The Holy Scriptures

We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. Holy men of God wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, so that the words of Scripture are not merely the religious reflections of men but the revelation of God Himself. Scripture is without error in what God gave, is wholly trustworthy, and is the final and sufficient authority for doctrine, faith, and practice.

We further believe that the God who inspired His Word has providentially preserved it for His people. We receive the traditional Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Greek Textus Receptus of the New Testament as the textual foundation from which we teach and minister. No church tradition, theological system, denominational statement, ministry philosophy, personal experience, or cultural expectation possesses authority equal to Scripture. Every belief and practice must finally be brought beneath the judgment of the written Word of God.
 

The Bible We Use in English

In the English language, The Tentmakers Institute uses the King James Version in its preaching, teaching, curriculum, discipleship materials, publications, and official ministry work. We believe the King James Version is a faithful and trustworthy English translation of the Hebrew Masoretic Text and Greek Textus Receptus and provides a sound and consistent standard for our English-language ministry.
 

This is a genuine ministry conviction and not simply a matter of convenience. At the same time, we do not believe conviction requires arrogance. We have no desire to make an English Bible translation a cause for unnecessary hostility, nor do we believe Christians should be belittled merely because they have not reached the same conclusions concerning textual or translation questions. Our responsibility is to state our position plainly, teach the reasons for it carefully, and conduct ourselves with Christian charity.

The Scriptures in Other Languages

Our ministry is international, and questions concerning Bible translation become considerably more complex when working outside the English-speaking world. We do not believe that convictions concerning a particular English translation can simply be transferred, without examination, to every other language on earth. The King James Version is an English translation; faithfulness to the Word of God does not require a pastor in Kenya, Benin, India, Malawi, or another nation to minister from an English Bible.

When evaluating Scripture translations in other languages, we therefore exercise both theological conviction and careful discernment. We seek, wherever reasonably possible, translations that faithfully reflect the preserved Hebrew and Greek Scriptures and accurately communicate the meaning of the biblical text. Questions of textual basis, translation philosophy, doctrinal integrity, accuracy, translation history, linguistic development, literacy, availability, and the realities of the particular field must all be considered.

Some languages possess multiple mature Bible translations. Others have very few. Some pastors minister in languages for which the available biblical resources are limited, incomplete, difficult to obtain, or produced from textual traditions we would not ourselves choose. Such circumstances require discernment rather than simplistic pronouncements.

Where concerns exist, we desire to identify them honestly and teach pastors how to recognize significant textual or translational issues. Where an ideal translation is not presently available, we will work responsibly with the best faithful resources available while continuing to emphasize sound interpretation and careful handling of Scripture. This does not weaken our conviction concerning the King James Version in English; it recognizes that responsible missionary work must distinguish an English-language ministry standard from the considerably different questions involved in translating and transmitting Scripture among the languages of the world. Our objective is not to make the nations English-speaking. It is to help men know, preach, and obey the Word of God.

The Triune God

We believe in one true and living God, eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, possessing the same divine nature and perfections while remaining distinct in Person. God is eternal, sovereign, holy, righteous, just, loving, merciful, all-knowing, all-powerful, and worthy of all worship, obedience, confidence, and glory.

The existence and character of God are not defined by human culture, philosophy, religious tradition, or personal experience. God has made Himself known, and our understanding of Him must be governed by His revelation.

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, truly God and truly man. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a completely sinless life and perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father.

We believe that Christ willingly gave Himself upon the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice for sinners, shedding His blood and bearing the judgment that our sins deserved. He truly died, was buried, and bodily rose from the grave on the third day according to the Scriptures. He ascended bodily into Heaven, where He presently intercedes for His own.

Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man and the only way of salvation. No religious system, church membership, sacrament, human merit, moral achievement, or other mediator can reconcile a sinner to God.

We further believe that Jesus Christ will personally and bodily return. We hold to the imminent, pre-tribulational catching away of believers and to the subsequent visible, premillennial return of Christ to establish His kingdom.

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, fully God and coequal with the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; regenerates those who believe the Gospel; indwells every believer; seals believers unto the day of redemption; guides the Christian in truth; empowers believers for service; and produces His fruit in lives yielded to God. The Christian life cannot be lived faithfully through human strength alone. Genuine spiritual ministry is dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit, yet His work will never contradict the written Word that He inspired.

