Davisville Bylaw Revision

Article 1: Statement of Faith

The elders are currently in the process of revising the Davisville Church Bylaws. This document contains the statement of faith and other sections having to do with membership, staff, elders, meetings, etc. Amendments to the church bylaws require a vote by the members of Davisville. 


In response to the feedback to the proposed revision to the statement of faith, the elders have approved a newly revised version which is now being presented to the church family for review and input. Please click the button below to access a pdf version. Words that have been added are highlighted, while words that have been removed have a line through them. The original proposed revisions are in yellow. The newly proposed revisions are in green.


Feedback is welcome via email and can be sent to elders@davisville.org

Summary of Main Revisions


The main changes are statements that have been added concerning marriage, gender, sexual expression, God's image in humans, and the openness of salvation to all who believe. Adding these statements will provide clarity on these issues and a point of reference that guides our practice. These statements are congruent with the teaching that has occurred at Davisville on these topics. 


Two other areas of note are the statements on the sign gifts given by the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues, prophecy, etc.) and water baptism. 


Concerning the sign gifts, the statement was changed from a cessationist position to a position that is open to God still giving those gifts today, especially in places where the gospel is not known. Utilizing language that has often been used regarding the sign gifts, in our practice we are non-charismatic, but we are not anti-charismatic.  


Concerning baptism, the statement was changed to remove immersion as part of the definition of baptism. While immersion will remain our practice at Davisville, we believe that people who have been baptized by other means, such as sprinkling or pouring of water, after becoming followers of Jesus, have fulfilled Jesus' instruction to be baptized and will be welcomed into membership.