Visitor Center – East Madison Baptist Church

Who We Are

At East Madison Baptist Church, we strive to live with an overflowing passion for the glory of God. We do this by magnifying the greatness of God through the Gospel of His Son. We seek to accomplish this by bringing our lives under the authority of His Word. Our aim is to restore the primacy of God’s Word to the leadership, life, and ministry of the local church.

We are a gathering of rebels that have been pardoned by the blood of Christ. This means that we understand humanity’s separation from God through sin, and that the only way to be restored to a right relationship with God is through trusting what Christ did on the cross–a personal trust and life commitment that Jesus alone is Lord. Though we are far from perfect, we worship a perfect Redeemer who unites us by faith and makes us his children.

What We Believe

1. The Scriptures

We teach that the Word of God is the Bible, that is to say, the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament. It was written by men who were divinely inspired and under the direct supervision of the Holy Spirit. God is its author and it was given to us in order to reveal Himself to mankind. It has salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian life, practice, and doctrine.

2. God

We teach that there is only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in His perfections. He is all powerful and all knowing. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are co-existent, co-equal, and co-eternal. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet each is truly Deity. Each Person of the Trinity possesses distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God the Father

We teach that God the Father reigns sovereignly with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and human history, directing each according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. We teach that God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. By His word and for His glory, He freely and supernaturally created the world out of nothing. Through the same Word He daily sustains all His creatures.

God the Son

We teach that Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He perfectly obeyed the demands of the divine law and died a substitutionary death on the cross. In so doing, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission.

God the Holy Spirit

We teach that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He now enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ.

3. Man

We teach that God made man male and female in His own image so that man might have fellowship with Him and live for His glory. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. When tempted by Satan, man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherits a nature that is corrupted by sin.

4. Sin

We teach that sin is a failure to uphold the law of God. While this may take many forms, essentially every sin is a breach of the first and greatest commandment—namely to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Instead of assigning the proper worth to God, we have instead directed the glory, honor, and praise due to His name towards other persons or objects. We teach that we sin because we are sinners. Every person is born with a nature that has been thoroughly corrupted by sin. Furthermore, every person outside of Christ is completely enslaved to sin in mind and will. The consequence of our sin is that we now stand under the judgment of God.

5. Salvation

We teach that salvation is from the impending wrath of God, who will one day judge and punish every sinner for rebellion against His holy throne. The only way to be saved from this coming judgment is to repent of our sin and trust in redemptive work of Christ. There is no other way to be saved. We teach that salvation is offered to all by the gospel; that it is the duty of all to accept the gospel by penitent and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth, but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel.

6. Sanctification

We teach that sanctification is the process that begins in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart from sin to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life. While the believer is in this life, he will struggle with indwelling sin; however, it is his duty to daily destroy sin while he remains in this earthly body by the guidance and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

7. Perseverance

We teach that all true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

8. The Church

We teach that a visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, observing the two ordinances of Christ—baptism and the Lord’s Supper; ministering the Word of God to one another and the world; engaging in corporate worship; and exercising the gifts given to them by the Spirit of God.

9. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We teach that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience that pictures the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a sacred meal in which the church partakes of bread and the fruit of the vine in order to remember the death of our Redeemer, proclaim the gospel, and anticipate His second coming. These two sacraments are reserved for those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ.

10. Last Things

We teach that God has appointed a time when He will sovereignly bring this world to an end and make all things new. Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge every person. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, a real place of everlasting punishment. The righteous, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

What We Do

East Madison Baptist Church exists to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

We do this through:

Worship and Bible study on Sunday mornings
Loving our neighbor in all of life, with love as Christ defined and displayed for us
Fellowshipping together outside of Sunday services, both formally and informally
Carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth through a long-term mission partnership with an overseas people group

Worship Service Info

Worship is the reason we exist. It is ultimate because God is ultimate, not man. We do not take worship lightly because God does not think lightly of worship. Our worship is directed to God and He is the center of our gathering. Here’s what our Sunday morning worship looks like and why.

