Who We Are
Our Purpose
Jesus First: Our purpose is to help people put Jesus First in their lives.
Our Mission
Our mission is to prioritize Jesus First by following the Great Commandment and fulfilling the Great Commission.
Our Vision
Our vision is to help people lead lives where Jesus comes first. To make Jesus First, one must know, grow, show, and go.
Know Jesus: We desire for people to know Jesus intimately.
Grow in Jesus: We want to help people grow in their relationship with Jesus continually.
Show others Jesus: We want to encourage people to Show Jesus to others daily.
Go share Jesus with the World: We want to equip people to Go share His gospel with the world enthusiastically.
Our Beliefs
ABOUT GOD
There is one and 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 holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
ABOUT THE FATHER
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
Jesus is co-equal with the Father. He is fully God and fully Man. He lived a sinless life and was the perfect sacrifice. He arose bodily from the dead and ascended to Heaven where he is now exalted at the right hand of God. He is the One Mediator between God and Man. He will return again to reign as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives fully in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He is the assurance of our Salvation.
ABOUT THE BIBLE
The Bible is the “Inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God.” The Bible was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. The Bible or Cannon is complete!
ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS
People are made in the spiritual image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin.” This attitude separates us from God.
ABOUT SALVATION
Salvation is God’s free gift. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only through repentance of sin and trusting in Jesus can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty.
ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY
If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation; it is maintained by God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
ABOUT ETERNITY
People were created to exist forever. We will either be eternally in the presence of God or separated from God by our sin. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with God is Heaven.
ABOUT BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
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 symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, 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 the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
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WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS INSPIRED BY GOD AND IS WITHOUT ERROR.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
WE BELIEVE IN THE VIRGIN BIRTH.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18
WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRINITY.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
2 Corinthians 13:14
WE BELIEVE IN THE SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS.
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
WE BELIEVE IN THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS.
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS WILL COME AGAIN.
“Who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11
WE BELIEVE THAT MAN IS SINFUL.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
WE BELIEVE SALVATION IS BY FAITH ALONE.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
WE BELIEVE IN THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER.
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” I John 5:11-13
WE BELIEVE IN A LITERAL HEAVEN FOR THOSE WHO ACCEPT JESUS AS SAVIOR AND A LITERAL HELL FOR THOSE WHO REJECT HIM.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:1-6
“in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 1:8
Our Core Values
GENEROSITY MULTIPLIES CAPACITY
We believe that the greater our level of generosity, the greater our capacity to expand the kingdom of God. We recognize that by being generous with our resources, abilities, and time, we can make a greater impact in the world.
DEDICATED TO DOCTRINE
We are dedicated to faithfully studying, applying, and following all the teachings of the Bible, which is the ultimate source of revealed truth.
UNITY IS MIGHTY
We recognize that unity strengthens our ability to faithfully fulfill our purpose and mission. We strive to create and maintain unity amongst our congregation centered on the truth of God’s Word.
MULTIPLY NOT MAINTAIN
We are not content with remaining where we are in our gospel influence; rather, we seek to multiply the church by being disciples who make disciples.
HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE
We are serious about taking the good news of Jesus to our neighbors, our nation, and to the ends of the earth.
PRAYER IS A PRIORITY
Prayer is a fundamental part of our spiritual lives and should be a priority for individuals and the church. We should be intentional about setting aside time to pray and seek God’s will for our lives.
LOVE LIKE JESUS
We aspire to love others as Jesus did, sacrificially, in both word and deed, anchored in the truth.
GOD GETS THE GLORY
We recognize that all of our accomplishments are a result of God’s grace and mercy. We seek to give God the glory and remember to thank Him for all of His blessings.
Our History
In 1846, God moved in the hearts of 23 frontier farmers to start a church. We built a small log cabin for worship on Shoal Creek and elected William Farmer to be the first pastor. During the Civil War era, the church building burned down–twice! In 1884, God led us to move to Joplin where we purchased land on Range Line across from what is today the North Park Mall. We changed our name from the Shoal Creek Baptist Church to Forest Park.
In 1948, we relocated to 7th and Range Line. The church experienced great growth under the leadership of Thurman Kelly, who was our pastor for more than 30 years. After a church split in the late 1970s, our members voted to abolish committees and be a staff-led church. Free from politics and bureaucracy, Forest Park flourished and had a much greater impact on our community and world.
John Swadley came on as Lead Pastor in 1996 and during his tenure Forest Park has spread into the surrounding communities through the multisite approach. Forest Park Carthage launched in August 2007 as a way for our members living in that area to better reach out to their neighbors. Forest Park North launched in September of 2009 as an outreach to the Carl Junction, Webb City and north Joplin areas.
After 27 years of serving as Lead Pastor, John Swadley retired and the church body called Brian Jump to be the 33rd pastor for Forest Park Church. Forest Park is excited for the future as God continues to use the church to spread the gospel in the local communities, the nation, and to the ends of the Earth.