Sovereign Shores Baptist Church, formerly Water's Edge Church, was established in 1974 and is a gospel-centered congregation in the coastal community of Virginia Beach, VA. We are a theologically conservative church that exists for the glory of God and seeks to be most passionate about what's most important.
SSBC is an elder led, deacon served, and congregationally ruled church with meaningful membership practices. Our weekly gatherings provide a welcoming, friendly environment with live expository preaching, public readings of Scripture, and Christ-honoring lyrics in our music for congregational singing. We are grateful for the spiritual health that the Lord has cultivated here and blessed to serve God in the Hampton Roads region of Southeast Virginia.
At Sovereign Shores Baptist Church, we affirm the historic Christian faith, built on the Holy Scriptures, and expressed in statements such as The Apostle's Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The SSBC Statement of Faith consists of 12 articles and is a confessional document that communicates and clarifies our beliefs.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This one true and living God is infinitely perfect both in His love and in His holiness. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy to receive all glory and honor and power. Being the Alpha and Omega, He perfectly and completely knows the end from the beginning. God sovereignly decrees or permits all things and continually upholds and governs all creatures and events. Yet, He is in no way the author or approver of sin, nor does He prohibit the will or diminish the moral responsibility of man. God providentially brings about His eternal good purposes to redeem His people and restore His fallen creation, to the praise of His glorious grace.
Scripture References: Deut 6:4; Isa 46:9; Matt 28:19; Ps 18:30; 1 John 4:8; Isa 6:3; Col 1:16; Rev 4:11; Rev 1:8; Rev 21:6; Heb 1:3; Isa 14:26-27; Isa 46:10; Eph 1:11; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:5-6
We believe that God has revealed His eternal power and divine nature through His creation, and has supremely revealed Himself to fallen human beings in the person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. By His Spirit, God has graciously made Himself known in the sixty-six books of the Bible. These writings alone constitute the inspired Word of God, which is authoritative and without error in the original manuscripts. They contain complete revelation of God’s will for salvation and are sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do. The Bible is final in authority over every domain of knowledge to which it speaks.
Scripture References: Rom 1:20; Ps 19:1-2; John 1:1, 14; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:21; Matt 24:35
We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in His own image. Adam and Eve belonged to the created order that God declared to be very good, serving as agents to exercise dominion over His creation, living in fellowship with their Maker. Men and women are equally made in the image of God and enjoy equal access to God by faith in Jesus Christ. Both male and female are called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church, and civic life. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways.
Scripture References: Gen 1:27-31; Gen 2:18; Gal 3:28
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in covenant relationship for a lifetime. The marriage relationship models the union between Christ and His bride, the church. God ordains that men and women assume distinctive and complementary roles which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Scripture References: Gen 2:24; Matt 19:6; Eph 5:22-33; Eph 6:1-4; Ps 127:3; Ps 139:13-16
We believe that Adam, made in the image of God, distorted that image and forfeited his original blessing by choosing to sin through Satan’s temptation. As a result, human beings have inherited a sin nature and are alienated from God. Having been born into corruption, all have therefore sinned and are due condemnation and death apart from God’s own gracious intervention. The supreme need of all human beings is to be reconciled to God, under whose just and holy wrath we stand. Our only hope is the undeserved love and mercy of God, who alone can rescue us and restore us to Himself.
Scripture References: Gen 3; Ps 51:5; Rom 3:23; Rom 5:12-15; Rom 6:23; Rom 7:24-8:1; Eph 2:3-5
We believe that from all eternity God has chosen and purposed in grace to save sinners from every tribe and language and people and nation. We believe that God justifies and sanctifies those who by grace have faith in Jesus, and that He will one day glorify them - all to the praise of His glorious grace.
Scripture References: Eph 1:4-14; Eph 2:1-10; Rev 7:9; Rom 5:1-2; Rom 8:29-30; Phil 1:6
We believe that, moved by love and in obedience to His Father, the eternal Word became flesh: fully God and fully human, one Person in two natures. The man Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, was conceived through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. He perfectly obeyed His heavenly Father, lived a sinless life, performed miraculous signs, was crucified, arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven. He now is seated at the right hand of God the Father, exercising authority in heaven and on earth, and is our High Priest and Righteous Advocate. We believe that by His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ acted as our representative and substitute. Bearing sin on the cross, He canceled the penalty of that sin, reconciling to God all those who believe. He did this so that in Him we might be counted righteous before God. By His resurrection, Christ Jesus broke the power of death, defeated Satan, and brought eternal life to all His people. By His ascension, He has been forever exalted as Lord and given us the confident hope of one day being with Him. We believe that salvation is found in no one else. This gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ - God's grace as His gift of unmerited favor to sinners in Christ.
