Covenant  

Having come by the grace of God to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and having been led by the Holy Spirit to this part of the Body of Christ, we do now, before God and in the presence of this assembly of believers most joyfully and solemnly enter into covenant with the members of this part of the Body of Christ, known as East Tennessee Baptist Church. We affirm God's covenant with us and our covenant with Him through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We understand that our part of the covenant is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that this is expressed by continuing trust in His promises and obedience to His commandments. In joyful and solemn covenant with this part of our Lord's body, we commit ourselves to seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to forsake sin, to regularly and cheerfully give of ourselves and God's spiritual and material gifts to us for the building up of the Body, to watch over one another in brotherly love, to lovingly lead all those committed to our care, and to lovingly submit to all God appoints over us. We accept the East Tennessee Baptist Church Affirmation of Faith as our basis of belief. As God is our witness, to this we commit ourselves, admitting our total dependence on the Holy spirit for our fulfillment of this covenant.

 Affirmation of Faith   

I affirm one God Who is manifested in three persons. I affirm the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, Who created all things, both visible and invisible, for His own glory and pleasure. I affirm our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is one in substance with the Father, by Who all things were made; Who for us and for our salvation came down from Heaven; Who was conceived by the Holy spirit and born of a virgin; Who lived a perfect life; Who was crucified, died for our sins, and was buried; Who was raised bodily on the third day according to Scripture; Who ascended into Heaven; Who sits at the Father's right hand, having received all authority and is Lord of all; Who shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead; and whose kingdom shall never end. I affirm the Holy Spirit, Who proceeded from the Father and the Son; Who is equal with the Father and the Son; Who is the baptizer and filler, teacher and comforter, indweller and uniter of God's people, author and interpreter of the Holy Scriptures, revealer of our Lord Jesus Christ, and giver of all the things of God. I affirm one universal church, which is the body of Christ, the elect who have been chosen, called and justified by God before the foundations of the world. I affirm that the Old and New Testaments commonly called the Holy Bible are the inspired, infallible, and inerrant word God in the originals autographs (writings) and that the Scriptures are the only sufficient rule for faith and practices. I affirm that the East Tennessee Statement of Faith is a definitive statement of the major doctrines of the Gospel contained in the Holy Scriptures. I affirm that all of the will of God is included in these two commandments: "The foremost is, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.' The second is this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30,31). I affirm the Biblical Purpose and Biblical objectives as stated as a guide to accomplish the will of God in this part of our Lord's Body, known as East Tennessee Baptist Church.