Those who make up the Christian body of FBC Hartsville have basic Baptist beliefs. FBC members also hold to certain beliefs and traditions that have been true for the majority of Baptists in all times and places.

These are:

   1. The belief that there is only one Living God, who is the creator and ruler of the universe, infinite in holiness and intelligence, spiritual, personal, and reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

   2. The belief that Salvation is by faith and the belief that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We affirm that He is the only way to the Father.

   3. The belief that Baptism is for believers. We hold that becoming a Christian is a conscious decision. We baptize only those who have made the decision to accept Christ as personal Savior. Baptism is by immersion and a symbolic act.

   4. The belief that the inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures is absolute. All authority in matters of faith and practice comes directly from the Bible. The Bible is God's Word without any mixture of error and is the ultimate authority in shaping a person's life on this earth and for all eternity. Those who make up FBC believe that every Christian is competant to understand Scripture as led by Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

  5. The belief that all believers are a priesthood. One stands directly before God with no intermediary save Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest.

  6. The belief that religious freedom is total. No agency or government may dictate to anyone what must be believed or practiced in one's religion.

  7. The belief that local churches are independent. The center of Baptist life is the local congregation. Conventions and associations exist at the pleasure of the churches. 

  8. The belief that symbolic ordinances be observed. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are outward and visible signs of inward and invisible grace. Symbols are, nonetheless, powerful and never to be thought of as merely symbolic.

  9. The belief in the Total Lordship Jesus Christ. The profession of the earliest Christians was "Jesus is Lord." We look to Jesus to know God. 

  10.The belief in and supporting of the Southern Baptist Convention; for its ongoing programs and ministries to maintain our traditional Baptist beliefs and increase our efforts to see the Great Commission fulfilled. 

  11. The belief that any redeemed, adult member may recieve the call to serve as a deacon, on the ministerial staff, as chaplain, on the mission field or in any capacity that God calls them to minister. The church body believes that the congregation has the responsibility of making its own decisions concerning the Leadership of the church.