about us
STAFF
CARL WHITE
Senior Pastor
DAVID LUCIUS
Minister of Music
Young Adults & Families
BRANDON MCMAHAN
Minister of Youth
JIM HEIDELBERG
Minister of Children
SHEILA LUCIUS
Church Secretary
BILL TAYLOR
Treasurer
Sunday School Director
JANE DANIEL
Sunday School Secretary
JENNIFER TAYLOR
Church Clerk
NICOLE MCMAHAN
Church Custodian
CAROL MALONE
Organist / Pianist
PEGGY STAFFORD
Events Photographer
CHRIS DAVIS
Chairman of Deacons
HISTORY
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On March 25, 2001, after much time in prayer and planning, the church unanimously voted to begin construction on a completely new structure. After its completion, the old building would be removed. With the exception of a few minor details, the new building was completed at the close of 2001 and preparations were made for its dedication to the Lord's service in the beginning of 2002.
Not only does Mercer Baptist Church enjoy a wonderful and exciting present and a glorious future, but also a rich history. The Mercer Missionary Baptist Church, later named Mercer Baptist Church, was organized the second Sunday in October 1894. Fire destroyed the church records from 1894 to 1926, therefore much of the early history is unrecorded. However, the minutes do state that in 1905 a one room framed building was erected which could seat as many as 400 people.
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In 1927, the church membership boasted of 154 members and funds were raised to remodel the large one room building. Dr. G. M. Savage oversaw this project and remained pastor for 30 years. At this time, six Sunday School rooms were added, along with gas lights and kerosene lamps. In 1929, a furnace was purchased for heat. Baptisms were held in the Black Creek until the church installed a baptistry in 1938. Dedication services for the completed building were held in July 1933 by Dr. W. D. Powerl and Dr. G. M. Savage. An educational building was added while Dr. George E. Clark was pastor during 1962-1967.
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Today, that new facility stands as a symbol of the faith and dedication of a body of believers who believe that nothing is too hard for God. As God continues to fill, we are rapidly running out of room again! We are currently praying and asking God for the next step.
In 2007, the church voted to acquire and restore the old McGlathery homeplace across from the old Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mercer. The house would be used as a parsonage for their pastor. The house, built in 1888, was the oldest home left standing in Mercer. In 2008, the house was finished and a dedication service was held May 4, 2008.
Mercer Baptist Church is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Madison-Chester Association of Baptists.
Today, Mercer Baptist Church continues as a lighthouse to the community sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost world. We have a passion for souls, discipleship, and a commitment to the inspired-inerrant Word of God. Mercer Baptist continues to tell the "old, old story" of God's love for mankind and the salvation that can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
BELIEF
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. "The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being".
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. "God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ".
God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. "He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin".
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. "He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment." He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. "By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race." The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. "All true believers endure to the end." Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.
Baptism & the Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. "It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members "memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming."
The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. "It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion".
Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. "Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly" the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell. "The righteous" will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Evangelism & Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations "to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort."
Education
The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence. There should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. "The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists."
Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions.
Cooperation
Christ's people should "organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches." Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations.
The Christian & the Social Order
Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society. ... The Christian should oppose in the spirit of Christ every form of greed, selfishness, and vice.
Religious Liberty
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.
Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
CONTACT
address
Mercer Baptist Church
1724 Highway 138
P O Box 37
Mercer, Tennessee 38392
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