Our Pastor

Pastor Drew Gardner came to EBC in November 2005. Prior to pastoring EBC, he served as an associate pastor in Tampa, FL, and as an attorney with the Christian Law Association. Prior to serving in these positions, Pastor Gardner was a JAG in the United States Air Force. He is a graduate of Ohio Northern University (B.S. Math Education) and The Ohio State University College of Law (J.D.).

Pastor Gardner and his wife, Kelly, have been actively involved in the ministry of a local New Testament Baptist church for over 15 years. Pastor Gardner’s heart is to grow EBC from the “inside out” by equipping members to reach their friends and family for Christ by knowing what they believe and knowing how to share their faith with others.

Pastor and Kelly have seven children – Seth, Noah, Isaiah, Elijah, Grace, Zechariah, and Mercy.

What We Believe

The Bible

We believe the Bible is the inspired and inerrant (without error) Word of God, and as such, it is our final authority for all matters of faith and practice. The sixty-six books of the Old Testament and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to man.

God

We believe that there is only one true and living God. God is a Person, existing as a trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God is the creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe. We believe that God is infinite, eternal, self-existent, holy, and perfect (without sin).

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son. We believe that He was born of a virgin and that He is true God and true man. We believe that Jesus has existed for eternity and is co-equal with the God the Father and the God the Spirit. We believe that He came into the world to redeem (save) man and that He did so by living a perfect and sinless life and then dying on the cross to pay the penalty for man’s sin. We believe He arose from the dead on the third day and is currently in heaven sitting at the right hand of God the Father. We believe that He will come to rapture His Church before the tribulation period and that after the tribulation, He will reign upon the earth for a millennium.

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on the cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that personal faith in Jesus Christ alone is the only way to heaven.

Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, equal with the God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit’s work is to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells a person at the moment of salvation and that the Holy Spirit eternally seals the believer’s salvation. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher that guides and teaches all believers into truth and an understanding of the Bible.

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary and have ceased.

Creation

We believe in the Genesis account of Creation and that it is to be accepted literally and not figuratively. The six days of creation in Genesis were literal twenty-four hour days. We believe that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness and did not evolve from any lower form of life.

Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the father of lies. He is the enemy of God and man. We believe that Satan will be eternally punished in the lake of fire

Fall of Man

We believe that man was created in innocence, without sin. When Adam sinned, the whole human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and is, of himself, totally unable to remedy his lost condition.

Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men – the saved to eternal life in heaven and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in hell.

Local Church

We believe that the Church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized (immersed) believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel. The Church alone is authorized to administer the two church ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that the only two biblical offices of the Local Church are pastor and deacon and that there are biblical qualifications for each office.