Spiritual Gifts and the Cessation of the Sign Gifts

We believe the Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers for the edification of the body of Christ and for faithful service within the work God has given His church. We also believe Scripture distinguishes the ordinary work of the Spirit among believers from miraculous sign gifts that served particular revelatory and apostolic purposes during the foundational period of the New Testament church.

We are therefore cessationist regarding the miraculous sign gifts. We believe biblical tongues, revelatory prophecy, and the miraculous gift of physical healing exercised through specially gifted individuals served a particular purpose in authenticating God's messengers and accompanying the apostolic revelation of the New Testament era. We do not believe these continue as gifts possessed and exercised by individuals in the church today in the manner in which they operated through Christ and His apostles.

This conviction must not be confused with a denial of the supernatural work of God. We believe without hesitation that God still heals. We believe He answers prayer, exercises providential care over His people, and may intervene miraculously according to His sovereign wisdom and will. The distinction is between God healing and a person possessing the apostolic gift of healing through which miraculous cures may be exercised at will.

Likewise, we do not accept supposed prophetic revelations, visions, tongues, or impressions as additions to Scripture or as possessing authority equal to the Bible. The completed Word of God is sufficient. Every spiritual claim, experience, impression, or teaching must therefore be tested by Scripture rather than Scripture being interpreted through experience.

Creation, Man, and the Fall

We believe that God created the heavens and the earth and that man did not arise merely through unguided natural processes. God directly created mankind in His own image and created humanity as male and female.

The first man, Adam, sinned against God, and through that fall sin and death entered the human race. Every person is consequently a sinner by nature and demonstrates that sinful condition through personal acts of sin. Sin has affected every aspect of mankind, and man is unable to reconcile himself to God through education, morality, religion, good works, culture, or self-improvement.

Because man bears the image of God, every human life possesses real dignity and value. We believe human life is sacred from conception through natural death and should be treated accordingly.

Salvation

We believe salvation is entirely of God's grace and is received through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ apart from human works or merit. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, and His finished work is the only sufficient basis upon which sinners can be reconciled to God. The biblical response to the Gospel is repentance and faith. We understand repentance and faith not as competing conditions but as inseparable aspects of man's response to the Gospel—a turning from unbelief and false confidence to trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work. Salvation is not earned by reforming one's life, joining a church, being baptized, performing religious duties, giving money, or producing good works. It is received by grace through faith.

Those who believe are justified before God, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, made children of God, and eternally secure in Christ. Good works are not the cause of salvation but should increasingly characterize the life of one who has been saved.

We reject any doctrine that either makes human merit necessary for justification or so distorts the grace of God that repentance, holiness, and the transforming work of salvation become meaningless.

The Local Church

We believe the local church is a congregation of baptized believers voluntarily associated together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ for worship, biblical instruction, prayer, fellowship, discipleship, the observance of the ordinances, evangelism, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

The local church is autonomous and self-governing under Christ and His Word. No denomination, mission agency, Bible college, missionary, association, government, or para-church organization possesses biblical authority to govern a New Testament church. The Tentmakers Institute is therefore not a substitute for the local church and does not seek to become one. We exist to serve churches and strengthen their pastors, not to establish an ecclesiastical hierarchy over them.

We believe biblical churches should be composed of those who give credible testimony of salvation and that church membership follows believer's baptism by immersion. Churches should be led by biblically qualified men, exercise appropriate discipline, maintain sound doctrine, observe the ordinances Christ gave, edify believers, evangelize the lost, and participate actively in carrying the Gospel to the nations.

The Ordinances

We believe Christ gave two ordinances to the local church: believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water following a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It does not produce salvation but publicly identifies the believer with Christ and pictures His death, burial, and resurrection.

The Lord's Supper is a memorial observance through which believers remember the body and blood of Christ given for them and proclaim His death until He comes. Neither baptism nor the Lord's Supper contributes saving merit to the recipient.

Our Baptist Identity

The Tentmakers Institute is Baptist in doctrine and ecclesiology. We hold the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice, the autonomy of the local church, individual soul liberty and personal accountability before God, the priesthood of believers, salvation by grace through faith, believer's baptism by immersion, a regenerate church membership, two ordinances, biblical church leadership, and the responsibility of local churches to carry the Gospel to the world. We use the term Baptist because words should mean something. At the same time, we recognize that Baptist identity is not established merely by putting the word Baptist on a church sign. A church may carry the name while departing seriously from historic Baptist doctrine, while in some parts of the world a congregation may hold substantially Baptist convictions without using that term prominently.

