%20Transparency.png)
Learn More About Temple
We would love to get to know you. Reach out today!
At Temple Baptist Church we are a friendly church who exalts Jesus Christ
Temple Baptist Church exists to glorify God by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ! While we offer many ministries here, the main attraction of Temple Baptist Church is in its dedication to the expository preaching of the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. It is through the preaching of God’s Word we desire to see God’s people carry out the great commission and see lives changed.
Pastor Joel Bixler
Pastor Bixler grew up in a pastor's home. He heard the holy Scriptures from a child and trusted Christ as his personal Savior on July 21, 1983.
He was called to preach at the age of fourteen, and was led by the Lord to attend Crown College of the Bible, where he majored in Pastoral theology. Upon completion of graduate school, the Lord led Pastor Bixler to his home church, Emmanuel Baptist Church (Williamsport, Pennsylvania). He served as an assistant to the Pastor for seven years in various ministries. Then, in July 2007, the Lord led him to pastor Temple Baptist Church.
Pastor Bixler believes that God still can and will save souls and do mighty works this day. He has a vision to reach the world with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, including the greater Lenoir, NC area. He wants to strengthen the things that remain and pass on the truth to the next generation.
Temple Baptist Church called Joel D. Bixler to be our pastor on June 3, 2007. He accepted the call and greatly looks forward to what God is going to do.
Assistant Pastor Micah Still
Micah Still grew up in a Christian home in Georgia. He grew up in church, but it was not until the age of fifteen that Micah trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior. While attending a church youth activity, the Lord convicted Micah of his sin and on November 9th, 2012, Micah became a child of God.
Micah was called to preach at the age of sixteen and was led by the Lord to attend Ambassador Baptist College in Shelby, NC. While at college, Micah attended Temple Baptist Church. Upon graduating from college, the Lord led Micah to stay on as the assistant to the Pastor. He works in various capacities, but he primarily works with the student ministries at Temple Baptist Church.
Micah has a burden for the young people in Lenoir and in the surrounding areas. He desires that they might come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and walk with Him. He has a vision to see young people surrender to the will of God and to live for Him. In a world that is desperately putting pressure on young people to do that which is wrong, Micah hopes to be the one to lead them to the Light, the glorious Light of Jesus Christ.
We believe in the Bible as the verbally (every word) and plenary (complete) inspired Word of God as contained in the original manuscripts; that all portions of Scripture are equally inspired and contain no contradictions. (II Timothy 3:16) God’s Word is to be the only rule of faith and practice for the believer in Jesus Christ; and that the Canon, the sixty-six books of the Bible is complete. We further believe that God has supernaturally and providentially preserved His inspired Word for every generation. (Psalm 12:6-7)
A: By inspiration we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Ghost in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. This was a one-time event in which God, once for all, delivered His truth to the church. (II Peter 1:20-21; Jude, v. 3; II Timothy 3:16)
B: By providential preservation we mean that God, through the ages, has, in His divine power, preserved the very words He inspired. We further believe that the Hebrew Old Testament text, as found in the Traditional Masoretic Text, and the Greek New Testament text, as found in the Textus Receptus, are the true texts of Scripture and therefore are the complete, preserved, inerrant, infallible Word of God. (Psalm 12: 6, 7; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23)
C: We therefore believe that the King James Version is an accurate and faithful translation of the true texts of Scriptures which constitutes the preserved, inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God for the English- speaking people of the world. The King James Version of the Bible is the only translation used by Temple Baptist Church
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections; and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:25; John 1:1; John 14:16, 17; I Timothy 3:16
We believe in the essential deity and virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary not having human father, and is true God and true man; that He is man’s only hope of salvation from sin, being the only mediator between God and man; that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day for our sins according to the Scriptures; that His return for His Church, the Body of Christ, which He will take with Himself into heaven is imminent; and that He will come to this earth to set up His millennial reign. Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-4; John 10:30; John 14:6; I Timothy 2:5, 6; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:4-6.
We believe the Holy Spirit to be coequal with the Father and with the Son. He is a Person. He came to this earth as the fulfillment of Christ’s promise. He convicts, regenerates, indwells seals, fills, empowers, and guides the believer. John 16:7-13; John 3:3-5; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13, 14; Ephesians 5:18
We believe that God created man in His own image and that man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is conscious and eternal separation from God. We believe that all men are born with a sinful nature, evidenced by sinful acts; that man is totally depraved (every aspect of man has been affected by sin) and that if he is not born again, he is eternally lost. Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Luke 16:23; Revelation 21:8; Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21, 22; Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:8.
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, transgenderism, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s birth gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24, 19:5, 13, 26:8-10, Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9-10; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
We further believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two-distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God, and the rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26-27)
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one, legitimate meaning, and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union, as delineated by Scripture. Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility owned, leased, or rented by this church will only be those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as that gender was determined at birth.
We further believe that God created marriage as a divine institution between one man and one woman for life. God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Therefore, we never promote divorce as a solution to marital problems. We also believe God’s forgiveness includes all sins, including those who violate God’s permanence of marriage. Even though such forgiven people can be used of the Lord and serve in many areas of the church, we do believe the Scriptures prohibit them from being considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Genesis 2:24; Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Corinthians 7:10-11; Ephesians 5:22-23; I Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6)
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. We believe that the unjustified, unexcused taking of human life such as abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, population control or the mental well being of the mother are acceptable. Job 3:16; Psalms 51:1-5, 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44
We believe that the local church is composed of:
A local group of believers that is autonomous, self-governing, and has no ecclesiastical organization in authority over it.
Believers who are baptized by immersion.
Believers who are organized. They have for their officers, pastors, deacons and such other leaders as God has given special gifts to render as a ministry to the church.
Believers who observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord ’s Supper.
Believers who meet regularly for fellowship, worship, and Bible study.
Believers who carry out the Great Commission. 1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 16:19; Acts 2:41; 1 Corinthians 12; Hebrews 10:25; I Corinthians 11:23, 24; Matthew. 28:18-20
We believe that Satan is a person. He was created perfect but sinned and became the arch enemy of God and His creation. He is the chief adversary of God’s children. He seeks to keep man from the Lord, and when he cannot succeed in this, he seeks to weaken the testimony of Christians. He has at his command a great host of fallen angels and demons to carry out his purposes. He is not omnipotent and can be overcome by the power of God. His doom is sealed in the Lake of Fire forever and forever. Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah. 14:12-14; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 20:10.
We believe there will be a resurrection of all, first the just at the coming of Jesus Christ and finally the unjust after the millennium. The saints are raised to be forever with the Lord, and the unsaved will be confined for eternity in the Lake of Fire. We believe in the “Blessed Hope”(Titus 2:13) which is the personal, bodily, pretribulational, premillennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior for His Church at the rapture and His later return to the earth in power and glory with His saints to set up His Kingdom ( the millennium). John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11, Acts 24:15; I Corinthians. 15:3-20; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:13-18, I John 2:1-2, Rev. 20: 1-15, Rev. 21:8
Let Us Know You're Coming
We want to welcome you to our church. Plan your Visit and receive a gift from our church to you upon your arrival. We look forward to seeing you soon!