ABOUT US
"We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the Reformation, we were reformers before Luther or Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the very days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel underground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a Government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor I believe any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the State, to prostitute the purity of the Bride of Christ to any alliance with the government, and we will never make the Church, although the Queen, the despot over the consciences of men."
— Charles Spurgeon (From The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. VII, Page 225).
OUR VISION
As an association of Sabbatarian churches, it is our desire to foster a sense of community and cooperation among member churches in different lands for the purpose of living, sharing, and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in this world, and to help hasten the coming of Christ in the clouds of glory.
WHAT WE DO
The ISDBA offers membership to churches, families, and individuals who uphold our common Articles of Faith. We also provide church certification and pastoral training and ordination for those called by God to ministry. The ISDBA is also involved in overseas missionary work, evangelism, and church-planting.
OUR COMMUNITY
We are a Bible-believing association of autonomous sabbath-keeping Baptist churches that believes in fulfilling the great gospel commission left to us by our Lord. We seek to help equip churches, pastors, and ministry leaders for more effective witness for Christ, joining hands in fellowship for a common purpose.
FIND YOUR FAITH
This 11-part documentary series on the Sabbath will bless and enlighten the sincere seeker after truth. A family-friendly film for young and old alike, each episode is less than 30 minutes and takes the viewer on a journey spanning 6,000 years of human history to find the truth about The Seventh Day.
MEET THE PRESIDENT
INDEPENDENT SEVENTH DAY BIBLE BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
Pastor J. Isaac Richards
Raised by a single mother in the streets of Los Angeles, CA, after getting in trouble with the law as a young man Isaac gave his heart to Jesus at the age of 21, placing his faith in Christ as His personal Lord and Savior, and was born-again as a child of God. Following his conversion, he was called into the ministry as a Bible worker and evangelist, and accepted the seventh-day Sabbath after reading His Bible and discovering the 10 Commandments written in Exodus 20:1-17. He later joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church and served as an elder and pastor, holding membership in that denomination for over 20 years before leaving to join the Baptist faith, pastoring 7 churches both in the SDA Conference and independently over 15 years of full-time ministry. He was ordained as an elder in the Southern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in 2002, and then again to pastoral ministry in the New York Conference in 2005 after raising up and planting his first church in that state the previous year in 2004. For many years, Pastor Richards traveled the world as a pastor-evangelist, visiting over 26 countries on 5 continents, preaching the gospel and baptizing hundreds of souls into Jesus Christ. He is currently also the Director of Restoring the Old Paths Ministry - an international ministry dedicated to gospel service and overseas missions, which owns and operates several mission projects and churches in East Africa. In addition, Pastor Richards serves as the President of Sutherland Bible College located in Kenya, East Africa - a Bible training school dedicated to training lay-pastors, local church leaders, and gospel workers in theology, health science, agriculture, and practical building trades. He is currently enrolled in Christian Leader's College where he is pursuing a Bachelors of Divinity. In his spare time, Pastor Richards serves as a firefighter/AEMT on his local fire department, and works as a professional wild land firefighter and Engine Captain during the summer wildland fire season. He has been involved in public service as a firefighter since 2012, serving on multiple fire departments and as a licensed Advanced EMT and EMT Instructor in 3 different states. Isaac is happily married to his sweetheart, Chelsea, and is the proud father of 9 children! He and his family split their time between their two homes in Montana and Alaska. He feels greatly blessed by God for the opportunity to serve the Lord and bring glory to His name in this world, and is grateful to serve the ISDBA as its President and Founder.
MEET THE STAFF
Chelsea Richards
Missions Program Manager
Christian Richards
Educational Program Manager
