About Selden Baptist Church
About the Pastor
Brother Rudy Tarpley was hired as Selden Baptist Church’s bi-vocational pastor in 2023. Since accepting the Lord in 1985, he has served as a Sunday School teacher, Deacon, Gideon, and Gospel Minister in churches throughout New Mexico, Utah, and Texas.
Rudy married Crystal in 1986, and they have raised two sons who are both married. Their firstborn, Joshua, married Bethanne and they live and work in Lynchburg, Virginia. Their second-born son Matthew married Sarah and serves as Pastor at First Baptist Church in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina. The Tarpleys recently celebrated their first grandchild, Benjamin, born to Matthew and Sarah in Lake Waccamaw, NC.
Rudy is completing a Master of Arts in Christian Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Crystal has taught English for her entire career, and is currently instructing at Tolar High School.
What we Believe
The congregation at Selden Baptist Church holds to the beliefs found in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
Core Values | We Commit…
To Scripture
We conform every part of our lives and worship to the inspired, inerrant, and sufficient Word of God.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17
To the Gospel
We stand on the truth that Salvation is given by grace, through faith, in Christ alone, to the end that God alone would be glorified.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
To the Local Church
We believe God has ordained the local Church to display His glory. Through the proper preaching of the Word, administration of the ordinances, and redemptive Church discipline, we represent Christ through Biblical membership in the Church.
“…I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
- Matthew 16:18“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
- Hebrews 10:24-25
To Evangelism
In Texas and to the ends of the earth, we live to preach the gospel and make disciples.
“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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
- Matthew 28:19-20
To Prayer
We believe in the necessity and power of prayer. No church or person is as spiritually healthy as their prayer life. Our life is sustained through communion with Christ in humble, loving, and fervent prayer.
“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
- Ephesians 6:18