Our Vision & Philosophy
Why Southport Baptist exists.
Our God
We believe in and worship the one true God of the Bible. He is both Creator and Lord of all and has revealed Himself in the Bible as a God of holiness, justice, mercy and love. And this same God sent His Son Jesus–who is Himself God in the flesh–to save us from our sin (Hebrews 1:1-4). Therefore, we love and worship Jesus Christ as God–for He is – and we are passionate about telling others about Him.
The Scripture
Sadly, much of Christianity has become less and less focused on the Word of God, the Bible. However, we make it the “main thing” in every worship service and Bible study. Expositional preaching offers the main point of the Scriptural text as the main point of the sermon. Timeless biblical truths from both the Old and New Testament are made applicable to life today in a practical and life-changing way.
The Gospel
We proclaim the “Good News” - that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, paid the penalty for our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). We proclaim a Person –not a system, a set of rules, or a religion – because we desire for everyone to truly know God and enjoy a real relationship with Him. And this is only possible through the sacrifice of Jesus. He alone is the only way, truth, and life (John 14:6).
Our Worship
Desiring to worship God in a way that pleases Him–which we can know from the Bible–we gather together in a way that is both personal and yet measured. In other words, we want to experience all that God desires to teach us from His Word and to joyfully praise Him for all that He is and has done. But we also recognize that He is Lord and King and desire to approach Him with the proper reverence. We are ever striving to properly worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
Our Purpose
Simply put, we exist to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the glory of God. This means that we are striving to proclaim the gospel to everyone in our area and to be apart of spreading this good news throughout America and the world. But our goal is not just to educate but to see God transform lives as people become real disciples of Jesus, knowing Him, loving Him and wholeheartedly centering their lives around Him. This is our calling, our mission, our purpose as a church - all so that God would be seen and known as God (Matthew 28:19-21).
Services
When are your services?
Our main worship services are Sunday at 9AM and 5:30PM. Each service has uplifting music and a message of hope. Nurseries for your small children are provided for all services. All services are available in person or online at southportbaptist.online.church
WEDNESDAYS
6:30 PM Discipleship & Bible Study
Worship is the act of loving and responding to God! Through the heart-warming, conservative music and Bible teaching and preaching in our services, your heart will be inspired to love and to respond to God. Each week, families are strengthened, encouraged, and drawn closer to Him through these special times together. Each service is carefully planned and prayed over so that God may work in your life!
Pastoral Leadership
Pastor Michael De Leon
Saved at the age of 14, Michael submitted to the Lord’s call upon his life to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ during his senior year in high school. He currently holds a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wisconsin and a Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies from Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.
Michael married Cassandra Ice of Muncie, Indiana in the summer of 1994, and soon joined the church staff of Falls Baptist Church, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin as pastoral assistant. He served in that position for over 5 years until accepting the pastorate of Lighthouse in the fall of 2001.
In December 2021, the Lord moved Pastor Michael and his family to Kenosha, WI to shepherd Southport Baptist Church. They have a special burden for families and their children to understand what it means to have a daily, personal relationship with Jesus. The DeLeons are excited to see what God will do in the coming years.
Michael and Cassandra have eleven children and are privileged to have each of their children serve with them in their new ministry.
Our Doctrine
Our Beliefs
Security and Assurance
We believe that all the saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. It is their privilege to rejoice in that assurance. This assurance must not be the occasion for sin. God in His holiness cannot tolerate persistent sin in His children, and in His love He corrects them. True faith in Christ must be expressed in fruitful, God-pleasing living. (Romans 8:29-39, 1 John 5:14, Hebrews 12:6, James 2:20)
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The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament to be verbally inspired Word of God, written by the men under God’s control, inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts and the final authority for faith and practice. (2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1: 20-21, Psalm 19:7-9)
The Godhead
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three being identified in essence, equal in power and glory, and possessing precisely the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4, Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Cor. 13:14)
The Condition of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, innocent and without sin. However, in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became spiritually dead and alienated from God. Now man is in a lost and deprived condition. (Gen. 1:26, 3: 1-24, Romans 3:10-18, 5:12, Ephesians2: 1-3)
The Person & Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. After His bodily resurrection from the grave, He ascended to the right hand of his Father, where He intercedes on behalf of those who trust Him. (1 John 1:1,2,14,18; Luke 1:34, Romans 3: 24-26)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Person who convicts the world of sin, that He alone brings new life that He places all believers into one true church, which is the body of Christ, and that He indwells them permanently, and fills those who are yielded to Him, (John 3:5-8, 16; 7-11, 1 Cor. 12:13, Eph. 4:26)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God’s grace apart from human works, and freely bestowed upon all who put their faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary.
Security, Assurance, and Responsibility
We believe that all the saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. It is their privilege to rejoice in that assurance. This assurance must not be the occasion for sin. God in His holiness cannot tolerate persistent sin in His children, and in His love He corrects them. True faith in Christ must be expressed in fruitful, God-pleasing living. (Romans 8:29-39, I John 5:14, Hebrews 12:6, James 2:20)
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The Church
We believe that the true Church, called in Scripture, “ the Body of Christ,” is a spiritual organism into which every person who had trusted Jesus Christ for salvation in this present age had been baptized by the Holy Spirit. The Scripture also teaches the establishment of local churches- groups of redeemed individuals joined together for worship, instruction, fellowship, and service. (Eph. 1:22-23, Acts 2:42, 13: 1-2)
The Ordinances
We believe that there are ordinances instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, which should be observed by all believers until His return.
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Baptism: This is the outward testimony of the spiritual transformation in the life of one who has placed their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for Salvation. We believe that baptism by immersion is the Biblical mode portraying that which baptism symbolizes- the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2: 41, 8;12, 8:36-38, Romans 6:3-5)
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The Lord’s Supper: In the commemoration of Christ’s death “Communion” is to be observed by all self-examined believers. (Matthew 6:26-29, 1 Cor. 11:23-30)
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the personal, imminent, pretribulational, pre-millennial coming of Lord Jesus Christ for His church. (1 Thess. 4:13-18, 19, 11-16, 20:1-6)