We are therefore interested in doctrinal substance rather than labels alone.

Marriage, Sexuality, and the Family

We believe God created mankind male and female and established marriage as a covenant union between one man and one woman. Sexual intimacy belongs within that marriage covenant, and sexual conduct outside the boundaries established by Scripture is sinful. The home is an institution ordained by God. Husbands and wives have distinct responsibilities toward one another, parents bear responsibility for the nurture and instruction of their children, and men serving in pastoral leadership must take seriously the biblical qualifications concerning marriage and the government of the home.

These convictions should be maintained without cruelty or contempt toward those who disagree or whose lives do not conform to Scripture. Biblical conviction and Christian compassion are not enemies. We are obligated both to speak truthfully and to treat people with dignity, kindness, and respect.

Holy Living and Biblical Separation

We believe those who belong to Christ are called to lives of holiness. Salvation does not give the believer liberty to live carelessly in sin. Christians should increasingly demonstrate purity, integrity, humility, sobriety, self-control, modesty, honesty, faithfulness, love, and obedience to the Word of God.

We believe in biblical separation from sinful practices, false doctrine, and associations that require compromise of biblical truth. Such separation, however, must itself be governed by Scripture. Personal taste, cultural custom, generational preference, or inherited tradition should not be given the authority of a biblical command where Scripture has not spoken with the same specificity.

Christian liberty is not permission for worldliness, but neither should man-made standards become a substitute for biblical holiness.

Evangelism, Missions, and the Great Commission

We believe the command of Christ to make disciples of all nations remains the responsibility of His churches. The Gospel is to be preached to every person, believers are to be baptized and taught, churches are to be established and strengthened, and faithful men are to be equipped to teach others also.

Missions should therefore aim beyond the presence of a foreign missionary. Healthy missionary work should strengthen national believers, national pastors, and local churches so that they increasingly possess the biblical understanding and practical ability to evangelize their own communities, train their own leaders, establish other churches, send their own missionaries, and continue the work without unnecessary foreign dependence.

The nations do not belong to American Christianity. They belong to Christ.

Our desire is to labor alongside national pastors as brethren and fellow servants, not to build ministries around permanent dependence upon foreign personalities, money, or authority.

Heaven, Hell, Resurrection, and the Return of Christ

We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. Those who have been redeemed through Christ will dwell eternally with the Lord in conscious joy. Those who die without Christ remain under the judgment of God and will experience everlasting conscious punishment in Hell and ultimately the Lake of Fire.

Heaven and Hell are realities, not merely metaphors for human experience.

We believe Jesus Christ will personally, visibly, and bodily return. The hope of His coming should produce not speculation, fear, or indifference, but faithful service, holiness, evangelistic urgency, and confidence in the ultimate triumph of Christ.

II. Those We Train and Labor With

The Tentmakers Institute exists particularly to strengthen and train pastors, missionaries, evangelists, church planters, and other qualified Christian men for the work of biblical ministry. We are not merely attempting to distribute theological information. We desire to help form men who can rightly divide the Word of truth, shepherd people faithfully, contend for sound doctrine without becoming contentious in spirit, lead their homes honorably, evangelize the lost, strengthen churches, and prepare other men for ministry.

For that reason, the character, doctrine, ecclesiology, and teachability of those we train matter deeply.

Qualified Men for Biblical Ministry

We believe Scripture entrusts the pastoral office to qualified men. The terms pastor, bishop, and elder describe the pastoral leadership of the local church, and the qualifications given in passages such as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 must be taken seriously.

Accordingly, TTI's pastoral, missionary, evangelistic, church-planting, and preaching training is directed toward men. Those who formally serve in pastoral or ministerial leadership through The Tentmakers Institute must be men whose lives, doctrine, testimony, family relationships, and conduct are consistent with the biblical principles applicable to their ministry. Gifting does not replace character. Eloquence does not excuse moral failure. Education does not compensate for an unqualified life. Ministry opportunity is not proof of divine approval. Men who teach others must themselves remain accountable to the Word of God.

