Reformed Baptist

[Jennybeans401]

I've googled it but still confused!My dds friends mum mentioned she was a reformed baptist and goes to a church in our area.Ig has a youth group on Thursday evening which dd has been invited to.

We're not religious and I think Baptists are quite traditional.just wondering the extent of the religious content on a youth group.

Baptists tend to be quite enthusiastic about all things religion, believing in adult full immersion baptism! Not sure if reformed baptists are more or less enthusiastic tbh though???
Essentially I'd send your child if you fancy teaching her how to respond when someone attempts to indoctrinate her into their faith - sorry if that sounds harsh but indoctrination is essentially the point of the majority of faith based youth groups, no matter how kind and welcoming they initially seem.
I accept that folk of faith may not share my view, and that's ok, just giving my honest view (and yes, I know what I'm speaking about).

Thanks yes this lady seems very strong in the faith and this branch of religion seems much more evangelical.

Do they believe in the creation story and very traditional beliefs I wonder.

If your happy with your daughter becoming a baptist then let her go. If not, don't.

Her friend is a great girl and it sounds like a few games and songs but yeah I'm wary of sending dd to this.

Baptists and evangelicals are quite big on bible study - most of those I met did tend to accept creation as reality because it was in their holy book, however some don't take the details of the timeline quite so literally. Some also actually accept the theory of evolution, at least to some extent, but others rule it out/refuse to discuss it. They tend to focus on parts of the bible (they think) they understand and definitely are more new testament focused in their thinking. There are lots of kind and loving christians but ultimately they do class everyone as sinners, and can be either obviously or covertly judgemental toward those not of their faith or even within their faith.
Again, I accept that others have different views on this, and that's their choice.

The games and songs will always have a purpose, generally indoctrination in some form.

Yes she talks about sin sometimes, also being saved by God.

Yes, they will view all of us as sinners needing saved, and often pray for their friends and family to 'find god'- they clearly care about your daughter and their way of showing it is wanting her (and you too no doubt) to be 'saved' too.
Their intentions aren't necessarily bad however their faith/world view isn't necessarily one you or your daughter would want to share!

Dd is autistic so she can get quite fixated on ideas.I don't think it's healthy to feel sinful either, it sounds more extreme than many churches.

All christian faiths believe in sin but some talk about it more! If your DD goes want to go to a club/activity then I'm not sure this is it tbh.
Apologies if you think I'm being overly negative - clearly churches can do good things but a lot of it is in the name of 'glorifying god' or 'saving' people, sadly.
A few religious folk might well appear in this thread - of course their opinions are not irrelevant, but I've tried to honestly give mine.
All the best to you and DD.

dd has been invited because they intend to make her a convert to their religion. That's how religions work. They have youth groups because they regard young people as being more susceptible to their message.

What were you expecting - all the nice, social aspects but not doing any of the actual believing? That's not how religions work.

Church youth clubs tend to do games and activities, there’s usually an epilogue at the end which is a short (10 minutes or so) bible based teaching and some Christian songs. I was brought up in the Baptist church some are very evangelical and can be quite fundamental (no sex before marriage, consider homosexuality to be wrong, not great on women’s rights) and others are very open and accepting.

If you’re not sure which this place falls into I’d go to a couple of services before I’d let my DD go to youth club. I’m not part of the church now for various reasons, my DD occasionally goes to a church youth club with her friend, we just discuss what she’s taught and whether that’s a value she wants to hold in her life. My DD is also autistic but very clear on how she thinks and feels about social issues, and the idea of sin. It’s been a good social activity for her, and she’s exposed to other ways of thinking which is a good thing at her stage and age. It’s also been good for developing her critical thinking. She isn’t about to convert any time soon.

I've been a Baptist and a Reformed Baptist.

Reformed Baptists are much more biblically focussed, although if you are in the UK they will not teach the creation story as fact, but more of a general 'broad brush strokes' picture.

They are Calvinist, so people are saved by faith and divine grace, not by works. the bible is the work of God, and is to be studied and absorbed.

The youth club will most likely be a glorified Bible study - I actually learned a hell of a lot from the ones I went to! The pastors and elders are generally extremely well-educated and will refer to the original aramaic/greek/latin etc.

Whilst Baptists in general may focus on the New Testament, Reformed Baptists see the Old Testament as just as important, as it is the Old Covenent, which, although it was swept away by Jesus, is worthy of study and helps to know how God would like us to live.

Baptist churches can sometimes include people who speak in tongues or prophesy (this is probably particular to the area you live in), a Reformed Baptist church will have none of this - they believe that these gifts were all part of the Early Church only, and that prophecy and other gifts of the Holy Spirit have now ceased.

Baptists do tend towards the evangelical, but Reformed Baptists in my experience were less so, in that you have to come across them somehow - they don't actively recruit, and so many of their churches can be very small. They tend to have been breakaways from Baptist churches that they feel have become too worldy or otherwise departed from the word of God.

Reformed Baptists are extremely strict, but having said that, I loved the church I attended, and it was one of the few places I felt safe as a teen.

Things may have changed in the intervening years, but that was my experience in the 1980s/90s

If it was easy to 'catch the Christian' from going to youth groups, our churches would be full. I don't think you need to worry. Sounds nice her friend wants to invite her. It will give you some things to chat about with your teen about faith, identity, what you/ they believe. There will likely be a five minute epilogue at the end, I'm sure it will give her some food for thought whether she agrees/ disagrees with it.

Nobody said it was easy @horseymum but that doesn't stop them trying!