What We Believe

Our Mission

Rapidan Baptist Camp exists to glorify God by aiding local churches in making and maturing disciples who are becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rapidan Baptist Camp is a local church ministry that desires to provide a Christ-centered environment in the great outdoors. The unique ministry of Christian Camping is a way we can reach the lost for Christ, strengthen the Christian, and help churches fulfill the Great Commission.

Our Goal — To Glorify God

All decisions made and all lives changed at camp have been because of God’s goodness and grace to us. The camp desires to give all glory to Him for the work accomplished in the past and the work to be done in the future. “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name forevermore.” Psalm 86:12

Our Purpose

Rapidan Baptist Camp is a home based mission ministry using the unique aspects of Christian camping ministry to reach young people for the Lord Jesus Christ, strengthening families, and serve local churches. It is a place where decision in the areas of Salvation, full surrender and consistent Christian walk are made.

1. Bible Versions: There are many versions of Scripture available in the English language. To avoid confusion and promote consistency of communication Rapidan Baptist Camp will use the KJV in all public forums.
2. Dress Guidelines: Rapidan Baptist Camp has established a minimum dress code for both boys and girls. It is not the policy of this organization to make exceptions to this dress code. We ask that all clothing be loose-fitting and reach the top of the knee. Tank tops and clothing with worldly advertisements will not be permitted. The camp reserves the right to ask any camper or adult not following these guidelines to change their attire. Swimsuits must be modest and one-piece.
3. Theological Controversies: There are a great variety of Theological viewpoints that define different organizations, denominations, groups, and individuals. Many of these viewpoints have been hotly debated in Christendom for many years Reformed theology, Arminian theology, Full Gospel theology, Pentecostalism, and Charismatic Theology to name a few.
1. Rapidan does not promote, and will generally seek to avoid the promotion of, any specific theological viewpoint the tenets of which are not addressed in the Statement of Faith.
2. Rapidan does not criticize, and will generally seek to avoid the criticism of, any specific theological viewpoint the tenets of which are not specifically addressed in the Statement of Faith.
3. Theological positions contrary to any part of the Statement of Faith will not be granted positive influence or favorable presentation through any of the programs at Rapidan Baptist Camp.
4. Music: There is a wide range of musical viewpoints and tastes relating to both the Christian and secular realm. Without attempting to establish a definition of right and wrong, but in order to prevent confusion and to provide consistency in all phases of the program, Rapidan Baptist Camp provides and permits only what is considered traditional Christian music as part of the service programs, and conservative secular music for all other events.
1. Styles/Instrumentation: For service music Rapidan does not use electronic instrumentation, does not employ the use of drums, and does not use any pre-recorded accompaniment.
   1. Service music: any number of hymns and other Gospel songs that would not be considered part of the genres commonly recognized as “Contemporary Christian Music,” or “Praise and Worship”
   2. Conservative Secular music: conservative in style, generic in association, instrumental only.
2. Note: Instrumentation such as piano, guitar, mandolin and other stringed instruments, brass, woodwind, or similar is encouraged so long as it is used in an appropriate and tasteful manner.
5. Code of Conduct: Rapidan has established reasonable rules of conduct to protect the safety of the participants, promote the efficient operation of the program, and provide a strong moral environment. These guidelines are expected to be followed, and reasonable measures will be employed to assure compliance.

Campers must accept and get along with others. Campers will be expected to edify others. Language and actions that do not edify can be cause for dismissal. Name-calling, foul language and practical jokes will not be tolerated from any camper. Campers will refrain from touching others in any harmful or inappropriate way. Campers must pay attention to their surroundings and follow staff instructions in all activities. Campers will adhere to all safety rules and regulations given for each activity he/she participates in while at camp. Campers must inform staff if they are experiencing a problem with another camper or other issues. Any Violation of the Code of Conduct can be grounds for automatic dismissal. Refunds are not given when a camper is dismissed from the program.

