Religious visitation at Faith Baptist Church in Manchester

Faith Baptist Church in Manchester, NH

The Baptist Church I visited is called Faith Baptist Church and it is located at 52 Lake Street in Manchester. This is quite an attractive church from the exterior to interior. On entry to the church compound, there are beautiful, and attractive flowers planted along the roundabout. Then there are the green ones that are planted along the church building itself. The church has been simply build without the normal Gothic architecture found in other churches. This shows modernization that has seen many changes in church.

There are no sculptures outside the church like those found in the Catholic Church. Baptist church has known to have branched itself from the first protestants of the Catholic faith. Like the Anglican Church. There is no clerestory too which is common in other churches with an aim of bringing in light through its windows. The interior is well done with candles lit at the front to show Christ's presence. There were no paintings or artwork like is normally found in Catholic Church.

The Baptist Church was founded by John Smyth. The church broke away from the Protestants who had broken away from the Catholic Church. It comprises of a set of denominations that did not believe in child baptism. Baptist faith believed in a person being immersed in water as a sign of baptism. They argued that when a child is baptized he does not know its meaning. They also believed in salvation as proclaimed from the mouth and not baptism. This has seen the Baptist church accepting people who are not baptized as long as they can proclaim their salvation through their mouth. This church originated from England hence you will find that most of its followers are white. At first they were known as the English separatists. This is because they left the Church of England since they thought there were many uncorrected errors or abuses there. The baptism of infants is what made Smyth separate from the separatists.

Inside the church, their service was quite entertaining. They did not have to follow any written routine like most churches and this made it easy for me. The music was quite entertaining because it was lively with all modern music systems on. They were projecting the lyrics, and also the scriptures and it was fun. The only thing that was off was the praying where they spoke in turns. At first it was scary because everyone was talking their own language. It was a moment when everyone had to talk to God in whichever way they know best. It was a language no one else would understand, and they claimed it was the Holy Spirit speaking in them. At one point, they were clapping for the Lord and shouting to their loudest. Having come from a protestant Church that is often quite and soft in their services, this was surprising.

This church is very strict in morality. They do not belief in the intake of alcohol or smoke like the Catholic Church. The youth are quite prayerful, and one can feel God's presence while they worship. No routines are found during the service. However, they have personalized the ten percent offering whereby they even record how much one has tithed. This did not seem right because the people giving the highest tithes tended to get recognition in church than others. They emphasized on the church contribution in their sermon more than others. The priest also seemed to have a lot of influence on the believers as they acknowledged every word he said with an 'Amen'.

This is a faith I would not follow especially since they do not believe in infant baptism. From the scriptures, all children were dedicated to the Lord at infancy. The dipping in water came in later with John the Baptist. He baptized Jesus in water when he was old enough, but that did not mean the infant should not be baptized by sprinkling water on the head. The other thing that would stop me from joining this faith is the use of tongues. This is a language they use to talk to God, but from the scriptures, there should be one person understanding the language and hence translating to the congregation. They also screamed a lot in church making me drift from the Holy presence in the church. I do not like the way the church has the power to excommunicate its followers because this is being judgmental and as per the scriptures we are all sinners. They are same ones who decide on whether the person should be taken back or not.

However, this church has fought a lot in bringing the freedom in churches. They have placed a distinct between politics and church doctrines. This attracted me to them, and also the fact that they have a very lively church. They appreciate new members in church unlike most of the other churches. They take their time to welcome the new ones, and even offering them a special place after the service where they interact over a cup of tea. I liked the fact that they believe faith is a matter amid you and God without a third party like the one in the catholic church. Some churches want one to confess to the pastor who in turn prays for your sins to be given. This has kept most of the people away from them like the Protestants who drifted from the Catholic Church. The Baptist does not believe in baptism as a necessity for salvation. As long as one can proclaim his belief to the congregation or to other people, that is enough faith for them. As long as you have salvation, you are accepted in their church. Other formalities like the baptism of immersion come later. To them baptism is not a sacrament because it does not impact any saving grace. The Baptist church has not added incantations in their services, which is good, and comfortable. Other churches tend to recite some prayers and if you are not a follower of their faith, you do not get to understand it. For example, the Catholic Church has the 'Hail Mary' prayer among others which confuse the protestors on whether they pray through Mary or direct to God.