Expository preaching and teaching
Scripture teaches us that corporate worship is the context for preaching and teaching. Preaching is neither a conversation nor motivational talk. Instead, it is the proclamation of what God has revealed about Himself to His people through His word. God is the subject of the Scripture; therefore, He should be the subject of preaching and teaching. Expository preaching best serves this purpose because its aim is to let the text speak for itself.

Public reading of Scripture
We carve out a special place during worship just to listen to the unadulterated Word of God (1 Tim. 4:13; cf. Col. 4:16). We allow our hearts and minds to soak in the very Word which God has promised is “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).”

Fellowship
Scripture teaches the value of fellowship within the context of worship (Acts 2:42-46). We can assume that this fellowship is the same thing mentioned in Hebrews: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…(Heb. 10:24-25).”

Regularly observing the Lord’s Supper
Christ left us with this sacred meal as a remembrance of His death which symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf. As we observe the Lord’s Supper, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, examine our own hearts, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls, and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body. Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). While Scripture nowhere mandates a certain number of times to observe this sacred meal, Christ did say “as often as you drink it…(1 Cor. 11:25).” From this we can at least gather a regular observance (Acts 2:42).

Prayer
Luke tells us that the first Christians “devoted themselves to…the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Given the context we can assume that corporate prayer occurred when the church gathered to worship (cf. Eph. 6:17-18; Col. 4:2; 1 Tim. 2:1-4). When we pray corporately, we are lifting up our voices together with one voice to God (Acts 4:24). Even though only one person may pray at a time, the one praying intercedes on behalf of everyone present. He stands as a representative of the body before the very throne of God.

Praising God with song
John Stott has written, “The Christian community is a community of celebration.” we believe that the church should be characterized by praise (Eph. 5:18-20; Col. 3:16). This is the model for corporate gatherings which we find throughout the Psalms (e.g. Psalm 145:1-3; 147:1; 150:1-6)–for “great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised (Psalm 145:3).” Praising God with song is an essential of corporate worship.

Directions

4917 Milwaukee Street, Madison, WI 53714
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FAQs

What does the word “baptist” in your church name mean? The word Baptist indicates that we are a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. We are in friendly cooperation with and contributing toward the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention.

What is the Southern Baptist Convention? The term “Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)” refers to both the denomination and its annual meeting. Southern Baptists share a common bond of basic Biblical beliefs and a commitment to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world. It was organized in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia—thus the name “Southern.” Being a part of the SBC gives churches a way to collectively express their convictions and realize their vision. This allows us to partner with other churches of like mind around the nation, pooling our resources to fulfill the Great Commission. Unlike other denominations, the SBC does not ordain ministers, assign staff to churches, levy contributions to denominational causes, dictate literature, calendar, preaching, or assign persons to churches according to place of residence. It considers these and other issues to be local church matters.

Does it matter how I dress on Sundays? Not really. Come as you are. On any given Sunday you’ll see jeans, a tie, shorts, flip flops, etc. We are more concerned with your spiritual condition than how you look.

What should my children expect? Perhaps you’ve heard it before, “If we’re going to have a Bible study then we must have something for the kids too.” That’s not the way we feel. We believe that children are just as important as adults. As a result, our desire is to teach children about God and cultivate their spiritual growth–not babysit or entertain. We offer Bible study classes for all ages an hour prior to the service. We encourage families to worship together, allowing the children to learn from the example set by others. We also acknowledge the need for age-appropriate content for younger children and so offer a Children’s Worship during the latter part of our worship service.

What kind of music will I hear? We believe that music should be a source of education as well as exultation. Worship revolves around understanding who God is and delighting Him—both must be present. Our desire is to worship God with both heart and mind. You’ll hear a good mix of both hymns and contemporary songs on Sunday morning, but more importantly, the content of the songs will be God-centered and cross-focused.

How long does the service last? Most services last about 90 minutes.