Beliefs:
The Baptist Church is organized into a "congregational governance system," which means that each individual church is in charge of governing itself. This results in a variety of beliefs from one church to the next, but there are some core beliefs that every congregation shares.

Baptists believe that baptism must occur not in infancy, but after a person has professed his or her faith in "Jesus as Lord and Savior," which generally happens in adulthood, but can be performed once it is established that the person can discern right from wrong.

Another common belief is the importance of the Bible. The Bible is considered the only real source of truth, and many Baptists believe that the Bible is to be taken literally and not questioned. These beliefs are on the fundamentalist end of the spectrum, and not all Baptists churches are fundamentalist. It's also important that every Christian does have direct access to God and the Bible, no intermediaries necessary. Baptists also believe that sin results in eternal damnation in hell and every individual must repent their sins and express faith in Christ in order to avoid this fate. God's grace, and thus salvation, is awarded on the basis of faith, and faith alone.

Today:
In a Baptist church, pastors serve as spiritual leaders. They deliver sermons, as well as performing weddings and other services. There are also deacons, who assist the pastor with the members or perform administrative tasks. A typical Baptist service usually contains a sermon, as well as music by a song leader, choir or band. Most churches include a combination of traditional hymns and contemporary Christian music in their services.

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