The churches of this Association heartily subscribe to and agree to defend and promulgate the historic Missionary Baptist Faith and Practice, the interpretation of which is tersely stated as follows:

1. The Trinity of God.
2. The infallible and plenary verbal inspiration of the Scripture.
3. The Biblical account of creation.
4. The personality of Satan.
5. Hereditary and total depravity of man in his natural state involving his fall in Adam.
6. The virgin birth and deity of Jesus Christ.
7. Christ’s blood atonement for fallen man. We believe Christ died for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29; I Tim. 2:4-6; Heb. 2:9) that through His blood, atonement for sin is made without respect of persons. Anyone who will exercise repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21) will be saved. Although all men can be saved, some will reject God’s redemption by exercise of their free will.
8. His bodily resurrection and ascension back to his Father.
9. The Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
10. Justification before God by faith without any admixture of works. All such justified persons are in the family of God.
11. Separation of God’s children from the world.
12. Water baptism (immersion) to be administered to believers only and by Divine authority as given to missionary Baptist churches.
13. The Lord’s Supper, a church ordinance to be administered to baptized believers only in scriptural church capacity.
14. Eternal security of the believer.
15. The establishment of a visible church by Christ Himself during His personal ministry on earth; and His churches are not now, nor have they ever been, universal or invisible.
16. Worldwide missions according to the Great Commission which Christ gave His church. (Matthew 28:19, 20).
17. The perpetuity of missionary Baptist churches from Christ’s day on earth until His second coming.
18. The right of scriptural churches to be held as equal units, in their associated capacities, with equal rights and privileges for all.
19. The subjection of all scriptural associational assemblies and their committees to the will of the churches, so that they shall forever remain as servants of the churches originating them.
20. The separation of the Lord’s Church from all so-called churches or church alliances which advocate, practice, or uphold heresies and other human innovations, which are not in harmony with the Word of God. Open communion, alien baptism, pulpit affiliation with heretical churches, modernism, modern tongues movement, and all kindred evils arising from these practices are unscriptural.
21. The only valid baptism is that administered by the authority of a scriptural missionary Baptist church. Any so-called Baptist church which knowingly receives alien baptism, habitually practices this or other evils as those listed in statement 20 cannot be a scriptural Baptist church, nor can its ordinances remain valid.
22. The personal, bodily and imminent return of Christ to earth.
23. The bodily resurrection of the dead.
24. The reality of heaven, involving Divine assurance of eternal happiness for the redeemed of God.
25. The reality of hell, involving everlasting punishment of the incorrigible wicked.
26. We believe in the absolute separation of Church and State.
27. Biblical Marriage - God, having created male and female, instituted their union in marriage. God designed marriage as the covenantal relationship of one biological man and one biological woman for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church. God provides in marriage the context for the only appropriate sexual desires and behaviors and the only means for procreation of the human race. The God-ordained institution of marriage is not subject to redefinition or re-interpretation by human means or practice. Forgiveness and reconciliation are found in God's atonement which is without respect of persons. (Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:3-9; Leviticus 18:22-25; Proverbs 5:18-19, Mark 10:6-9, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 16; Ephesians 5:22-23; Hebrews 13:4)

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NOTE: The following statements are not to be binding upon the churches already affiliated with this association, nor to require adoption by churches petitioning this body for privileges of cooperation, nor to be a test of fellowship between brethren or churches. However, they do express the preponderance of opinion among the churches of the Baptist Missionary Association of Mississippi.

1. We believe in the premillenial return of Christ to earth, which He shall literally reign in peace upon the earth for a thousand years. Rev. 20:4-6
2. We believe the Scriptures to teach two resurrections: the first of the righteous at Christ’s coming; the second of the wicked dead at the close of the thousand year reign. I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:4-6, 12-15.
3. Whereas most of our people believe in and use the King James Version as the Word of God, we ask that any speakers at any associational meeting, camp or conference sponsored by any Department of the association use the KJV.