THE CREEDS

DaySpring has an ecumenical spirit. Drawing on the rich heritage of the Great Tradition of 2000 years of Christian history, DaySpring stands on the shoulders of those who have come before. Our forefathers and foremothers are our teachers and our brothers and sisters. Enduring through centuries, the Apostle's Creed and Nicene Creeds articulate core Christian beliefs and witness to Christian hope as brief summaries of biblical teaching. We 'pray' the Creeds together as part of our baptism services and on other occasions through the year.

Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power

of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the Only Begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father’

through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

BAPTIST FAITH AND MESSAGE

DaySpring is affiliated with three Baptist partner organizations.

The Waco Regional Baptist Association (https://wacobaptists.org/) is a voluntary network of Baptist churches in Central Texas who have chosen to cooperate to extend and embody the good news of Jesus.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas (www.texasbaptists.org) encourages, facilitates and connects churches in their work to fulfill God’s mission of reconciling the world to himself.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (cbf.net) is a Christian network of individuals and churches working together to spread the hope of Christ. Our diverse community includes partners all over the globe, and our fellowship supports a wide range of missions and ministries that give people meaningful opportunities to put their faith into action.

DaySpring is a local, homegrown congregation that started without a pastor, honors the voices of each person in the congregation, seeks consensus, and seeks to practice St. Benedict's reminder to "Receive all as Christ." DaySpring is a theologically diverse congregation, thriving by focusing on what we share in common rather than what divides us. With commitment to the historic Creeds of Christian faith, and guided by our Baptist heritage, we have room for wide diversity of faith lived out as a community of fellow pilgrims. Together, some decisions have been made over the years for our shared life together as a church that have emerged from our congregation's life and witness.

Sacred and Simple

“What we do, we do together.” That philosophy has guided our church life from the first days when we were just a handful of families meeting together. Together, we learned that saying ‘no’ to some things allowed us to say ‘yes’ to important things. Our life is shaped by five ministry areas: Worship, Community and Hospitality, Spiritual Formation, Mission, and Stewardship. DaySpringers serve together in each of these areas.

On Baptism and Church Membership

Like other Baptist churches, we baptize those who profess faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation. When we baptize, we do so by immersion in water (outside in a cow trough . . .that's another story). This is called believer's baptism by immersion and it's one of our favorite moments in the church's life.

We welcome for membership Christians who have already been baptized in other Christian traditions and in other modes. It means we honor infant baptisms and baptisms by sprinkling as sufficient for DaySpring membership without the need for another baptism.

On Women in Ministry

DaySpring recognizes the giftedness of men and women for service in all aspects of the church's ministries. Women and men share lay leadership roles, lead in worship, and preach.

On Same-Sex Weddings

Following a long and thoughtful discussion in May 2016, the congregation adopted a statement that we would not practice same-sex weddings at DaySpring. We acknowledge that some among us challenge the traditional Christian understanding of marriage, and we remain willing to test our convictions through communal discernment and the study of Scripture. You can read the statement here.