What We Believe
Westside Baptist Academy is a ministry of Westside Baptist Church and holds the doctrinal position of that church without qualification.
Parents deserve to know exactly what their children will be taught before they enroll, not after. Nothing on this page is hedged. What follows is the doctrinal position of Westside Baptist Church, which is the position taught in every classroom on this campus.
Statement of Faith
Inspiration of the Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures as contained in the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God, inerrant, infallible, powerful and God breathed.
Psalm 19:7-11; II Tim. 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:16-21
The Bible has sole authority in all matters of faith, conduct and practices. We believe this excludes practices such as: speaking in tongues, baptizing infants, sales and suppers to raise money, woman preaching and teaching over grown men and alcoholic wine in communion.
God, the Father
We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 6:9; Isaiah 40:28; Job 42:2; Proverbs 5:21; Jeremiah 33:3; John 14:6
Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and propitious death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal, premillennial return in power and glory with His saints to establish His eternal reign in righteousness.
John 1:1-14; John 14:9; Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; John 10:36; Heb. 2:9; John 6:44-69; John 3:1-18; Romans 3:25; Rev. 1:5; Heb. 9:25; 1 Cor. 15:12-28; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-55; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Jude 14-15; Matt. 25:31-46
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead and the active person of the Godhead in the world today. We believe He is sent into the world to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment. John 16:7-11. We believe the Holy Spirit baptized all born-again people into the Body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:13. We believe in the indwelling of believers by the Holy Spirit. Rom. 8:14-27. We believe the Holy Spirit teaches, helps, guides and protects the believer in this life. John 14:16-26.
God and the Trinity
We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. 1 John 5:7; John 1:18; 1 Cor. 2:9, 10. The Father is God, Rom. 1:7; the Son is God, Heb. 1:8; and the Holy Spirit is God, Acts 5:3, 4.
Justification by Faith
We believe that man is justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1
Eternal Security
We believe in the perseverance of the saints and that every born-again believer is eternally secure in our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 10:27-29
Separation from the World
We believe that all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ are called into the life of separation from worldly and sinful practices and unto the Lord as His personal property.
James 4:4; Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-16; II Cor. 6:14-18
Evangelism
We believe that the commission of the true church of Christ is to be evangelical, missionary, evangelistic and fundamental. Therefore, we believe in carrying the Gospel to every creature, baptizing believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as stated in Matthew 28:16-20.
Personality of Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan. "That old serpent called the devil, and Satan which deceiveth the whole world."
Rev. 12:9-10; Matt. 4:2-11; Isaiah 14:12-17; John 8:24
Sin
We believe in the universality and exceeding wickedness of sin. Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 3:10-26; Romans 6:23. We believe that man is a sinner both by nature and by choice. Romans 5:12.
Heaven and Hell
We believe that Heaven is a literal place of eternal blessedness, and the destination of the saved. We believe that hell is a literal place of eternal suffering and the destination of the unbeliever.
II Cor. 5:1-10; Rev. 20:1-15; Rev. 21:2
Good Works
We believe that all born-again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should be careful to maintain good works. Good works have no saving merit in themselves.
Eph. 4:1; Titus 2:11-14; Titus 3:1-11; Eph. 2:8-10
The Church
We believe that the church universal consists of all those who in the present dispensation, truly believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We believe in the local church, independent, autonomous, indigenous and free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority: subject only to the authority and Lordship of Christ, its head.
I Cor. 1:2; Matt. 16:16-18
Ordinances
We believe there are two ordinances of the church: baptism by immersion, and the Lord's supper. We believe that both of these are for the purpose of symbolizing the identification of the believer with the Lord Jesus Christ and that they have no saving merit in themselves.
Matt. 28:19; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Cor. 11:23-32; Luke 22:15-20
Our purpose
Westside Baptist Academy is an extension of the Christian home and church in preparing young people for both time and eternity, so that these young people might be "conformed to the image of [Christ]."
The school's blueprint
The reason for having a church-sponsored Christian school is to obey the Scriptural imperatives of Deuteronomy 6:5–7a and Proverbs 22:6a:
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart; And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…"
"Train up a child in the way he should go…"
Teaching is only the beginning of training, and we intend to go beyond it. Our intent is that each student not only knows the precepts of Scripture but incorporates and practices them in daily life.
A Christian school is an extension of the Christian home and church in training young people for both time and eternity. School staff and parents need to work closely together in that training.
What the program aims at
The Westside Baptist Academy program is designed so that students will:
- Search the Scriptures daily
- Think, be independent, work and read
- Understand and know fundamental academics
- Develop mentally, physically, and spiritually
- Exercise biblical masculinity and femininity
- Nurture in and act upon Scriptural principles
- Treat one another with love, loyalty, honesty, and wisdom
- Share the Gospel in the community and show Christlikeness
Where we stand
Attendance at Westside Baptist Academy is a privilege and not a right. The goal is not to reform, but to train Christian youth of different abilities in the highest principles of Christian leadership, self-discipline, personal integrity and good citizenship.
Westside Baptist Academy stands without apology for the correctly taught biblical message of eternal salvation and the Bible standards of morality, modesty, and Christian behavior. The standards of the school are the same standards as Westside Baptist Church — and, we hope, standards already present in the home.
We hold the King James Bible as our text for preaching, teaching and memorization, in the classroom and in chapel.
Philosophy of education
Education is never neutral. Every school teaches children what is true, what matters, and what a person is for — the only question is whether it does so deliberately or by accident. The Academy does it deliberately.
We teach that the world was created by God and is therefore orderly and knowable; that history has a direction because God governs it; that literature is worth reading carefully because words carry moral weight; and that mathematics and science describe a creation that reflects its Creator. A student who leaves here should be able to think clearly, work hard, and give a reason for what they believe.
Church attendance
One of our enrollment agreements is that parents as well as students are in faithful attendance at a Bible-preaching, doctrinally sound church. This requirement is not optional. It is essential to the spiritual growth of each student.
It is not acceptable to say that we do not have to be in a church building to worship the Lord. The Bible states in Hebrews 10:25, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
This is not a legalistic requirement that you can never miss church. It is a heart commitment we ask you to take seriously. Students return a signed church attendance slip each Monday.
Families are not required to be members of Westside Baptist Church.
What else we ask
Students and parents are asked to support the school's standards while enrolled. The Standard of Conduct and Dress Code pages set those out, and the student handbook covers them in full.
It is the responsibility of each student, parent and guardian to become well informed on our regulations and policies. Ignorance cannot be used as an excuse for violations.
Come see the Academy
The best way to understand Westside Baptist Academy is to walk the halls while school is in session. Tours take about an hour.