About

-Statement of Faith
-About Andrew Burgess
-Biblical Resources & Links

  A Brief Bio I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and raised in Oakboro, North Carolina. At 12 years of age I made a false profession of faith at Mineral Springs Baptist Church. I was led in the 'sinner's prayer' and told by my pastor that I was saved.  I was also told that I could not lose my salvation.  I continued to live my life (in sin) outwardly assured that I was saved, but inwardly I would continue to say that prayer at church when the invitation was given, in hopes that something would happen.             At 22 years of age, an elderly man at the church that I was attending at that time had a heart attack.  He died while at the hospital and was brought back to life by the paramedics.  Later on he told friends and family that while he was dead.....he went to hell.  When this story was told to me; as a lost man I had thought that Bill (the elderly man) was a Christian.  This event struck fear into me. Over the course of the next few weeks, I struggled with what had happened.  "How could I be saved when this guy went to hell?" I asked myself.  All of this finally culminated into one night when I determined that I wanted to know what the Bible said about salvation and not what a pastor or anyone else had to say.  As I went to bed that night, a bible accompanied me.  I began to read the book of Romans.  As I read the first two verses of chapter 6: I was pierced to the core and began to weep (broken over my sin). It reads ¹ What should we say then?  Should we continue in sin in order that grace may multiply?  ² Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?             In about a month's time I figured out that what happened to me that night was that God had truly saved me.  Super naturally God the Holy Spirit regenerated me and gave me a new heart.  I began to desire Christ more and more and to hate my sin more and more. Praise be to God!             I still attended the church I was at (Midway Baptist Church).  While I was there I began to evangelize on a regular basis.  I also began to realize the more and more that I grew in knowledge of scripture, I began to notice that Midway, as well as the majority of the other churches, preached a false gospel/false doctrine: (The sinner's prayer, asking Jesus into your heart, decisional regeneration, carnal christianity etc.) Over the course of the next two years I consistently would speak out against what was taught/preached at Midway. Second Timothy 2:24 says.. "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,²⁵with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."  After two years of being patient in prayer for Midway's repentance and defense of the true Gospel it finally ended when a pastor came to preach at Midway's annual Hunter's Banquet.  The sinner's prayer was preached and I proceeded to call a meeting with my pastor and deacons to let them know blatantly where I stood.  Or so I thought, in that meeting I was told by pastor Eric Cook that I just wanted to be contentious for the sake of being contentious. During the course of the meeting, every time that I would try to make a defense from scripture, Pastor Eric would speak over me. At the end of the meeting the question was asked if the sinners prayer would continue to be used at Midway, to which Pastor Eric responded that he would continue to allow other pastors to preach with that methodology and he himself would continue to use it, mainly in personal situations in his office.  He also said that he knew it was not in the bible, but was fine with it.             Second Timothy 3:¹⁵ states "and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."                  Scripture is able to give us wisdom that leads to salvation and equips the man of God (i.e. pastor, evangelist, etc) for EVERY good work.  We are not to preach/teach anything that is not in scripture.             Galations 1:7-9 reads "which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!⁹As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!'      How much do you have to add to or take away from the gospel for it not to be the gospel?  The question answers it self.               My family and I left that church after that meeting.  We are located in Oakboro, NC.  I have a wife (Kimberly) and three boys (Connor, Ephraim, & Jeriah). I work a full time job at the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry located in downtown Charlotte, NC.  While I was still attending Midway I started praying about what I should do if/when we left.  I now feel called to plant a Church in the Oakboro area if the Lord wills.  I have experience in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the open air and one to one witnessing.  I am aware that the churches in my area are not biblical and therefore that constitutes the need for one to be planted.     Grace and Peace Andrew Burgess