WHO WE ARE
Our identity and beliefs as a church
Tabernacle’s beliefs
Our church wholeheartedly believes whatever the Bible says! At Tabernacle, we believe that the Bible is the very words of God, who inspired the writers of scripture as they wrote the various narratives, letters, poetry, and prophecies.
Our church believes that the Baptist Faith & Message (2000) is a wonderful summary of our beliefs as a church body.
The Scriptures — Video - Audio - Outline
Our Triune God — Video - Audio - Outline
Our Salvation — Video - Audio - Outline
The Church — Video - Audio - Outline
Tabernacle’s Pillars
Our main mission as a church is to help people know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and to disciple them to know Him experientially and doctrinally more and more over the course of their lives. In everything we do, we want to lift up Jesus, proclaiming Him, relying on His Spirit, and pursuing Him. If it’s not centered on Jesus, we’re not in!
Tabernacle is called to do what no other entity on earth can, to teach and apply the Bible to God’s people and give them opportunities to grow individually and corporately in their knowledge and obedience to God’s Word. The Bible is God’s revelation to us of His nature, character, laws, history, and plans for His world and His people. Tabernacle is dedicated to studying and embodying the truths of scripture. Whatever we do, we want it to be directly tied to God’s Word!
Jesus said that the world will know we are His disciples if we have love for one another. Through our attitudes, words, and actions, we are to show each other that we love one another because He has loved us. Then, that love ought to motivate us to love those that do not know Christ, and seek to care for the world around us. If all we do is engage in learning and outward praise, we have fallen short of what God has called us to. Christ wants to love the world through Tabernacle!
Tabernacle’s positions
We are a Great Commission Baptist (also known as “Southern Baptist”) church that intentionally collaborates with the 46,000 other SBC churches in the United States for the purposes of evangelism, worldwide missions, and training ministry leaders. We hold to the set of doctrines that we wholeheartedly believe Scripture teaches and that have defined Baptist churches over the past 400 years. We believe that Tabernacle exists under the Lordship of Jesus Christ alone, which He exercises through His Holy Spirit and His Word in the lives of those members that have committed themselves to this local body of believers. We believe that, in observance of His Word, our local body of believers is called to submit to and obey our spiritual Elders (also called Pastors) as they follow Christ and lead our church.
We believe that our salvation, from the first moment of belief in Christ to our dying breath into Heaven, is only possible because of God’s unmerited grace. Because of that, we are motivated to live in a way that is not seeking to earn God’s favor, but is operating from God’s favor. His free salvation determines how we teach, talk, and act.
Humans are flawed, sinful, and imperfect images of God. We choose to love them anyway, just as Christ loved us in our sin. We will choose to think the best of others, forgive others when they wrong us, and ceaselessly hope for their joy and growth.
There are many types of churches in our world today, with various ideologies and methods. We intentionally seek to worship in the ways God prescribes for us in the Bible. We preach, read Scripture, pray, sing songs to and about God, give financially, evangelize, fellowship, and observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Tabernacle’s PURSUITS
There is only one way to live life in a Christian way, and that’s with an honesty about ourselves before God and our fellow believers. We refuse to put on a facade that would stop us (or others) from being truly known and loved. We believe James 5:16 & Galatians 6:1-2 command us to love one another through sins and flaws, and we can only help one another as we are honest about our imperfections.
How we do something is often as important as what we do. Our God is holy, perfect, and unimaginable in His glory and wisdom. We want to do our best (while retaining our honesty and humility) to uplift Him and showcase Him to the community around us in a manner befitting His greatness.
Our goal is not to merely amuse ourselves through activities or groups, or to be the sole source of spiritual growth in people’s lives. We want to equip disciples to make more disciples of Jesus!
We believe that our best days are not 10, 20, or 60 years ago, but still ahead of us! Because of that belief, we want to consistently press towards an optimism and excitement about what God is able to do through His Spirit in our generation.
In God’s presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), and one of the first listed fruits of the Spirit is joy! We’re not called to be perpetually angry, annoyed, or suspicious, but to rejoice in every circumstance because of who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. We value joy in how we treat one another, and in how we look at our church and world!
Tabernacle’s
Governing documents
Tabernacle is a Baptist church, so our local congregation is ultimately responsible for what we believe and practice, under the leadership of our church elders. These documents govern how Tabernacle operates, and list out our responsibilities and commitments to one another as covenant church members.
These documents were adopted September 15, 2024.
Tabernacle’s history
On June 7, 1947, twenty-three people met in the old Hiway Theater with the Superintendent of City Missions for Baltimore. A survey of the community had been done and a large number of Baptists had been found who were interested in starting a church in their local community. By October, Middle River Baptist Church had agreed to sponsor a mission which would be called the Tabernacle Mission. The Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board) agreed to provide a full-time pastor for Tabernacle. Alden F. Norris accepted the call to serve and was later called to be the first pastor.
By June of the following year, a building site had been located and lots were purchased. Several months were spent clearing the grounds and arranging financing. By October of 1949, the auditorium had been completed with the men of Tabernacle doing much of the work. This building is now the Educational Building at Tabernacle.
In January of 1950, Tabernacle Mission invited churches from the Baltimore Baptist Association to help in formally organizing the Mission into a church. The Mission was then constituted as Tabernacle Baptist Church, with a charter membership of 102.
In February of 1956, our current building was completed and dedicated to the Lord’s use, with local pastors and a choir celebrating the work that God had accomplished.
