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Who are these people called Baptists? This is not an easy question to answer, because historically we Baptists have honored our diversity. A church in the countryside might be very different from one located in town, or in the suburbs. A Baptist church might, in fact, be very different from the Baptist church just across the street!
Still there are distinctives of belief and behavior that characterize most Baptists. First Baptist Church honors, as its congregational Confession of Faith, a document that was drafted in 1925 and revised in 1963. It is called "The Baptist Faith and Message." And while our Confession matters to us, we do not consider it to be an inspired text, with the same authority as the Bible (see Article I). Always our minds are open to the discussion of important matters of belief.
Another significant document is our Church Covenant. Someone has noted that, while our Confession of Faith indicates those things that we believe, our Church Covenant stipulates those things that we have promised to one another, and to God.
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