. Noah Crowe served as Pastor from January 2002 to December of 2017. Rev. Rance Shuler was called in September 2019 and serves as current lead teaching pastor.