Baptist is a word that helps explain more specifically what we believe. We are first of all Christians who have received Christ and are seeking to follow Him and teach the Word of God. We have great fellowship with many believers who are not Baptist and we do not believe we have a corner on the truth. However, we do think that the word “Baptist” can be helpful in summarizing what we believe.
If you have visited or have been a part of a Baptist church in the past, you may have been taught various things about what the word “Baptist” meant. Unfortunately there are many, some of us included, who have been in Baptist churches where the word meant something different, and less biblical, than its historical roots represent. The best way to understand what “Baptist” means is to look at the historical and biblical Baptist distinctives described here.