Baptist churches have always tried to communicate what makes a Baptist church different from other churches. Many Baptists believe that their “distinctives” are founded in the early New Testament churches, and can be defined over the course of history in about 8 or 9 areas.
Here is the list of Baptist Distinctives* that are foundational to Compass College and Seminary.
- The Bible as the soul authority for faith and practice
- A saved and baptized by immersion church membership
- The autonomy of the local church
- The priesthood of all believers
- The soul liberty of the individual
- Immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the only two ordinances of the church.
- Separation of Church and State
- Ethical and Ecclesiastical Separation
Compass College and Seminary understands the importance of promoting the distinctives that have long been associated with Baptists who have modeled their local churches after the New Testament Church.
Compass believes that a proper New Testament Church will hold to these distinctives and teach them to future generations so that God is glorified and His order is maintained in local churches until His Son returns for us in the clouds!
* The above distinctives were outlined in this manner by Dr. Richard Weeks to create a list of Baptist Distinctives that were not forced into an acrostic, but that flowed from the Scriptures.