Southern Cross Baptist Church is an independent, Bible-believing church located in Engadine, on the southern side of Sydney.
First planted in 1976, the church began to meet in the original Loftus Community Hall and then moved into the new Community Hall upon its completion. In 1988, the Church began to lease the property at 104 Anzac Avenue, Engadine, in order to start a Christian School. God miraculously paved the way for the School’s commencement and has continued to faithfully provide and undertake in its day-to-day operation for over 20 years.
Throughout the years, the church has faithfully sought to preach the true gospel, earnestly contend for the faith and be a light in the local community as a living testimony to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We stand for the fundamentals of the faith 'once delivered to the saints' and believe the Bible to be the absolute authority in all matters of life and practice. We stand against ecumenism and apostasy of which we are warned in the Scripture. We believe that we are to be in the world but not of the world and therefore encourage separation from all practice and culture that does not conform to the holiness and character of God.
We believe the Great Commission is our mission as a local church. It is our desire to remain faithful to the Word of God and be found ‘in Him’ at His imminent return.
Southern Cross Baptist Church believes in plurality of spiritual leadership in the local church. The Elders of Southern Cross Baptist Church are Les Searle and Nathan Searle, with Les serving as Senior Pastor.
We believe...
Bodily Resurrection
We believe that after three days, Jesus rose from the grave and after forty days ascended into Heaven (Luke 24:4-6,51; Acts 1:9; Acts 1:3). We also believe that Jesus is our intercessor sitting at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 16:19).
Second Coming
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is coming again in the air at any moment to rapture His church (II Thessalonians 2:1) and to reward their service. The unbelievers left behind will go through a seven year period called the Tribulation, after which Christ shall return visibly to the earth with His saints (I Thessalonians 3:13) to set up His Kingdom of one thousand years of righteous rule. After this, the unbelievers of all ages will stand at the Great White Throne to be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-13), separated from God forever, while believers spend eternity in the fullness of joy in Heaven with the Lord (Daniel 12:1,2).
Salvation
We believe that all who, by faith, have accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour are born again. Salvation is a free gift for “whosoever will” (Romans 10:13). It is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), plus absolutely nothing else. It is received only by personal faith in Jesus Christ. Once one is saved, he/she is kept by the power of God and is therefore eternally secure (John 10:28). We believe that in order to be saved you must first realize that you are a sinner (Romans 10:13). After realizing you have sinned, you must then realize that there is a price on sin (Romans 6:23). Then you must realize that Jesus paid the price for our sin (Romans 5:8), and that you have to ask Him to save you in order to go to Heaven (Romans 10:13).
Virgin Birth
We believe that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, that Mary had no sexual relationships with any man before conceiving Jesus (Luke 1:26-35).
Trinity
We believe that God is a person, eternally existing as a Trinity, manifesting Himself in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (I John 5:7). We further believe that these three are one God, but separate in personality and work.
The Local Church
We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as her head (Ephesians 5:23) and God as her guide (Psalms 48:14), therefore, it is to be completely autonomous. The church’s primary function is to fulfill “The Great Commission” – win, baptize, and disciple (Matthew 28:19-20).
Scriptures
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. The Old and New Testaments are definitely inspired word for word (II Peter 1:20,21). We accept the Textus Receptus manuscripts from which came the King James Bible. The Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Baptism
We believe that baptism is commanded by God to show others our faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 6:4). Baptism is nothing more than a symbolic act bearing no weight on our salvation; it is to be done in our obedience of our Lord and Saviour. We believe that when we are baptized we are to be submerged into water, and that the act of “sprinkling” is not true baptism (Acts 8:38). According to the Scriptures, we are to be baptized as soon as we can after salvation (Acts 8:38, 37; Acts 16:30-33). Baptism is the first act of obedience after salvation. A person can not grow as a Christian until they first obey this command. The Scriptures say that once we are baptized we can then start to grow in faith and fellowship (Acts 2:41,42).
Church Leadership
We believe that the elders of the church are responsible to God for the church. The elders are the under-shepherds of the flock, and will be held accountable (Jeremiah 23:2). We also believe that deacons are to be faithful men of God appointed by the church to minister in the administrative and practical needs of the church that the elders need not leave the Word of God in order to accomplish these things (Acts 6:1-3).