Activity Participation: While we make every effort to provide a safe and pleasant environment for every camper who attends Rapidan Baptist Camp, we do require that this participation agreement be read, filled out, signed and dated by all campers (and their parent/guardian if under the age of 18) who wish to participate in activities at Rapidan. By signing this form, you acknowledge that you have read the form in its entirety and agree that you, your spouse, and/or your child will abide by the following terms while at camp.

Rapidan Baptist Camp exists to glorify God by aiding local churches in making and maturing disciples who are becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ.These goals and objectives of our camp ministry are based on these applications of the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

The Word of God is the unchanging source of all faith and growth and the rulebook for all Christian behavior (Romans 10:17; John 17:17; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Timothy 2:15).

People have eternal souls and need to be born again through the power and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 5:12; Romans 3:23; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 19:10).

The value of camp as a tool to be used to reach people for the Lord Jesus Christ is constantly increasing in our complex, materialistic society (Matthew 18:1–14; Romans 10:13; 2 Timothy 3:1–7, 13).

True salvation will result in permanently changed lives which will be evidenced in the life of the believer (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 2:3; John 15:5–6).

After salvation Christians are instructed to grow in grace and in the knowedge of our Lord Jesus Christ and of spiritual things (2 Peter 3:18; 2:2; Hebrews 5).

Growth in the Christian life is a process that aims toward spiritual maturity and is aided by decisions, truly made, that are stepping stones to new levels of growth (Colossians 1:28–29; Colossians 2:6–7; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Peter 1:5–9).

The process of growth toward spiritual maturity includes 1) the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, 2) knowledge of and obedience to the Word of God, and 3) the genuine made decision of the believer to yield to the Holy Spirit and obey the Scripture (John 16:13; 14:17; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 3:16–17; 1 John 2:27; Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:9; 6:11–17; Ezra 7:10).

The process of growth begins with the new believer taking an open stand for Jesus Christ, starting at camp and following through at home and among friends (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:11).

The key to successful Christian living and growth is the prayerful study of and obedience to the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

A vital decision in every growing Christian’s life is the decision to surrender all to Jesus Christ. This decision will result in a desire for obedience to God’s will (Romans 12:1–2).

Every Christian needs to establish Bible convictions in their lives. Convictions are basically the inner determination to obey the Scripture as one understands it today and results in the daily practice of Christlikeness (Daniel 1:8; Luke 6:47–49; Romans 8:29).

Planning, organizing, and setting things in an orderly fashion is pleasing to our Lord and aids in accomplishing our ministry, as long as all such plans are consistent with God’s will (James 4:13–15; 1 Corinthians 14:40; Luke 14:28–33).

The most important thing to do with a life is to invest it in something of eternal value (Matthew 6:33; 1 Corinthians 3:11–14; 1 John 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16–18).

A Christian should not divide his life and activities into sacred and secular categories. A Christian must realize that everything he is doing must be done as for the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31; Luke 2:52; Colossians 3:17).

Because the Christian’s body is the temple of God, it is important to take good care of it and also to keep it separate from sin and worldliness (1 Corinthians 6:19–20; 1 Timothy 4:8; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 1 John 2:15–16).

Sin is entangling and progressive and must be dealt with immediately and biblically (Proverbs 5:22; 28:13; Joshua 7:21; Galatians 6:1; 1 John 1:9)

Self-sacrificing, others-first love is necessary to reach and teach people for the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 13:1; Psalm 126:6; Romans 9:1–3; Matthew 22:37–40).

In this day of hypocrisy and double standards, it is vital that young people see in the counselors and our guests see in our staff a living example of Jesus Christ. It is also vital to teach both children and parents not to be hypocritical in their own lives (1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1; 2 Timothy 3:10–14).

A person of any age can be saved, but many people who are Christians today were saved as a child; therefore, we especially need to get the gospel to as many children and young people as possible. This salvation comes through a heart belief and faith. Salvation is presented to all of our campers (Matthew 18:2–6; Romans 10:9–10; Ephesians 2:8–9).

