About Us

WE BELIEVE

Forest Drive Church believes in the authority of Scripture. We believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit as the Trinity of Scripture; that the world was created by God; that man was created in the image of God, but through disobedience lost that relationship; and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind.

We desire to see the church return as much as possible to the New Testament pattern.We believe that baptism in water and the Lord's Supper (communion) are vital aspects of the Christian life. Participation in both are commanded by the Lord. We also believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit comes to live in every Christian.

The Holy Spirit opens the door to fellowship with the Father and the Son, and works in our hearts to bring us to Christian maturity. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit we become instruments for ministry (including supernatural acts of God).

We believe that non-believers, those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, will be judged by God in His perfect justice and doomed to eternal punishment.

We believe that the church as a whole is the Body of Christ and that the local church is an expression of that larger Body. We believe that church life is essential to bring about healthy growth in every believer. We believe that every Christian is called into the service of our Lord

OUR TENETS OF FAITH

1. We believe in one true and living God, eternal and of infinite power, wisdom, goodness and righteousness. He is a loving and faithful God who is creator and preserver of all things.

2. We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin, fully God yet fully man. He walked on earth (without sin), suffered at the hands of men, was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven in full victory over Satan and sin.

3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, who lives within us (the believer), giving us the power to live holy lives. He is the Spirit of truth, our counselor, and our teacher who guides us into all truth.

4. We believe that the Scriptures are the inspired, inerrant Word of God. No books may be added or deleted. The Scripture contains all necessary truth to lead men and women to salvation and the tools to live holy and pure lives.

5. We believe that man was created in the likeness and image of Almighty God and is a three part being comprised of Spirit, soul and body.

6. We believe that salvation comes only through an individual's acceptance of Jesus Christ, God's only Son, as the one who died as a sacrifice for his/her sin. That through His life, His death, His resurrection he/she can be restored to relationship with the Father, and live free from the dominion of sin. We also believe that when redeemed man falls into sin, through confession and repentance, he/she can find forgiveness and restored fellowship with God.

7. We believe that as followers of Christ that we are to be actively involved in acts or service and ministry to our church, communities, city, nation and the world.

8. We believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as seen and experienced by the church in the book of Acts. We believe that each person who is baptized in the Holy Spirit has access to a personal language of the Spirit.

9. We believe the gifts of the Spirit are for today and are the supernatural and natural actions and expressions of the Holy Spirit through the believer to the church and the world. We believe the gifts of the Spirit are for everyone, but that the Holy Spirit alone controls the impartation.

10. We believe that God has ordained two sacraments in the church: The Lord's Supper and Baptism. We believe and practice baptism by immersion.

11. We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive all believers unto Himself as His Bride, and that we will live eternally in His presence.

OUR HISTORY

Forest Drive Baptist Church was organized in 1948 out of a Mission Sunday School, (est. in May 1943), which grew out of the war years and was sponsored by First Baptist Church in Columbia.

We accept our position as a part of the Body of Christ. We Believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, and our Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and that its promises are as valid today as when originally given. We cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention.

In the early 1970's, God began breathing a fresh wind of His Spirit causing people to hunger for more of God and Forest Drive was refreshed. In 1974, Glenn Anderson became Pastor and began taking the church in the direction of the "Charismatic Renewal." In 1978, after much growth, we out grew our original sanctuary and began meeting at the Richland Mall Movie Theaters. During that time we were able to purchase 4.4 acres that adjoined our Forest Drive property and built the first level of our then future sanctuary.

In November 1983 we completed and moved into the basement level of our new facility. We became known as the "underground church" of Columbia. Over the next 12 years, we added classrooms and enlarged the stage several times to accommodate continued growth.

In 1995, our Pastor and Elders believed God was leading us to complete the sanctuary. We moved into our new Worship Center, with a seating capacity of approximately 1000, in March 1998. In October 1999, the mantel of pastoral leadership was passed from Glenn Anderson to his son Brian Thomas.

In December of 1999 we began remodeling the basement with more classrooms, a kitchen and Fellowship Hall. In October of 2002 we introduced Connections Small Group Ministry that allowed people to minister in their area of passion thusly growing the Kingdom of God.

In January of 2005 we introduced many changes to the church. We removed Baptist from our name, although our affiliation did not change, we dissolved our Mid-Week Bible Study, we meshed our existing Sunday School program into our Connections Small Group Ministry and we added an early Sunday Worship Service.