Are We Clear? Your Statement of Faith

One of the most obvious but frequent omissions from a church’s website is their stance on the King James Bible. After all, our name is “KJV Churches,” and our focus is on King James Only Independent Baptist Churches. However, it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish where a church stands, since churches that identify as Independent Baptist can no longer be assumed to be King James Only.

When it comes to information on your website, you don’t want to be wordy, but you do want to make sure to be precise. For instance, when providing your Statement of Faith (you are publishing your Statement of Faith, aren’t you?), make sure to include language as to what your stance is on the King James Bible. Many Statements of Faith look like this:

We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, plenary in content and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.

It seems as if many churches’ Statements of Faith are copied from other sources. If that’s how you want to do it, then that’s your choice, but you have to understand that this particular SoF is very weak in its doctrinal stance. First of all, it doesn’t indicate which Bible it’s talking about. There are over 300 different Bible translations, and failing to take a firm stance leaves your website’s visitors in limbo, especially if they’re looking for a King James Only church. Secondly, this SoF’s appeal to the “original writings” raises even more red flags, since the “original writings” don’t exist, and thus it appears to be obfuscating the issue.

As a church, you’re not a business trying to sell a product to a customer. But you are trying to provide something to someone, and by making clear what you believe, you can help seekers know where you stand. Doctrine is not an option, especially when it comes to God’s perfect words, so don’t make people wonder what you believe!