Not every Christian will form the same convictions based on the same passage of Scripture. Where we can truly hold our convictions and still tolerate and fellowship with those holding different preferences and convictions, we should. Where someone is clearly violating an absolute command or precept found in the Word of God, there should be no compromise, but rather separation (Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; 1 Peter 1:13–16).

Parents have the primary responsibility for the teaching and bringing up of their children. We are a tool to help them accomplish their God-given responsibility and to strengthen the family (Ephesians 6:1–4; Colossians 3; Deuteronomy 6).

Our goal is to serve local churches and strengthen families with adult retreats by providing challenging retreats as a tool for the church’s use (Matthew 28:18–20; 2 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 5:11–14).

We are not a church, but God gave gifts to the churches in the form of evangelists and teachers to aid the church in fulfilling its mission to perfect, edify, and disciple (Ephesians 4:11–12; Romans 12:3–8).

This is a partial statement of faith. To view the full document, click here.

1. The Scriptures:
   We believe in the VERBAL PLENARY inspiration of the Scriptures in 66 books.VERBAL – that in the original writings the Holy Spirit guided the choice of words used while preserving the individual writer’s style and vocabulary.
   PLENARY – that every portion of the Bible is infallible as to its truth and final as to its Divine Authority (II Tim. 3:16, 17; II Pet. 1:10-21; I Cor. 2:13).
   The Bible therefore, is to the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall rest.
2. The Godhead:
   We believe there is one, and only one, living and true God.  He is the Creator of heaven and earth, inexpressively glorious in holiness, and worthy of all our honor, worship, confidence, and love. God eternally exists in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Exodus 20:2, 3; John 1:1-4, 10:30, 14:7-11; I John 5:7; Rev. 4:11).
3. The Lord Jesus Christ:
   We believe that the eternal Son of God was manifest in the flesh and came into this world as purposed by God and prophesied in the Scriptures to fulfill the plan and purpose of  the God of salvation for a lost world (John 1:14; II Cor. 5:21; Phil. 2:5-8).We believe that, while not divesting Himself of His absolute deity, He took upon Himself a perfect, sinless human nature being born of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:30-35).
   We believe that Jesus Christ voluntarily became sin for us; and that by His death, as the sinless Lamb of God, He bore the righteous judgment of a Holy God and tasted death for every man (Heb. 10:5-14; II Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 3:18).
   We believe that Jesus Christ rose from the grave having the same body but glorified (John 20:9, 20; Phil. 3:21; Rom. 6:4).
   We believe in the bodily ascension of Christ to the right hand of the throne of God, and that He has become head over all things to the church which is His body (John 20:17; Acts 1:9; Eph. 1:22-23).
   We believe that Jesus Christ is now intercessor and advocate for all those who are saved and that He will return for His bride, the church, at the Rapture (Heb. 7:25; I Thess. 4:17).
4. The Holy Spirit:
   We believe that the Holy Spirit was and is present in all the plan and work of God and that He has ministries peculiar to each dispensation.  His ministries to this age of Grace are: restraining of evil (II Thess. 2:7); convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-11); regenerating all believers (John 3:6); indwelling all saved (Rom. 8:9); baptizing all saved into the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13); anointing all believers to teach them truth (John 16:13); sealing all believers until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30); filling and empowering for service (Eph. 5:18; I Cor. 12:7; Acts 1:8).
5. Creation:
   We believe in the divine work of creation: that the Biblical account of origins is to be understood literally and not figuratively; that God created the existing universe with all of its intricate systems and varied kinds of organisms in six literal days; that the entire Genesis record of primeval history is to be accepted as divinely inspired and historically accurate, including the literal existence of Adam and Eve as the progenitors of all people, the literal fall and resultant divine curse on the creation, the worldwide cataclysmic deluge, and the origin of nations and languages at the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 1:1; 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; 2:2; Exodus 20:11; Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-7, 14-19; 6:1-8:22; 11:1-9; Romans 1:19-20).
6. Satan:
