About us

Established in 1919, Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Newton, Mississippi, is a pillar of faith, offering outreach and youth programs for spiritual growth. Its AWANA program cultivates young minds, while the congregation actively serves the community and elderly. Experience heartfelt worship and a welcoming fellowship in this nurturing spiritual home.

A Legacy of Service and Worship

Established in 1919, Cedar Grove Baptist Church has been a cornerstone of faith and service for over a century. Our church is a vibrant community dedicated to serving the Lord, offering a range of opportunities for individuals to engage in meaningful worship and outreach. We actively evangelize our county through initiatives such as distributing Bibles and engaging in church visitation.

Nurturing Faith Across Generations

For our youth, we proudly host the AWANA program, a dynamic initiative that emphasizes Bible memorization and character building. Our commitment to nurturing a strong spiritual foundation extends to all age groups through an active Sunday school. From the youngest children to our senior saints, we strive to cultivate a deep and meaningful walk with the Lord in the lives of our members.At Cedar Grove Baptist Church, we boldly proclaim the Word of God with love, embracing the teachings of Christ without compromise or apology. Located in the Cedar Grove community northwest of Newton, Mississippi, our church is easily accessible to both residents of Newton and those in the surrounding areas. Our welcoming fellowship is complemented by comfortable facilities, providing a warm and inviting space for worship and connection.

Leadership

Ryan Cozart is the pastor at Cedar Grove Baptist Church. He was privileged to be raised in a Christian home with godly parents. In July of 1989, his mother led him to the Lord at the age of 4. Ryan surrendered to preach the Gospel at a revival meeting when he was sixteen years old. He attended Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point, Indiana, where he met his wife Rena. They were married on April 26, 2008. The Cozarts served in Second Baptist Church of Festus, Missouri, as faithful members for four years. Ryan was appointed Children's Pastor in 2012, and was brought on full-time in 2014 as the Youth Pastor. He also served as a teacher at his alma mater: Twin City Christian Academy. He earned a bachelor's degree in Pastoral Theology from Belle Meadows Baptist College. God began to work in Brother Cozart's heart about pastoring a church in April 2016. Ryan and Rena began to pray and seek counsel about a future in pastoral ministry. Cedar Grove brought him to candidate for two weeks. The hearts of the Cozarts and the church family were knit together by God, and Cedar Grove extended a unanimous call for Brother Ryan to be our pastor! He and his family moved to Newton in October 2016. The Cozarts have three children: Jude, Emma, and Elijah. Pastor extends a warm welcome to any and all to come worship with us this Sunday.

What We Believe

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Divine Inspiration and Authority

  • We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God (II Peter 1:20,21).
  • We believe the King James Version of the Bible is the inspired, preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people.
  • We believe God's Word is inerrant, infallible, God-breathed and, is therefore, the final authority in all matters of faith, doctrine and practice (II Timothy 3:16,17).
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The Godhead and Scripture

  • We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible are God's complete, divine and only revelation to man, and that the Bible reveals God, the fall of man, the way of salvation and God's plan and purpose through the ages (Revelation 22:18,19). The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the only translation of God's Word used in our teaching and preaching ministries (I Corinthians 14:33).
  • We believe that there is only one true and living God, existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Each are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and each has the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10,16; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7).
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Christ and Salvation

  • We believe in the deity, virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6,7; Matthew 1:23; Luke 8:39; John 1:1,2; Romans 3:24,25; Acts 1:9,10).
  • We believe in the visible, personal and premillennial return of Jesus Christ (John 14:3; Revelation 1:7; II Timothy 4:1).
  • We believe that salvation is "by grace", plus nothing and minus nothing. The conditions of salvation are repentance and faith (Ephesians 2:8,9; Luke 13:3; John 8:24).
  • We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and that those who are thus justified are saved forever (Romans 11:6; Titus 3:5; John 5:24).
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Church Ordinances and Eschatology

  • We believe that every saved person should follow the Lord in baptism, by immersion, and should join and maintain an active membership in a local, New Testament Church (Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:36-39; Hebrews 10:25).
  • We believe that the ordinances of the New Testament Church are Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Acts 2:38-41; I Corinthians 11:23-34).
  • We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost (I Thessalonians 4:14-18; Revelation 20:15; Revelation 14:11).
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The Holy Spirit and Christian Living

  • We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, converts the repentant, seals God's children and endues them with soulwinning power (John 16:7-11; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13, 2:1; Acts 1:8).
  • We believe that modern-day speaking in tongues is both a doctrinal and practical error and, therefore, is neither to be sought nor practiced (I Corinthians 14:22; Matthew 12:39).
  • We believe that the Word of God is sufficient for doctrine and instruction in righteousness, and that both Arminian and Calvanistic doctrine is to be shunned in favor of Bible doctrine (II Timothy 3:16).
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Stewardship, Church Mission, and Morality

  • We believe that the Bible forbids sexual activity outside the normal marriage bond between a man and a woman. It is plain from Scripture that homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex (Leviticus 18:1-30; Job 31:1; Romans 1:24-32; I Corinthians 6:9,10).
  • We believe that all believers are stewards of the portion of God's wealth with which He has entrusted them. Therefore, each Christian should give the tithe as a basis for giving, and that each of us should also give other offerings above the tithe both cheerfully and sacrificially to support the needs of the Church, the relief of those with special needs and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to control the use of all such gifts when they are given and that tithes and offerings are nonrefundable (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9,10; Malachi 3:8-11; Luke 6:38; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6,7).
  • We believe that the local, New Testament Church is a group of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptized and meeting together for the purpose of fellowship, growth in grace and the propagation of the Gospel (Acts 2:41,42).
  • We believe that God has given the Church the Great Commission to proclaim the gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tongue and tribe who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As Christ's ambassadors on earth we must use all available means to go to foreign nations with the gospel (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20).
  • We believe that that marriage is a consecrated union between one man and one woman established by God (Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 7:1-3).
  • We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one's sex, or disagreement with one's biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God (Acts 15:20; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Peter 2:14).
  • We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement of Faith and conduct themselves accordingly (Ephesians 5:3;1 Thessalonians 4:3)

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