• by Delighting in His triune majesty through worship

• by Deepening our understanding and affection for His full Counsel through biblical education, spiritual fellowship, and daily obedience

• by Declaring His glory to all neighbors and nations through active service and personal involvement in Jesus' Great Commission

The congregation of College Baptist Church, a local expression of the Church universal, is dedicated to providing God-centered, biblically based perspectives as a framework for supporting our daily lives.

Called together for worship, study, prayer, repentance, fellowship, and mutual care, we seek in every endeavor to open our lives to the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring one another to maturity in Christ, and to nurture daily expression of our confidence in God's promises through Christian walk and lifestyle.

Commissioned by the risen Lord to be his witnesses and disciple-makers, we seek further to fan every spirit-enkindled spark that would ignite new faith, inspire biblical morality, and instill deeper commitment to Christ, both at home and throughout the world.

Moved by God's own example, we renounce all aloofness from the world and consciously instead to embody the gospel in action through community service, neighborly love, dedication to justice and responsible citizenship.

With our eyes of hope on the vision of God's supremacy and His global design for creation, we live in the earnest desire of seeing the glory of God fill the whole earth as the waters cover the sea!

 

The Beliefs of College Baptist Church

We believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God; the only authoritative guide to faith and doctrine; the supreme guide to Christian Living; and is infallible in all that it teaches.

We believe in one God; an almighty, immortal Spirit, who is beyond complete human understanding, yet is revealed in the Holy Scriptures; who is perfect in wisdom, goodness, holiness, and love, the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, seen and unseen; and who is eternally existent in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe that Jesus Christ was fully divine; the Son of God incarnate in human flesh- and fully human. We believe in His virgin firth, in His sinless life, and in His miracles; we believe in His death on the cross, by which He made a full, complete, final, and perfect atonement for our sins, in His bodily resurrection, and His ascension to glory; and in His return to power and glory to defeat Satan and his forces of evil.

We believe salvation is found only through Jesus Christ; who is the mediator between God and humans, and through whom every regenerate believer has a direct personal relationship with God.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit; who convicts the world of sin, and is the agent of regeneration. We believe the Holy Spirit baptizes, indwells, and seals all who accept Jesus Christ as Savior. We believe the indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables the Christian to live a godly life.

We believe everyone is a sinner; deserving God's condemnation, but that the penalty for sin was paid in full by Jesus Christ, so that anyone who has received him as Lord and Savior is redeemed and born again, and shall be resurrected to eternal bliss at the last judgment; but anyone who rejects Him hill be judged and punished with everlasting destruction.

We believe that salvation is by God's grace alone; and not by works, for we can do no good works without the grace of God; yet faith without works is dead. We believe that we are accounted as righteous in the reckoning of God only because of the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on the cross.

We believe that Jesus Christ ordained Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper; as visible signs of His invisible grace and of His new covenant.

We believe in the universal Church; a living spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is head and Lord. All regenerated persons become members through union with Christ by the Holy Spirit. We believe in local churches-each consisting of a group of baptized believers in Jesus Christ, associated for worship, discipleship, ministry and fellowship. We believe that one primary mission of the visible church on earth is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every living person.

College Baptist Church is a result of the vision of the Founders of Hillsdale College. The college moved to Hillsdale in 1855, and that fall the president, Edmund B. Fairfield, met with other interested leaders to form a Free Will Baptist Church. The first Articles of Association were signed November 24, 1855, by eight men who represented both the college and the town.

Incorporating the church on March 16, 1865, one of the first duties to be considered by the trustees was the matter of a permanent church building. On march 29, 1865, they voted "to proceed immediately to raise funds and build a meeting house." This was a heroic undertaking for this group of approximately 200 members; they had passed through the 1857 depression when many banks had failed, and the Civil War, which also put a severe strain on the economy.

No concrete progress was made on the project until November, 1866, when Dr. Dunn (pastor at the time) and President Fairfield were appointed special agents to raise funds for the erection of the church. They were urged to "press the matter immediately."

Dr. Dunn was a major spark in this program. The building had been delayed in 1865 while he had traveled in Europe and the Holy Land, and he made good use of his time studying the cathedrals of the old world.
He had taken with him, on his trip, his 22 year old son, Wayland Dunn, who was proficient in drawing and painting. Young Wayland made numerous drawings and measurements of the cathedrals which they visited in Europe.

Upon his return to this country, Dr. Dunn took these sketches and visited an architect in Chicago who used them in designing the College Church. So it can be said, that this church, a combination of Gothic and Romanesque styles, has a direct lineage with the great cathedrals of Europe.

The actual construction of College Church began on March 10, 1867; it was dedicated on January 5, 1868. The church cost $21,947.77, with finishing costs of $2,000.00 paid by the Ladies Contribution Society. The Hillsdale Standard, on October 29, 1867, said the Baptist church on "College Hill will be when finished the largest church in the west."

From 1885 to 1971 the pastors of the church were either college faculty or administration. For the past 129 years, in addition to part-time, interim and pulpit suppliers, the church has had twenty pastors - including Rev. Steve Read, the pastor of the church since January, 1999.

Of course, the true church is more than buildings, programs and pastors. In accord with the New Testament, we emphasize that every Christian is a "minister." We value the gifts, ministries and commitment of every faithful servant in College Baptist Church. As we anticipate the excitement surrounding the beginning of a new century, there are many encouraging indications of spiritual renewal within individuals and as a congregation. We are seeking earnestly to discover the specific applications of our mission as broadly stated in Ephesians, Chapter 1: "to live for the praise of the glory of God."