   We believe in the personality of Satan and that he is a created being, the unholy god of this age and the author of all the powers of darkness.  His purpose is to deceive, steal, kill, and destroy. He is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire (II Cor. 4:4; John 10:10; Eph. 2:2,  6:12; Rev. 20:10).
7. Man:
   We believe that the first man Adam, was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through willful sin, he became dead in trespasses and sin and subjected himself and creation to the authority of Satan (Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 3:6; 6:6; Psalms 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6; Rom. 3:10-19; 8:6-7; Eph. 2:1-3; I Tim. 5:6).  We believe that this total depravity in man has been transmitted to every child born of that man.
8. Salvation:
   We believe that salvation is the work of God alone and is free to everyone without human merit or attainment.  It is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5).We believe that the substitutionary sacrifice of  Christ  by the shedding of His blood on the cross, which includes his death, burial and resurrection, is the only basis for our redemption and the entrance into the Kingdom of God is by the New Birth alone (John 3:3-6; II Cor. 5:17).
   We believe that salvation is eternally secured to all believers and that this assurance is their portion from the very day of their trust in Christ (John 3:16; 10:28,29; Heb.10:22; Rom. 8:28-39).
   We believe that this salvation will be fully realized when Christ comes back to take us to Himself; this is the Christian’s blessed hope (John 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-13).
9. The Christian Life:
   Every believer should take the first step of obedience and follow Jesus’ command for believer’s baptism by immersion to identify with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (Mt 28:18-20; Acts 2:41; 8:38; Rom 6:3,4).
   We believe that it is the responsibility of every believer to walk worthy of his calling, to walk after the spirit and not after the flesh.  We are saved to glorify God through worship and service that brings others to Christ (Eph. 4:1, 12:16; I Thess. 2:12; Rom. 8:4-5).
   We believe that Christian character and fruit are produced by the work of the Holy Spirit as we yield our lives to Him (Phil. 2:12-16; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-30; Rom. 6:11-16).
10. The Church:
    We believe that each local assembly has the absolute right of self-government, free from interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the One, and only One, to whom we are responsible is Jesus Christ the Lord (Acts 2:41-42; 20:17-28; Matt. 16:16-18; I Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18, Rev. 1:5).
11. The Second Coming of Christ:
    We believe that this dispensation will end with the rapture of the church and that there will follow a period of great tribulation upon the earth, after which the Lord will visibly return with His church in power and great glory to introduce His millennial reign and establish Israel in the land, according to the covenant promises (I Thess. 1:10; Matt. 24:21; II Thess. 1:7-10; Isa. 2:1-5; Jer. 31:27-40).
12. Judgment:
    We believe that at death every believer passes into the presence of Christ and there awaits the resurrection, after which his works will be judged by Christ (I Cor. 3:9-15; 15:51-54; II Cor. 5:8-10; Rom. 14:10).
    We believe that the unsaved will remain under condemnation and in misery until the judgment of the Great White Throne where they will be united with their body to be cast, with Satan, into the eternal lake of fire (Rev. 20:10-15).
13. Morality
    We believe in morality for individuals as described in the Bible, God’s Word. We believe that God created Adam and Eve to dwell together in holiness. The principle is established that the man and woman are to leave their parents and cleave to each other and make a home. Sexuality is for husband and wife within the bounds of holy matrimony. The New Testament clearly teaches one man and one woman in marriage. Therefore, all other life styles are unscriptural and sinful in God’s sight. We will not support the open and blatant acceptance or practice of pornography, transgender, illicit sexual behavior, homosexuality, bisexuality, or bestiality, as a life style. Any person who may be involved in, or support, or promote such immorality, shall be removed from the property, and if holding an office shall be stripped of their office with all rights and privileges thereof (Mk 10:6-9; 1Cor 5:5-7; 6:15-20; 1Thes 4:3-6).

SECTION 2.02 AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH
The statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members. All literature used in the camp will be in complete agreement with the Statement of Faith.