BIBLIBCAL | CONGREGATIONAL | MISSIONAL

WE ARE A BIBLICAL PEOPLE:

Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord,
and we focus on Sharing the “Good News” God in Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

An Evangelistic, Protestant Reformed, Christian Church
with a Swedish Heritage and Kansas Baptist tradition

West Side Baptist Church is an evangelistic Protestant Christian congregation that joyfully shares the love and message of God in Jesus Christ given to God’s one, holy and universal Church, renewed in the Reformation (reformed tradition), committed to a Biblical worldview, expressed in our cherished Swedish heritage, and affiliation with the Kansas Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Churches USA.

Our Evangelistic Commitment – Being evangelistic means we are passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through words and actions. We believe the message of God’s love, grace, and salvation is for everyone, and we seek to live out and share that message in ways that are respectful, compassionate, and relevant. We invite others to experience the hope and transformation that come from a relationship with Jesus – not through pressure or manipulative tactics, but through genuine, loving relationships, hands-on service projects, and radical hospitality.

Our Protestant Christian Commitment – As Protestant Christians, we believe in the core teachings of the Bible as the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice, as revealed and renewed by the Holy Spirit during the European Reformation, a 16th-century religious reform movement. We emphasize the Bible’s core truths that salvation is by faith alone, grace alone, and Scripture alone—meaning that faith in Jesus Christ, not works or rituals, is the way to eternal life. Protestants value personal access to God through prayer and Scripture, recognizing that all believers are part of the priesthood of all believers. We also believe in the importance of sharing the Gospel and living out our faith through acts of love, service, and justice. Our affiliation with Protestant Christianity reflects our commitment to these foundational beliefs while embracing a spirit of unity in the body of Christ.

Our Biblical Worldview Commitment – A biblical worldview means we see the world through the lens of Scripture’s teachings. It is the belief that the Bible is the ultimate authority for understanding who God is, who we are, and how we should live. It affects every part of our lives, from how we interact with others to how we make decisions and respond to challenges. We view the world as created by God, recognizing that He is sovereign over all things. We believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate answer to humanity’s needs and that our purpose is to love God and love our neighbors. It also means understanding the importance of justice, mercy, and truth in all aspects of life, as well as looking forward to the hope of eternal life with God.

Our Swedish Baptist Commitment – We cherish our Swedish Baptist (or Scandinavian Baptist) heritage, which emerged in our homeland in the 1840s with the establishment of the first Baptist church in Vallersvik in 1848, followed by religious persecution of “nonconformists.” These early pietists and separatists face persecution from the government and their neighbors, including the arrest and expulsion of their leaders and fellow church members. In the 1880s, a brave band of Swedish-speaking Baptists immigrated to the United States to settle in Topeka, Kansas. On January 1, 1881, eleven families among these early Baptists formed the Forsta Swenska Baptist Kyrkan (First Swedish Baptist Church) in Topeka, Kansas. In the 1950s, the First Swedish Baptist Church changed its name to West Side Baptist Church and joined the Kansas Baptist Convention (today the American Baptist Churches of the Central Region) and the American Baptist Convention (originally the Northern Baptist Convention formed in 1907), and subsequently called the American Baptist Churches USA (1972-present). Our affiliation with ABCUSA supports our commitment to biblical teaching, believer’s baptism, congregational freedom, and cooperative mission work both locally and globally. Together, we are stronger—and together, we seek to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.