Fairhaven Bible Chapel

What's Special about Fairhaven?

Christ established His church on earth to represent Him, carry on His work and take care of His people. He loved it and sacrificed Himself for the church (Eph. 5:25). Wherever the Gospel has gone, local churches have been established. The Bible does not indicate that it is ever God's will for a single believer to live unattached from a local church. Most of the New Testament letters were written to local churches. Others, like I and II Timothy, were written about local churches. Acts tells us about the establishment of local churches. Revelation contains messages to the local churches.

We welcome all who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord, Savior and God to our fellowship. We expect them to be undefiled in their walk. We obey the two major memorial observances which the Lord Jesus commanded, believer's baptism (immersion in water of confessing Christians) and the Lord's Supper (taking the communion elements in memory of His body and blood).

We are not perfect in our church or in our lives. Like weak and failing mortals throughout the world, we have our faults and failures. On the other hand, we cannot tolerate the practice of such things as immorality, disruptive behavior and disgraceful conduct by those who claim the name of Christ and fellowship with us.

We are not the only correct local church nor do we have a monopoly on the truth. We do not say that everyone else is wrong and we alone are right. We recognize as fellow believers and God's children all who belong to Christ through the miracle of the new birth and by the effective application of His blood shed upon the Cross.

The great basic doctrines of the Christian faith are those we share with all other true believers. The death of Jesus for our sins, His bodily resurrection from the dead, the deity of Christ, the hope of Heaven for the saved and the eternal punishment of the lost are a few examples. In addition to these truths, we share with many other churches (although not all) such beliefs as believer's baptism, the inerrancy of the Word of God (the Bible) and the pre-millennial and pre-tribulation return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church.

We seek to be loyal to the Lord and to the principles of. His Word, as we understand them. We are not under the authority or jurisdiction of any church system or hierarchy of any kind. We do not use any denominational or brand name. We prefer to be called only by the names in the Bible used of all Christians as believers, saints, brothers or sisters in Christ and children of God. Denominational names will not mark out the people of God in Heaven. Therefore, we do not want to glory in them here.

There are certain Principles in our church practice at Fairhaven which distinguish, but do not divide us, from other churches that are faithful to Christ. This means that we cooperate with other believers or churches that are loyal to Christ where our common interests make this desirable.. On the other hand, we have our understanding of the Word which may differ from theirs in matters of church function. Among these are the following:

1. Christ is the only Head of the church (Eph. 5:23, Col.. 1:18) and center of gathering (Matt. 18:20), not an organization or church leader. We believe every local church is directly accountable to Christ and to no one else (Rev. 1:16,20).

2. Every believer in Christ is a priest (I Pet. 2:5-9) and a saint or holy person (I Cor. 1:2). There Is no division in the Bible between believers as a clergy on one hand, and a laity or common people on the other hand. There is no basis for teaching that a certain class of people who have undergone a ceremony called ordination are exclusively given the rights to carry out Biblical functions, while others are denied those opportunities. The entire clerical or priestly system in churches is something we refuse as unbiblical.

3. Every person in Christ has been given a spiritual gift to use in building up others in the church (Eph. 4:11-12, 1 Cor. .12). We believe they should be encouraged to use these gifts and to function in the church. It Is not desirable to have a paid professional ministry do for the congregation what the believers need to be involved in doing themselves.

4. There should be opportunity for collective (participative) public worship in accordance with 1 Cor. 14:26,29. Christ should preside over the Lord's Supper. We see that the New Testament indicates a weekly observance of this. memorial feast. (Acts 20:7).

5. That although missionaries or church-planters often establish local churches through the labors of one individual, it is the pattern of Scripture to have a shared leadership (Phil. 1:1, Acts. 20:28, Titus 3:5-9, I Tim. 3:1-13). This does not mean that outstanding. men cannot have special leadership or speaking gifts which may be preeminent.

There are certain privileges of being a part of our local fellowship. Some of these are:

1. Pastoral care by those accountable for your souls (Heb. 13:17, I Pet. 5:2-4).

2. Mutual support in a body of believers committed to each other and to the fellowship as a whole.

3. Instruction in the Word of God.

4. A place of collective worship, collective prayer, collective service, collective testimony and collective support.

5. Instruction and help for children, performances of marriages, funerals, visitation of the sick, help for families in trouble.

6. Commend and financially support missionaries, especially upon the foreign field.

There are responsibilities that rightfully go with privileges. Some are:

1. Live a life appropriate to a follower of the Lord Jesus so that you will be a credit to Him and to the church (Col. 1:10, Eph. 5:l&2).

2. Be respectful to the counsel of your leaders in the church and pray for them (1 Thes. 5:12-13, Heb. 13:17).

3. Participate in our collective function according to the abilities that God has given you. Be ready to serve and help. Do not simply come and go as a Sunday listener to sermons. (1 Cor. 12:4-7, 11-12, Eph. 4:12)

4. Give to God and His work through your local church (I Cor. 16:1-2). Financial responsibility starts at your spiritual home.

5. Follow the pattern of Acts 2:42. Be steadfast in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, Breaking of Bread and prayer. Take advantage of every opportunity to study the Word with us and to be a Scripturally intelligent believer.

6. Do all you can to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Learn to forbear, forgive, and resolve differences with all men, but especially of the household of faith.