Baptist or Baptistic in Doctrine and Practice

The Tentmakers Institute intentionally trains men who are Baptist or genuinely Baptistic in doctrine and ecclesiology. Because we work internationally, we recognize that denominational terminology does not function identically in every nation. We are therefore more concerned with what a man actually believes and practices than with the name printed on his church sign. We expect men in our training to demonstrate meaningful agreement with the foundational doctrines of Scripture, the Gospel, salvation by grace through faith, the nature and autonomy of the local church, believer's baptism, biblical church leadership, the Great Commission, and the other convictions expressed in this statement.

At the same time, theological education exists because men still have things to learn. We do not expect every participant to arrive with a perfectly developed theological system, nor do we assume that every practice inherited from his church, denomination, culture, or teachers has already been examined thoroughly in the light of Scripture.

Admission to training should never be understood as an endorsement of everything a participant presently believes or practices. The purpose of training includes bringing every doctrine, tradition, and ministry practice under the examination of Scripture.

That principle is essential to our philosophy of training. A man may enter the classroom holding conclusions that need refinement. He may have inherited a tradition without ever having been shown its biblical basis—or lack thereof. He may discover that something he has always assumed to be biblical is actually cultural, denominational, or personal. Faithful training must leave room for instruction, correction, growth, and change.

That process is not intended to humiliate men or strip them of everything familiar. It is intended to make all of us more submissive to Scripture.

Nor does this examination operate in only one direction. African traditions must be brought under Scripture. Asian traditions must be brought under Scripture. Latin American traditions must be brought under Scripture. American traditions must also be brought under Scripture. Missionaries, teachers, pastors, institutions, and cultures are all capable of confusing familiar practice with biblical command.

The question is not ultimately, How have Americans done it? Nor is it, How has this culture always done it? The question must be, What hath God said?

Biblical Conformity Rather Than Americanization

The Tentmakers Institute does not exist to reproduce American church culture around the world. There will naturally be similarities between faithful churches because they possess the same Scriptures and serve the same Lord. But biblical unity does not require cultural uniformity. Music, architecture, schedules, clothing, methods of hospitality, patterns of communication, educational structures, and many other aspects of ordinary church life may differ substantially between nations without violating Scripture.

Conversely, a practice does not become acceptable merely because it is culturally normal. Every culture contains elements that reflect God's common grace as well as practices distorted by human sin.

Our task is therefore neither to preserve every local tradition nor to replace it with an American one.

Scripture must judge both.

Where the Bible commands, we should obey. Where the Bible forbids, we should refuse. Where biblical principles require wisdom, we should exercise it carefully. Where Scripture permits legitimate liberty, we should resist the temptation to bind another man's conscience merely because his practice is unfamiliar to us.

We want to help develop biblically grounded pastors and churches—not American replicas.

Teachability and Doctrinal Growth

A man who enters theological training should expect to be challenged.

The Scriptures correct us. Faithful teachers sharpen us. Careful study exposes assumptions. Sometimes growth consists of learning something previously unknown; at other times it requires abandoning a position we once held sincerely but can no longer defend from Scripture. We therefore value teachability highly.

A teachable man is not one without convictions. He is one whose convictions remain subject to the authority of God's Word. He should be willing to examine the text, listen carefully, ask questions, acknowledge when an argument is weak, and alter his position when Scripture requires it.

This spirit should characterize the instructors of The Tentmakers Institute as well. No teacher, missionary, pastor, or ministry leader has reached a place where Scripture can no longer correct him.

The Institute itself must remain reformable beneath the Word of God.

Doctrinal Boundaries and Cooperation

Christian charity does not require doctrinal indifference.

We recognize that faithful believers and Baptist brethren may disagree concerning secondary matters. Not every disagreement requires separation, and not every theological question carries equal weight. We desire to distinguish carefully between foundational doctrine, important ministry convictions, secondary areas of legitimate disagreement, and matters in which Scripture grants individual liberty.

We therefore seek to be gracious toward genuine believers with whom we differ while remaining clear about the convictions that govern this ministry.

The Tentmakers Institute is not doctrinally neutral, nor are we ecumenical in the sense of minimizing significant theological differences for the sake of organizational cooperation. We will not knowingly surrender biblical convictions merely to enlarge the ministry, gain access to another field, increase financial support, attract additional students, or build a broader platform. There is a difference between showing Christian kindness to someone with whom we disagree and placing that person in a position to teach, represent, or lead the ministry. Those who formally teach, lead, represent, or minister on behalf of The Tentmakers Institute must demonstrate substantial agreement with the doctrine and ministry philosophy of the Institute. Serious disagreement concerning foundational doctrine may make such cooperation impossible even where personal respect and Christian kindness remain.

