Frequently Asked Questions
How long has the church been going?
Founded in 1993, Tay Street Baptist Church was initially called the Independent Baptist Church of Invercargill.
The original pastor was Pastor Richard Brousseau, who was followed by Pastor Art Brammer, who served from January 1998 to December 2023.
What is an "Independent Baptist Church"?
We call ourselves Baptists because we hold to Bible teaching, which Baptists have held for centuries.
“Independent” means we govern our church as a congregation according to the guidelines in the Bible.
A higher organization or denomination does not govern us.
What does it mean to be a Baptist?
Baptists around the world hold a variety of positions on many issues.
What makes them distinctively Baptist is that they hold to this whole group of doctrines:
- The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice. It is our only authority for what we believe and do as a church.
- Autonomy of the local church: Each local church governs itself. It has no governing church body that tells individual churches what to do.
- Priesthood of the Believers: Each believer can pray directly to God.
- Two offices: The Bible lists two church offices, that of the pastor and the deacon.
- Immersion: Believers should be baptised by immersion after salvation.
- Separation of Church and State: The government does not have the right to tell churches what to believe.
- Two Ordinances: The Bible teaches each church should practice baptism and the Lord’s supper. Believers observe them to be obedient, not to gain salvation.
- Soul Liberty: Each believer is responsible to God for his actions.
You call yourselves a fundamental church. What does it mean to be a fundamentalist?
It means we hold to these five doctrines which have been known throughout church history as the Fundamentals of the Faith:
- The inspired, inerrant Word of God: We believe that the Bible was written by men who were moved by God to write in such a way that their original words were totally without error and exactly what God wanted them to write.
- The Virgin Birth of Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin.
- The sinless life of Christ: We believe Jesus Christ lived His life totally without sin.
- The substitutionary death of Christ: We believe He died a literal death in the place of sinners who deserved to die.
- The literal resurrection of Christ: We believe His body became alive again. His body was changed so that it would not die again, but it was His real body.
Why did you change your name?
In 2007, we rebranded from the Independent Baptist Church of Invercargill to Tay Street Baptist Church to create a more welcoming identity that reflects our location and community-focused spirit.
Is anyone welcome to come to Tay Street Baptist Church?
Yes, we welcome everyone.
Why not stop by and visit us during a regular service?
You may find that the morning service at 11am is the best for a first visit. It will give you a feel for what our church is like and you can ask any questions that are on your mind.
We understand that our church may not be a good fit for everyone, but we are happy to have people visit and check us out for themselves.