We believe the Holy Bible was written by people who were divinely inspired, and that it is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction. God is its author, salvation is its purpose, and truth, without any mixture of error, is its content. Scripture reveals the principles by which God will judge us. Therefore, it is now, and will be to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard for evaluating all human conduct, creeds, and opinions.

We believe there is one and only one living and true God—an infinite, intelligent Spirit. His name is the LORD, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. He is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and is worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are equal in every divine perfection, and they carry out distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

We believe humanity is the special creation of God, made in his own image. God created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. The gift of marriage consists of the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime, and this gift models the way God relates to His people. God created the human race in holiness under his law. By voluntary transgression, however, humanity fell from that holy and happy state. As a result, all people are now sinners, not by external compulsion but by choice. They by nature entirely lack the holiness that is required by the law of God and are actively inclined to evil. Therefore, they are under just condemnation to a sentence of eternal ruin, without defense or excuse.

We believe the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel. It is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a heartfelt, penitent, and obedient faith. Preventing this salvation is every sinner’s inherent depravity and rejection of the gospel, a rejection that aggravates a sinner’s condemnation.

We believe sinners must be regenerated, or born again, in order to be saved. Regeneration consists of God’s gift of a holy inclination to the mind. It is accomplished in a way that is beyond our comprehension. It is carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit using divine truth to obtain our voluntary obedience to the gospel. The proper evidence of regeneration appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.

We believe repentance and faith are sacred duties as well as inseparable graces. They are produced in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, who convinces us of our guilt, danger, helplessness, and the way of salvation by Christ. And they consist of turning to God with genuine sorrow, confession, and a petition for mercy; receiving heartily the Lord Jesus Christ as Prophet, Priest and King; and relying on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior.

We believe election is the eternal purpose of God according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners. Election is perfectly consistent with human free agency and includes all the means necessary to achieve God’s purpose. It is a most glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, which is infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable. Election completely rules out boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and the active imitation of his free mercy. It encourages the greatest possible exercise of human responsibility. The election of individuals to life may be confirmed by its effects in everyone who truly believes the gospel. Election is the foundation of Christian assurance, and confirming our election deserves our greatest diligence.

We believe sanctification is the process by which we are made partakers of God’s holiness, according to his purpose. Sanctification is a progressive work. It begins in regeneration and continues in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and by God’s appointed means.  These means include the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, prayer, and the oversight and fellowship of the visible church.

We believe all genuine believers endure to the end. Their persevering obedience to Christ and attachment to his people are the primary marks distinguishing them from superficial professors. A special providence watches over their welfare, and they are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation.

We believe the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of his moral governance. It is holy, just, and good. Fallen human beings are unable to fulfill the precepts of the law, which the Scriptures attribute entirely to their love of sin. A chief purpose of the gospel is to deliver people from this love and to restore them through a mediator to a sincere obedience to the holy law. The visible church’s means of grace share this great purpose.

We believe a visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, joined together by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. A visible church observes the ordinances of Christ, submits to his laws, and exercises the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by his word. The only scriptural officers of the church are elders (also called overseers or pastors) and deacons, whose qualifications and duties are defined in the epistles to Timothy and to Titus.

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a solemn and beautiful emblem that declares our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior as well as our union with him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and the Lord’s Supper. We likewise believe that the Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby the members of the church, following earnest self-examination, use bread and the cup in a sacred manner to commemorate together the dying love of Christ. The ordinances belong to the gathered church, marking off believers from unbelievers and making the church visible on earth.

We believe the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and points to the rest that awaits the people of God.  It should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

We believe civil government exists by divine appointment for the benefit and good order of human society. Government officials are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed.  The principle exception is for matters contrary to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.

We believe there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked. Only those who are justified by faith in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in his judgment. In contrast, all those who continue in impenitence and unbelief are wicked in his sight and under the curse.  This distinction among people holds both at death and afterward.

We believe the end of the world is approaching. At the last day Christ will descend from heaven and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution. A public separation will then take place, in which the wicked will be justly assigned to endless punishment and the righteous to endless joy. This judgment will determine forever on principles of righteousness the final state of people in heaven or hell.