Correction and Accountability

Participation in training is a privilege and carries responsibilities.

Where a participant demonstrates misunderstanding, we desire to teach him patiently. Where he raises legitimate questions, we want those questions taken seriously. Where a conviction needs to be sharpened, we desire to reason from Scripture rather than merely appeal to institutional authority.

However, persistent promotion of serious doctrinal error, deliberate undermining of the convictions of the Institute, refusal of reasonable biblical correction, moral conduct inconsistent with Christian ministry, or the use of TTI training as a platform to advance teaching fundamentally contrary to the ministry may require a participant's training to be discontinued. The objective of such accountability is not institutional control. It is faithfulness.

The Character of the Men We Train

Theological knowledge alone does not qualify a man for ministry. A man may understand doctrine and still lack the character necessary to shepherd God's people.

We therefore care deeply about personal holiness, integrity, humility, moral purity, honesty, financial faithfulness, self-government, the treatment of one's wife and children, the management of one's home, love for the local church, compassion toward people, and a genuine burden for the lost.

The private life of a minister matters.

We reject the idea that ministry success can be measured simply by crowds, invitations, titles, money, buildings, social influence, photographs, preaching opportunities, or the number of churches associated with a man's name. Opportunity should never be mistaken for importance, and visibility should never be mistaken for faithfulness.

Pastors, missionaries, and evangelists are servants of Jesus Christ.

A pastor is an under-shepherd accountable to the Chief Shepherd. A missionary remains a servant of Christ and His churches. An evangelist is a preacher of the Gospel. A teacher remains under the authority of the Book he teaches.

Christ must increase. His servants are never the point.

The Local Church and Ministerial Authority

The Tentmakers Institute is not a denomination, local church, ecclesiastical governing body, or substitute for the authority Christ has entrusted to His churches.

We may train a man, mentor him, evaluate his progress, recommend him, and provide evidence that he has completed a course of study. We do not believe that an academic certificate or institutional credential, by itself, makes a man a pastor.

The recognition, examination, and ordination of men for pastoral ministry properly belong to biblical local churches.

Likewise, participation in TTI does not place a pastor's congregation under our control. The Institute does not own churches, appoint itself over pastors, administer ordinances on behalf of congregations, or claim authority to govern the internal affairs of independent local churches. We desire influence through truth, service, example, and faithful teaching—not through ecclesiastical control.

Partnership Without Dependency

Christian generosity is thoroughly biblical. Churches and believers should help one another, meet genuine needs, support the spread of the Gospel, and bear one another's burdens. Yet financial assistance can be handled unwisely. Money can unintentionally create dependency, distort motives, purchase influence, encourage dishonesty, or place national pastors in relationships where continued ministry appears dependent upon satisfying foreign expectations.

We therefore desire wisdom in the use of financial support.

Our goal is not to create ministries overseas that can function only so long as American money continues to arrive. Wherever possible, we want to encourage biblical stewardship, honest labor, local generosity, responsible planning, and ministry structures that can remain faithful and fruitful within their own setting.

Foreign assistance may sometimes be appropriate and even necessary. But money must remain a servant of ministry rather than becoming its foundation or master. A healthy partnership strengthens men rather than owning them.

Training Men Who Will Train Others

The success of The Tentmakers Institute cannot be measured simply by the number of men who sit in a classroom or receive a certificate.

Paul instructed Timothy, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). That pattern of multiplication is central to our work.

We desire pastors who can preach the Bible without permanent dependence upon a foreign teacher. We desire men who can disciple believers, identify and train future leaders, strengthen neighboring churches, plant new churches, teach doctrine faithfully, and eventually train others beyond the reach of our own ministry.

The goal is stronger local churches, better-equipped pastors, multiplying leaders, and national believers increasingly capable of carrying the Gospel throughout their own nations and beyond them. We are not seeking to create American Baptists around the world.

We are seeking to serve Christ by helping develop biblically grounded men, pastors, and churches whose doctrine and practice are governed by the Word of God.

Questions regarding the doctrine, convictions, or ministry philosophy of The Tentmakers Institute are welcome. This statement is intended to communicate our position clearly, but no written summary can address every possible question or circumstance. Anyone seeking further clarification is encouraged to contact Missionary Brandon Crosier, Director of The Tentmakers Institute, directly.