What We Believe
The attempt to state our beliefs in a concise manner goes all the way back to that first century church. Over time, as heresies have increased, the conciseness of our statements have decreased for good reason. Today we have this heritage of well-thought-out statements of beliefs which better equip us to face the heresies of today.
Though what we believe in reality is more than what we could say in a creed and it is what we are living out in our lives along with our preaching and teaching, we still look to these creeds to battle our own practical heresies. In the end, this church is full of sinners and we are nothing more than "poor beggars showing other poor beggars where there is bread."
Congressional Confession of Faith
I have also included a link to a history of the Baptist church. I would encourage you to look at it, especially considering the final section which begins like this:
"America had a strong independent mentality and this worldview began to spill over into the Church. As with any independent, self-centered worldview, the Sovereign God is placed on the shelf, so to speak, for a God who will not impede upon our independence. This type of ethos was what led to the beginning of the decline of the Particular Baptist beliefs."
Read the full story of the Baptists, including their recent decline in doctrine here: The Primer on Baptist History
(The original post was from The Spurgeon Archive, but is now found at The Reformed Reader)