History & Identity
In 1997, some families dissatisfied with the doctrinal direction that the then Emmasdale Church (now Bread of Life) had taken came together, and mooted the idea of starting the Emmasdale Baptist Church. They first began to meet in a home for prayer and Bible Study before holding the first service at Chaisa Basic School, Great North Road Lusaka, on June 22nd, 1997. The church was formally constituted on December 28th, 1997 with 20 persons present.
The first Trust Deed and Constitution were approved and adopted at a meeting of the members of the church held on Sunday morning December 28th, 1997, and a revision was made at a special meeting of the church in 2007. The current Church Constitution and By-laws was adopted on March 17th, 2018.
The church was, until September 29th, 2018, a daughter church under the oversight of Lusaka Baptist Church.
Doctrine & Beliefs
The formal principle of the Protestant Reformation was the belief that the Scriptures alone are the final authority for faith and practice. The Bible tells us what we are to believe about God and what duty He requires of us. It is God's complete and final revelation to us; therefore, we must not add to it or subtract from it.
We believe that the Bible is sufficient to 'thoroughly equip' us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).
We believe that the Bible (the revelation given to us through the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone) is the foundation of the church that has already been laid. The church's foundation is complete and sufficient. Therefore, special revelation in the form of visions, dreams, tongues, or prophecies have ceased.
However, we live in a day of doctrinal vagueness and confusion, so we need to be clear about what we believe the Bible teaches. Therefore, we are a confessional church, i.e., we have a written Confession of Faith that clearly states what we believe the Scriptures teach. We fully subscribe to the historic London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. We do not hold our Confession as equal to or above Scriptures, but as an accurate expression of the system of doctrine taught in Scriptures. As such, it is a great help in our faith, both as an assistance in controversy and as an instrument of edification and instruction.
One particular doctrine we believe is that God is absolutely sovereign over all things. “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'” (Daniel 4:35).
We believe that He is also sovereign in the salvation of men. The Bible teaches that man, because of sin, stands guilty and condemned before God's Law; he has a corrupt heart and is alienated from God; and, worst of all, he can do nothing to save himself from God's wrath or to reconcile him with God.
The good news of the Gospel is that God alone has undertaken to do all that is necessary to deliver man from his awful condition. The Triune God plans, accomplishes and applies redemption. God the Father unconditionally elects, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, redeems by His atoning death, and the Holy Spirit effectually calls and enables sinners to come to Christ. Salvation, from beginning to end, is 'of the Lord' (Jonah 2:9), therefore God receives all of the glory. Man receives none.
Vision & Mission
Our Vision
The vision of Emmasdale Baptist Church is to be a body of believers called to joyful worship, faithful gospel proclamation and Christ-exalting global kingdom witness.
Our Mission
We exist to glorify God by evangelising the lost, growing, equipping and deploying God’s people for ministry to one another and for the propagation of God’s word throughout the world.
Our Place of Worship
We are based in Emmasdale, a residential area located in the Northern part of Lusaka, at Plot № 129, Kalanga Road. We are right opposite the Defence Force School of Health Sciences. Here are the directions leading to our place of worship.
