Do you know what your Church believes are?

B Hans Ngala
Many Cameroonians grow up attending the church that their parents attended. Or if they are women, most of them simply switch to the church their husband attends once they marry. But it is quite important to know WHAT your church believes and teaches and WHY it matters. I will sample the three mainline churches that are found in my part of Cameroon namely Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians and (Pentecostals for good measure). I could mention Apostolic but I am not familiar with their theology and I think they fall under Pentecostals too.
1) BAPTISTS
There are several Baptist denominations in Cameroon and around the world, including the Native Baptist Churches, the ‘Union des Eglises Baptiste du Cameroun’ and of course the Cameroon Baptist Convention – CBC which is the largest Baptist denomination in Cameroon.

• Salvation by Faith Alone: Baptists emphasize salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, believing in personal conversion and a direct relationship with God. Usually, one has to say a prayer of confession. This mode was made famous by Baptist preacher, Billy Graham in what he called “Crusades” – a method which many Pentecostal churches now use as well.
• Believer’s Baptism: Baptists practice baptism only for believers, typically by full immersion – hence their name ‘Baptists’. Baptists do baptism by full immersion to symbolize dying and rising with Christ and not by sprinkling as some churches do. This is based on the belief that baptism should follow an individual’s personal profession of faith. As a result, Baptists DO NOT baptize babies like Catholics and Presbyterians do. They rather have child dedications. Baptism for Baptists is an ordinance not a sacrament like it is with Catholics because they don’t view it as a means to salvation but rather a way to proclaim one’s faith in Christ.
• Women in Ministry: Most Baptist denominations do not ordain women as pastors. The Southern Baptist Convention in the USA and the CBC in Cameroon are Baptist denominations that do not ordain women. Some other Baptist denominations elsewhere however, do ordain women. The head of most Baptist Unions or Conventions is usually referred to as General Secretary. The CBC changed the appellation to Executive President a few years ago due to confusion by the public.
• Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura): Baptists believe that the Bible is the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice, with no tradition or church authority above it unlike in the Catholic church where church doctrine and the Bible are considered equal.
• Autonomy of the Local Church: Baptists use a congregational approach in church governance. This means each CBC congregation for example has the freedom to choose their pastor, decide on how they want to worship while respecting the broader CBC Constitution and Baptist faith
• Religious Freedom: Baptists are the Christian group that is famous for advocating for the separation of church and state, supporting religious freedom for all, regardless of their faith. Baptists have never tried to force others to become Baptists but simply preach the Gospel.
  2) CATHOLICS
• Authority of the Church: Catholics believe in the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, with the Pope as its spiritual leader. Church tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium (the teaching authority) are considered alongside Scripture.
• Sacraments: Catholics recognize seven sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony) as means of grace and essential to the spiritual life.
• Salvation and Grace: Catholics believe that salvation involves both faith and works, with God’s grace playing a central role. They believe in the necessity of the Church and the sacraments for receiving grace.
• Transubstantiation: In the Eucharist, Catholics believe that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ, a doctrine known as transubstantiation. Catholics can take the Eucharist (Communion) everyday they go for Mass but Baptists and Presbyterians only take Communion once a month. Due to Baptists and Presbyterians seeing Communion as a symbol rather than the actual body and blood of Christ, they can take Communion in each other’s churches but not in a Catholic church.
• Veneration of Mary and the Saints: Catholics venerate Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the saints, seeking their intercession in prayer.
  3) PRESBYTERIANS
• Women in Ministry: Presbyterians tend to ordain women into pastoral ministry, a view that is largely rejected by Baptists. The CBC for exampled does not ordain women as pastors but the Presbyterians do.
• Predestination: Based on Calvinist theology, Presbyterians believe in the doctrine of predestination, meaning God has already chosen who will be saved regardless of what they do. Baptists do not agree with this view because they believe that God extends salvation to everyone but only those who confess their sins and repent can be saved. Presbyterians believe that there are some people already chosen by God to be saved.
• Covenant Theology: Presbyterians view God’s relationship with humanity through the lens of covenant, seeing both the Old and New Testaments as part of God’s unfolding plan.
• Sacraments: Unlike Catholics who have 7 sacraments, Presbyterians practice two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (or Communion). They (like the Catholics) believe in infant baptism as a sign of God’s covenant with the child and the community.
• Church Governance: Presbyterians are governed by a system of representative elders (Presbyters). Authority is shared among elected leaders, rather than centralized in a single figure like a Pope. Usually, the head of a Presbyterian denomination is referred to as the Moderator.
  4) PENTECOSTALS
  Pentecostals are a broad range of churches that emphasize the healing and miraculous gifts of Pentecost as recorded in the Bible, mainly in the book of Acts. ‘Pentecostal’ does not refer to a single church. Churches like Full Gospel Mission, Christ Embassy and others which tend to have a ‘prophet’ or ‘apostle’ heading them, fall into this category.
• Healing and Deliverance: Unlike the mainline churches above, Pentecostals tend to emphasize breaking demonic curses, speaking in tongues and other supernatural gifts.
• Wealth and Health: Most Pentecostal churches emphasize giving as a means by which God blesses the giver, something known as the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ which other churches criticize. They believe that health, wealth and success are signs of God’s blessings in a Christian’s life but other Christians who are born blind or with other medical issues do not agree because God uses even those in pain for His glory.
• Baptism: Pentecostals copy the Baptists and always insist that true baptism can only be by immersion and not sprinkling as is done by Catholics and others.