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All churches within the Ohio Valley Mission must subscribe to either the Westminster Standards or the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (with any exceptions publicly noted), our shared commitments, and have a publicly accessible constitution and bylaws.

Our shared commitments are our doctrinal and philosophical emphasis as to how our churches will function and how we conduct ministry and church life.

We are committed to historical biblical Christianity.

God gave the Church pastors and teachers to help lead it to spiritual maturity (Eph 4:11-16). Throughout history, these godly men have labored hard to clarify and summarize the doctrines contained in the Bible. The best of these helpful summaries of biblical doctrine have stood the test of of time. We call them creeds, confessions, or catechisms. We aren’t innovators. We aim to align with and build on the work God has been doing in His Church throughout history. Therefore, our member churches subscribe either to the Westminster Standards or the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith.

We are committed to a ministry centered on the preaching and teaching of the Word.

While historical doctrinal statements serve as helpful protective guides, the Bible remains the only infallible rule of faith and practice. God has ordained that Christians grow through the preaching of His Word and the administration of the sacraments, which themselves are a visible word. All godly change, whether individual, ecclesiastical, or cultural, flows from the faithful preaching of the Word of God. Consequently, we equip the saints to be “salt and light” by keeping the Word primary.

We are committed to being accessible to the everyday Christian.

Biblical truth is timeless and unchanging. Mankind, on the other hand, is bound by time. Our figures of speech, customs, and various aspects of culture have evolved over the years. Therefore, we must work diligently to communicate the unchanging truth of the Bible in a way that is understandable in each specific time and place. We strive for all aspects of our ministry, preaching, music, and more, to be as accessible as reasonably possible to the communities where God has placed our member churches.

We are committed to addressing the issues of our day.

Every age faces its own set of challenges. In the first four centuries, the Church worked diligently to clarify the doctrines of the deity of Christ and the triune nature of God. During the Reformation, the doctrines of justification and the sufficiency of Scripture were robustly defended. Today, we see significant confusion surrounding topics such as biblical sexuality, bioethics, and the proper use of authority. We aim to address contemporary issues regularly while ensuring they do not overshadow foundational doctrines.

We are committed to supporting and resourcing church revitalization efforts and new church plants.

The local church is at the center of God’s plan of redemption. Through it, the gospel sounds forth as disciples are raised up through the ministry of the Word. As the church goes, so goes society. Therefore, the greatest need for our society is Bible-centered, historically-rooted, and locally-focused churches. We are dedicated to training, coaching, and supporting pastors who are revitalizing or planting these sorts of churches.

We are committed to mutual accountability.

First and foremost, this is demonstrated through the plurality of ordained pastors and elders leading our member churches. These men take vows to uphold their confessional standards and follow all the processes outlined in their constitutions and bylaws. While local leadership remains primary, as a fellowship, we offer a secondary layer of relational accountability by aiding, exhorting, and admonishing the officers of our member churches to keep their vows and uphold their governing documents.