Our Mission
The mission of South Ridge is for people to Experience Belonging, Embrace God's Grace, and Extend God's Love.
Experience Belonging
Because we have been created by a relational God, we are designed to seek connection, belonging, and relationship. We long to belong, and in our increasingly digital culture, authentic relationship and belonging are more important than ever. While our ultimate belonging is secure in Christ, we Experience Belonging as we gather, serve, and intentionally share our faith journey and life experiences with one another. Nothing promotes human flourishing like being fully known and fully loved by God and pursuing genuine and intentional connection with others.
Embrace God's Grace
Far from being a purposeless accident, each of us has been intentionally and purposefully created by God to know Him. The “good news” of the Gospel is that God has moved toward us in the person of Jesus. The most important decision a person can make is to personally Embrace God’s Grace by receiving Jesus as Savior and continuing to deepen their relationship with Him. Rather than moving on from the gospel, the whole of our lives is dedicated to moving more deeply into the gospel, allowing our relationship with Jesus and His grace and truth to permeate every aspect of our lives.
Extend God's Love
Rather than living as passive recipients of God’s grace to us through Jesus, we are called to partner with God by extending His love in our families, neighborhoods, communities, and world. As followers of Jesus, the natural outcome of embracing God’s grace is for us to Extend God’s Love. Rather than prioritizing self-comfort and pleasure, we prioritize loving and serving others in Jesus’ name. We also seek to invest our gifts, resources, and abilities as agents of God’s renewal in the lives of people and the world around us.
Our History
In May 1870, six Clinton residents were baptized in the South Branch of the Raritan River. They, along with 31 worshippers from the neighboring Bethlehem Baptist Church, became the original congregation of Clinton Baptist Church. The first pastor, Henry Westcott, was installed in March 1872. In August they moved into their first church home at 55 Leigh Street. Mr. J.G. Leigh donated the land, and the building was constructed for $10,500. For the next 94 years, the Baptists in Clinton worshipped in that building.
In the 1940’s, the congregation began to feel cramped in the Leigh Street building. A committee found and purchased seven acres of land on a hill outside of town, where the present church building is located. Those who did not share the vision left the church at that time, leaving only about a dozen families. These dedicated few, led by Pastor Sparling, took personal loans to build a modest structure with a seating capacity of 300. They did most of the work themselves.
When the new church was completed in 1967, the members brought several remembrances from the church on Leigh Street: the cornerstone and bell, which can be seen in the yard beside the present church building, an old Bible from the original church building, and a cross handmade by Pastor Earl Cook, which now hangs in the church balcony. The first service in the new building at the new location was held on May 7, 1967.
For several years prior to 2004, the church had periodically discussed the possibility of changing its name. While not changing its Baptist affiliation, it was sensed that there would be greater opportunity to reach the surrounding community without having the label “Baptist” as part of the church’s name. The congregation voted on the new name, South Ridge Community Church, on November 23, 2003. On Sunday, March 28, 2004, the church held its last services as Clinton Baptist Church and celebrated its rich history. On April 4, 2004, the congregation gathered for the first time as South Ridge Community Church.
While times have not always been smooth or trouble-free, the heritage of Clinton Baptist Church, now South Ridge Community Church, has always been a community that provides a firm foundation for those who desire to meet, know, and serve the Lord, experiencing belonging, embracing His grace, and extending His love, both in our community and to the world beyond.
Our Beliefs
We believe in the personal existence of God, the Creator and Supreme Being, who is infinite and perfect and has chosen to reveal Himself in the Bible. By His sovereign power God continues to sustain His creation, and by His Providence He orders the affairs of people and nations according to His own wisdom and eternal plan. The following are some of God’s eternal characteristics: He is unchangeable, all-powerful, all-present, complete in holiness, righteousness, justice, love, mercy and grace.
Genesis 1:1; Psalm 139:7-19; Hebrews 1:8; Romans 11:33; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
We believe that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God without error as originally written. We believe that it is completely true in all that it affirms and teaches, and that it serves as the final authority for our faith and life. Only through the Word of God can we come to know God’s plan of salvation, and the standards by which we all will be judged.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; Revelation 22:18-19
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and, therefore, has all the characteristics attributed to God. Jesus Christ became fully human by the miraculous process of the virgin birth. Although He was tempted in all the ways common to ordinary human beings, He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to His Father. He voluntarily suffered death on the cross, satisfying the demands of God’s justice and making full payment (atonement) for the sins of those who trust in Him alone for salvation. He physically and literally rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He is now enthroned at the right hand of God as the mediator between God
and humanity.
Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1; John 3:16-18; 1 John 2:1-2; Matthew 28:5-7; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God and, therefore, has all the characteristics attributed to God. The Holy Spirit applies the saving work of Jesus Christ to the lives of sinful human beings who repent of their sin, and He is active in convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit provides assurance of salvation, strength, guidance, comfort, and instruction for living. At the time of salvation, every believer is permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit and is equipped for godly living and service to God in the church.
John 16:8-15; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:2; Romans 8:14; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; Ephesians 3:16; Ephesians 4:30
We believe that human beings were distinctly created in the image of God; and, that through the spiritual nature of human beings, we were designed to have a special relationship with God. As a result of rebelling against God, every member of the human race has been alienated from God and is therefore morally guilty before God. Human beings are subject to sin’s power, inclined toward disobedience to God’s moral law, deserving of sin’s death penalty, and unable to please God apart from His saving grace.
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:1-7; Jeremiah 17:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:44-45; Ephesians 2:1- 5; Romans 3:10-11; Romans 3:10; Romans 6:23
We believe that through receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, our relationship with God can be restored. Salvation is deliverance from alienation, guilt, bondage, and death, as well as restoration to fellowship, righteousness, freedom, and life for all who trust in Jesus Christ. Salvation is provided for through the sovereign loving grace of God based on the saving work of Jesus Christ; it is received by faith alone, and results in a life of holiness, obedience, and love for God.
John 1:12; Romans 5:12; Romans 8; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 2:8-9
We believe that Jesus Christ will return at the close of this age to raise the dead, judge all people, and consummate His kingdom. Jesus will take with Him to heaven those who have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord; and those who have died as believers in Christ will also be raised to eternal life. Those who have not believed in Christ, both the living and the dead, will also be judged and will be eternally separated from God and experience everlasting conscious torment in hell.
Matthew 7:13-14; John 5:22-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Revelation 20:11-15
We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two ordinances commanded by Christ that should faithfully be observed by the church. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer. It demonstrates our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior and is symbolic of our death to sin and our resurrection to a new life in Him. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s death for us and is a symbol that our spiritual growth and life is sustained by the work of Christ.
Matthew 3:5-6; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:12; Acts 16:32-34; Romans 6:4; Matthew 26:23-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30
Our Staff & Elders
Learn more about our leadership.