The Bible says in Psalm 16:6: “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” Gospel Light Baptist Church has a goodly heritage. God has been so faithful and gracious to us over the years. He is to be praised for the many who labored to provide what we enjoy today. And God is to be praised for the many who continue to build upon their labors.
In June of 1949, Bro. D.W. Long organized Gospel Light Baptist Church with nine members. As God began to bless, this group quickly outgrew its facilities. In July of 1956, Bro. Bobby Roberson was called to be the next pastor. God greatly used Bro. Bobby over the course of 61 faithful years. Under his unwavering leadership, the church again outgrew its facilities. Many ministries were added under Bro. Bobby’s oversight with thousands calling Gospel Light “home.” Bro. Bobby graduated to heaven in February of 2018. We are forever grateful for his steadfast service.
After supporting Bro. Bobby for over 30 years, Bro. Frank Shumate stepped in as the interim pastor. God used Bro. Frank to lead the church through a very difficult time following the loss of its beloved pastor. The steady hand of God through Bro. Frank was evidenced through his love and dedication. Bro. Frank became the Pastor Emeritus of Gospel Light in June of 2021 and continues to serve the Lord at Gospel Light.
In June of 2021, Bro. Matt Morrison became the Senior pastor after serving alongside Bro. Frank for two years. The rich heritage of our church continues on. We still remain an old-fashioned independent Baptist Church that loves God and reaches souls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We trust that God will continue to keep His good hand upon this work until the day he calls us home in the rapture. To God be the glory, great things He hath done.
(A) The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21).
(B) Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations – the age of law, the age of the church, and the age of the kingdom – are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture (Genesis 1:28, 3:13-25; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10, 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25, 27; Revelation 20:2-6).
(C) The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26).
(D) The Person and Work of Christ
(E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
(F) The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God. However, because of Adam’s sin, the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
(G) Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19).
(H) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
(I) The Church
(J) Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11).
(K) The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in the “blessed hope” – the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the Nation of Israel (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
(L) The Eternal State
(M) The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall of man. He is the open and declared enemy of God and man. He shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
(N) Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Day-Age Theory, and theistic evolution as unscriptural theories of origin (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11).
(O) Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities; but all – including the authorities themselves – are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We believe that we must obey the state unless it requires us to act contrary to our faith at which time we must obey God rather than the state (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14; Matthew 22:15-22; Acts 5:29).
(P) Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex (Genesis 2:24; 19:5,13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).
(Q) Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the office of pastor or deacon (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).
(R) Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5, 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20; 15-18; Luke 1:44).
(S) Missions
We believe that God has given the church a Great Commission to proclaim the gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20). Moreover, we believe that the boundaries of the mission field lie at the threshold of our church door. It is not our intent to proselyte members from other churches for our buildings would surely not hold all the people who have never heard the gospel or who never attend any church. It is these people whom we believe it to be our mission to evangelize as well as those in foreign countries.
(T) Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32).
(U) Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to them, is obligated to support their local church financially through tithes and offerings. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, assist in the relief of those in need, and aid in the spread of the gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17).
Pastor Emeritus
Associate Pastor
Youth Pastor
Spanish Pastor