PROFILE
ABOUT WESTGATE
OUR MISSION
The purpose of Westgate Baptist Church is to exalt our magnificent God, to evangelize a lost world through compassionate outreach, and to edify believers through the sound preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Our foremost desires are to see lost people come to salvation by faith in Christ and to help believers grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him.
Independent, Fundamental Baptist
Independent
Scriptures teaches the autonomy of the local church. Consequently, WBC does not maintain formal ecclesiastical ties with any denomination or convention. Our church polity (government) is congregational under the leadership of our pastor and deacons.
Fundamental
At WBC, we steadfastly embrace the “fundamentals” of the faith, believing the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God, and thus the sole authority for our beliefs and practice. We believe in the Trinity—that there is one God eternally existing in three Persons. We believe in the creation of man by the direct act of God, apart from any process of evolution. We believe in the virgin birth and deity of Jesus Christ, His sinless life, His vicarious atonement for our sins by the shedding of His blood on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the tomb, and His imminent return at the rapture. We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone on the basis of His completed work on the cross. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell. We are resolutely opposed to doctrinal compromise and to religious liberalism in any form.
Baptist
As reflected in our name, Westgate Baptist Church holds to the historic Baptist distinctives. We believe that these distinctives are the marks of a true local church as described and exemplified in the New Testament.
SERVICES
Our people are friendly and our facilities are comfortable, but more importantly, the atmosphere of our services displays an appropriate reverence for God and an earnest desire that He would be pleased as we meet together for worship and fellowship. Morning and evening services are held each Sunday with mid-week Bible study and prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings.
BIBLE & MUSIC
Bible Version
At both Westgate Baptist Church and Westgate Christian School, the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is used for matters of public worship, including preaching, teaching, and memorization.
Music
Westgate’s sacred music is soul-stirring and uplifting, yet conservative in style and presentation. We especially embrace the traditional hymns of the faith. We believe that the primary audience for church music is God, and that those who participate in the music ministry are to draw attention to Him rather than to themselves. Our music is not designed as entertainment, but rather as a means for glorifying the Lord and for edifying believers by testifying of God’s goodness. Our desire is to provide opportunities for adults and children of all ages to participate in the music program of the church through choirs, orchestra, and special groups and ensembles. In every case, the music serves to prepare the hearts of the people for the preaching of the Word of God.
MINISTIRES
Effective local church ministry involves both the evangelization of a lost world and the edification (building up) of believers. While “programs” certainly do not guarantee effectiveness in meeting people’s spiritual needs, they do provide the necessary organizational structure so that caring Christians are afforded ample opportunity to minister to one another and to the community at large. At Westgate Baptist Church, we have in place an array of ministries intended to reach out into our community with the Gospel and to help God’s people mature and grow spiritually. We recognize that no church can address every conceivable need and group, but at WBC, we have structured our efforts in an attempt to provide balanced and meaningful programs intended to meet the spiritual needs of people of all ages and backgrounds.
WORLDWIDE EVANGELIZATION
Westgate Baptist Church is committed to the “Great Commission” of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We support many missionaries around the world ministering in conjunction with various fundamental mission boards. Here “at home,” we endeavor to reach our own community through personal contacts and weekly church visitation outreach. WBC has also been instrumental in the founding of Berean Baptist Church, a daughter church located in the community of Dallas, Oregon, about an hour south of us. Missions
CARE GROUPS
The Westgate church family is informally divided into a number of “care groups.” These groups are organized in order to meet people’s various physical and encouragement needs.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Westgate Baptist Church is firmly committed to helping parents fulfill their God-ordained responsibility to bring their children up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” and to equip them for a productive and wholesome life. Westgate Christian School provides traditional classroom education in a thoroughly Christian setting from kindergarten (both K4 and K5) through high school (grade 12). WBC also works closely with and provides a number of helpful services to assist parents who are home educating their children. Westgate Christian School