About Us
Just a little bit about who we are.
Ethan
Testimony
I was privileged to be born into a Christian family. My grandfather and great-grandfather on my mother’s side were both Independent Baptist preachers, and because of their faithfulness, I was blessed to hear the Gospel message from a young age. As a child, I made a false profession of salvation. It was a mental acknowledgment of Christ, void of true repentance. I held on to this false profession for years. God would convict me, yet I would cling to this memory of having prayed a prayer. As I think back, the profession was motivated by seeing others my age getting saved and missing out on the bread served at the Lord’s supper. As time went on, the conviction about my soul’s condition grew. I would rationalize away the conviction and fight against the Holy Spirit working on my heart. I’m so thankful we serve a longsuffering God; On June 7, 2007, I finally humbled myself and admitted I was lost. I called upon the name of the Lord and accepted Christ as my Savior.
Call
As a young teenager, God brought me under conviction about His will for me to serve Him while attending a Bible summer camp in Binger, Oklahoma, with my church. I distinctly remember God calling me into ministry and surrendering to that call during an evening service. While a field or specific direction wasn’t given, I knew that He wanted me to preach. So, I started serving by doing whatever the Lord would allow me to do. Serving on the bus, children’s ministries, choir, and visitation ultimately led to God allowing me to serve on staff for eight years at Beth Haven Baptist Church.
In mid-2023, my wife and I started to pray earnestly about calling a family to replace Jon and Emilie Rettig, and we made ourselves available if God so chose to send us. At the beginning of November 2023, God made it apparent to me, through preaching at our Men’s Retreat and confirmed by counsel from my spiritual leadership, that His will for my family was to minister in the Czech Republic. God very rapidly opened doors and provided for us to go on a survey trip, and were able to be in Prague from November 10th – 21st. We were blessed to be able to see the city, meet the church people in the church that the Rettigs planted, preach to the people, and gather information to help in our immigration to the country. During this trip, God increased the assurance and peace that He had already given us when we initially surrendered to go.
Eternity
Testimony
I’m a third-generation Christian and had the honor of growing up in a pastor’s home. Growing up in a pastor’s home, I quickly learned the right words to say, things to do, and actions to take. I made a false profession of faith at a young age. I wanted to make my parents happy and knew that doing that would make them happy. Unfortunately, I had a head knowledge of God but not a heart knowledge. Growing up, I clung to the false profession of faith, hoping it would be enough. As I got older, I quickly realized I wasn’t saved. However, I believed Satan’s lie about how if I got saved now, I would embarrass my parents and would face disappointment from the church family I had.
One night in 2009, we had a college group come in and sing and give testimonies. As they sang, the conviction I had been living with became unbearable. I wanted the joy they said and talked about. I wanted the peace they so obviously had. On the way home from church, I realized I didn’t care what anyone else thought about me getting saved. I decided I wouldn’t go to hell for anyone’s opinion. When I got home, I went to my mother and father, bowed my head, and accepted Christ as my Savior. The peace I so desperately wanted was finally mine, and I understood the joy of the Lord.
Convictions
We fully agree with the doctrine of our sending church, Beth Haven Baptist Church, as we feel they accurately reflect what is clearly taught in God’s Word. In brief, these include but are not limited to these beliefs:
The Bible
We believe the Authorized King James Bible is the Inspired, Inerrant, Infallible, and preserved Word of God for English-speaking people and use it exclusively. We accept the Bible as the supreme and only authority in faith and life. We do not, however, hold the Ruckman position of double inspiration.
God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of Mary, a virgin, and is true God and true man.
Holy Spirit
We believe that upon salvation, the believer is sealed and indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God. We are non-charismatic and do not believe that speaking in tongues or signs and wonders are actively being used by the Holy Spirit of God today.
Creation
We believe that the Genesis account of creation is to be accepted literally, not allegorically or figuratively; Man was created directly in God’s own image and was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species.
Mankind
We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God and literal eternal judgment in Hell and the Lake of Fire; All human beings are sinners in thought, word, and deed.
Gospel
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.
Salvation
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith without the addition of any works. We believe that repentance is necessary to salvation. We reject the doctrinal errors of both Calvinism and Arminianism. We believe in both the response of man, and the sovereignty of God, that when man chooses to accept salvation, he is kept by the power of God unto the day of redemption (eternal security).
Baptism
We believe in believers-only baptism, and that baptism by immersion is an answer of good conscience toward God. We believe that salvation and scriptural baptism are requirements to membership in the Local New Testament Church, and that baptism holds no saving power.
Church
We believe that the Church of our Lord is a visible, local, self-governing body of believers who have been baptized and that there are only two ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s supper, both of which are administered only to believers. We reject the doctrine of the universal church.
Resurrection
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into heaven, and in His present life there as High Priest and Advocate. We believe as well that because of His bodily resurrection, we will also be bodily raised and given a new glorified body to live with Him forever.
End Times
We are dispensational in theology and believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the saints and a Pre-Millennial return of Christ to set up His literal Kingdom on this earth.