*Proposed Confession of Faith, adapted from the 1853 New Hampshire Confession of Faith

In 1984 a group of believers began meeting to form a new church in Naples, Fl. Five main families served as the core of this group and several of the founding families are still active members of our community.

FBC met in a variety of places from 1984 to 1998 and was served by a variety of guest and intern pastor/teachers. In this format the church continued to grow and in the early 90’s purchased land (6464 Immokalee Road, Naples, FL) at the corner of Immokalee Road and Oaks Blvd. It was the vision of the church leadership to complete the building debt-free (no mortgage or indebtedness). Thus, the church continued to meet at the Vineyards Community Center until the completion of the present facility in 1998.

Prior to moving to their permanent meeting center the church called its first full-time pastor. Over the next five years from 1998 to 2002 the church experienced some internal turmoil; for example -- three pastors in less than five years and the attendance dwindling to less than 30 people. The church came to a crossroad in February of 2002 and was discussing dissolution of the ministry. It was at that time they contacted an individual from Clearwater Christian College, Ken Davies, to become their permanent pulpit supply. As time, prayer, discussions, and healing took place the church extended an invitation to Ken Davies to become their full-time pastor in September of 2002. In the early years of his tenure, FBC was like a new church plant with baggage.

Although these years created a semblance of stability, there were two critical incidents (moral failure of a member of the pastoral staff and the failed merger with a like-minded church) that had the potential to derail any continued progress toward that end but instead, “God used it for good.” Through this experience the leadership of the church was motivated to exercise self- evaluation of the ministry and the leadership structure. The primary outcomes from that evaluation were threefold: to be more intentional in discipleship, to begin discussions of a major shift toward biblical polity, and to formulate the mission of the church.

During this period the elder’s established a vision statement for Faith. “FBC exists to display God’s glory by making disciples through the Gospel of Jesus Christ locally and around the world.”

Although still under construction these bullet points summarized what FBC was becoming:

Leadership - Elder led, congregational affirmed, deacon served; stability in leadership has led to confidence from the membership. The church unanimously adopted this model of leadership in August 2014.

Small Groups - The small group ministry of FBC has led to significant growth spiritually and numerically.

Theology - Theologically conservative but not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to the practice of ministry; for example – from our Music/ Worship Philosophy, at Faith Bible Church we are not bound to the oldest hymns of the last century, nor are we slaves to music written in the past few decades. Our focus is not to be entertainment driven but God-focused and Christ-centered!

Missions - The church was partnered with 18 missionaries; about 15% of the budget is invested in missions.

Financial Stability - FBC continued to be debt free. 

Under Pastor Ken Davies Faith Bible Church sought to focus on people not programs, spiritual growth more than numerical growth, and the exposition instead of simple exploration of Scripture.

Pastor Ken Davies announced his retirement to the elders in August 2015. His last Sunday with Faith Bible Church was in February of 2016. Pastor Justin Harris agreed to be the next senior pastor in December of 2015 but moved to Washington D.C. for a six month internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. He began serving as the senior pastor at Faith in July 2016. The pastoral change process solidified elder culture at Faith and allowed the church to transition.  

During these years, God richly blessed the church’s former decisions to focus on the gospel, expositional preaching, and biblical church polity. From July of 2016 to July 2019, the church grew in depth and breadth. The membership has an ever-increasing hunger for Christ as he has revealed himself in the Word. Concerning depth, members regularly discuss and apply the truths learned on Sundays with one another and the lost in our community. Concerning breadth, the attendance has doubled and the membership has almost tripled. All the while the vision for the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ remains front and center.

The church continues to flourish as members continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior. The vision to raise up generations of Christ followers for the glory of God is producing fruit. Multiple members are going out from Faith for seminary or missions training each year. Elders and staff have been added to the leadership team and the membership has grown to a point that building capacity has been reached. Church multiplication initiatives are underway and a building expansion is in progress. 

By God’s grace, the best days of Faith Bible Church have yet to come. Looking forward, while the elders pray that the church will continue to grow spiritually and numerically, they especially look to see missionaries, church planters, and pastors raised up among us and sent to other places that would benefit from this very approach to ministry.