Scripture References: John 1:1, John 1:14; Matt 1:18-23; Heb 4:15; Acts 2:22; Matt 28:4-6; Heb 8:1; 1 John 2:1; Col 2:14; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:14; Acts 4:12
We believe the Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father and the Son, and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and by His powerful and mysterious work brings to life spiritually dead sinners, awakening them to repentance and faith, baptizing them into union with the Lord Jesus, such that they are justified before God by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. The Holy Spirit is himself the down payment of the promised inheritance, and in this age indwells, guides, instructs, equips, revives, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
Scripture References: John 14:26; John 16:7-14; Titus 3:4-6; Rom 8:10-11; Eph 2:5; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:14; 2 Thess 2:13; Gal 5:22-25
We believe that those who have been born again by the Spirit enter the kingdom of God and delight in the blessings of the new covenant: the forgiveness of sins, the inward transformation that awakens a desire to glorify, trust, and obey God, and the prospect of the glory yet to be revealed. Good works constitute indispensable evidence of saving grace. Living as salt in a world that is decaying and light in a world that is dark, believers should neither withdraw into seclusion from the world, nor become indistinguishable from it. Instead, as citizens of God’s kingdom, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all, especially to those who belong to the household of God.
Scripture References: John 3:3-5; Eph 2:8-10; Matt 5:13-16; Mark 12:31; Gal 6:10
We believe in the universal church of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. The church is the corporate dwelling place of God’s Spirit, and the continuing gospel witness in the world. God’s church is expressed through local churches consisting of a congregation of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, discipleship, and fellowship. We believe the Bible defines the leadership of the local church, under the authority of Christ, as elder led, deacon served, and congregationally ruled. According to God’s good design, faithful Christians will become part of a local church.
Scripture References: Col 1:18; John 3:3-5; Eph 2:19-22; 1 Cor 12:12, 27; Acts 2:38-47; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1
We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself. Baptism is a joyous response to the gospel wherein the believer is immersed in water, signifying our death to sin and union with Christ. Baptism symbolizes the cleansing of sins and demonstrates our surrender to live and walk in newness of life. The Lord’s Supper, administered with the elements of bread and the cup, is a remembrance of the body and blood of Christ. It is designed to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith, and to be a bond, pledge, and renewal of believers’ communion with Him.
Scripture References: Acts 2:37-38; Rom 6:3-4; Col 2:12-13; Acts 22:16; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; 1 Cor 10:16
We believe in the personal, glorious, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He will exercise His role as final Judge, and His kingdom will be consummated. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust—the unjust to judgment and eternal punishment, and the just to eternal joy in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, in the new heaven and the new earth.
Scripture References: Matt 23:39; Acts 24:15
Sovereign Shores Baptist Church exists to glorify God by making disciples through gospel-centered teaching, gospel centered community, and gospel-centered service.
This statement communicates both our mission (to glorify God by making disciples) and our method (gospel-centered teaching, gospel-centered community, and gospel-centered service). The means by which we make disciples is through faithful teaching of God's Word, genuine community that is accountable to one another, and authentic service motivated by the stewardship of the gospel.
To be "a gospel-centered church helping people become most passionate about what is most important." By God's grace, we want both our desires and priorities as a church to be shaped by what Scripture says is most important. Here is what the Bible says:
The Great Commandment:
Mark 12:28-31 - And one of the scribes came up and . . . asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ:
1 Cor 15:3-4 - “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
The Great Commission:
Matthew 28:19-20 - “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”
Elders are biblically qualified men who serve as overseers of the local church, shepherding the flock of God through teaching His Word, praying, caring for church members, and training members to do the work of ministry. (Acts 6:4; 20:28-29; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; James 3:1; 5:14-15; 1 Peter 5:1-3)
Matthew Gay
Sam Gilbert
Dr. Andrew Knofczynski
Dr. Kevin Newman
Timothy Parsons
Adam Rastetter, M.Div
Dr. Steven Roby
Deacons, or deaconesses, are biblically qualified, character-tested servants of the church who support and protect the ministry of the Word by meeting tangible needs, preserving unity, and enabling the elders to shepherd the congregation more effectively. (Acts 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:8-13)
Katielynne Gay
Children's Ministry Director
Lisa Roby
Congregational Care/Admin
Tracy Cioppa
Hospitality
Jacob Hoke
Outreach
Diego Lopez-Rodriguez
Property Maintenace
Melissa Ferguson
Special Events
Gary Shaffer
Technology
Noah Shaffer
Worship
The Mosaic Water Drop - A Vision for Our Gathering
Mark chapter 4 describes a scene in which Jesus was teaching next to a body of water. The number of people that gathered around him became so large that as they pressed in, Jesus got into a boat and continued teaching "while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge" (Mark 4:1, NIV). In calling ourselves Sovereign Shores, we envision our gathering to be a place "along the shore" (Virginia Beach, VA) where we hear the teaching of our Sovereign Lord, and learn to observe all that He has commanded us.
The water drop in our logo is in the form of stained glass. Each piece is different. Through the design, we are reminded of the diverse crowd that Jesus attracted. We want to be a church where all types of people come to hear His Word: the saved, the seeker, and the skeptic. Jesus offers himself to all as "living water," and those who drink of it will never thirst again (John 4).
As a mosaic piece of art it reminds us that in Christ, though we are many, we are One. Each individual piece contributes to the whole, as is such in the body of Christ (Eph 4; Rom 12; 1 Cor 12).
The Circle - The Sovereignty of God
The circle in our logo is designed to illustrate the shoreline established by our Sovereign God that sets the boundaries of the seas. Proverbs 8:29 says, "he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth." And . . . in Jeremiah 5:22 the Lord says, "I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it."
The circle serves as a reminder that God is "Sovereign" over the "Shores." He established the boundaries and is always in control -through good times . . . and bad. This is a source of comfort for the believer. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28).