What We Believe

DOCTRINE

The Bible

The Bible, being composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, is God’s inspired Word to all people and is the primary basis of our belief. The Bible was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It captures the heart of God for his people in all ages and places. While the Bible does not always offer a clear

3answer for every question, it does give us the needed guidelines for determining what a Jesus-focused life should look like in the 21st century as the primary source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. We hold that the Bible is trustworthy, possesses unique authority and contains all things necessary to our salvation. There are no other writings similarly inspired by God.

2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, & Revelation 22:18-19

The Godhead

God is a perfect community of oneness. Traditionally called “the Trinity,” we believe that there is one true God eternally existing in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus the Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom equally possess all the attributes of Deity and the characteristics of Personality. In the beginning the Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe and all things in it. Through His power He sustains His creation. By His will He operates in the world to fulfill His restoring purposes.

Genesis 1:1; 26-27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2, Matthew 28:19, John 1:1 & 1 Peter 1:2

God the Father

We believe that the First Person of the Trinity is God the Father. We believe that His Fatherhood is seen in at least three relationships: 1) His Fatherhood over creation, over the angels and over humanity. 2) His Fatherhood over the Lord Jesus Christ; thus, has a Divinely special relationship as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 3) His Fatherhood over all Christians, having a special relationship as the Father of all Christians. Through Jesus, the Christian becomes an adopted child of God by which he can call Him “Abba, Father.” This aspect of the Fatherhood of God is not on the same plane as the relationship between the other Persons of the Trinity, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit, but it does indicate a wonderfully close relationship between the Christian and the Godhead. Jesus describes the Father as the only true God. Jesus defines eternal life: “Eternal life is this: that they may know the Father and the one He sent.” Knowing the Father changes us and introduces us into a different quality of living.

John 17:1-4, Romans 8:14-15, Hebrews 1:1-14; 12:9; & James 1:17

God the Son, Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the perfect revealing of God himself. Both fully human and fully God, he represents both humanity and divinity. His death on the cross, followed by his bodily resurrection from the grave, makes forgiveness of sins available to every person. His central message was the in breaking of his Kingdom in this world. Christ-followers are not simply those who have been saved, but also are those whose lives are shaped around the Kingdom principles Jesus taught and exemplified. Jesus is the head of the Church and continually intercedes for believers before God. He shall return to earth again, personally, bodily and visibly as both Lord and Judge.

Matthew 1:1-28, John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Acts 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 5:21, & Hebrews 1:1-3.

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God’s guide for us as we work out what it means to follow Jesus. He cultivates the unity of the church and prompts our continuing spiritual transformation. The Spirit enlightens the minds of all people estranged from God and awakens in them recognition of their need of a Savior. At the moment of salvation He indwells every believer as the source of assurance, strength and wisdom. He also uniquely endows each believer with gifts for the building up of the church. His power and control are appropriated through faith, making it possible for the believer to lead a life of Jesus-like character, to bear fruit to the glory of the Father and to understand and apply Scripture.

John 16:7-13; 14:16-17, 1 Corinthians 2:12; 12-14, 2 Corinthians 3:17 & Ephesians 1:13.

Satan & Demons

The reason God’s agenda is labeled “The Mission of God” and not “The Rest of God” is due to conflict. This conflict is rooted deeply in a sinful rebellion that is directed against the glory and supremacy of the Godhead. Before sin came to the heart and actions of the human race, the angelic world experienced the first rebellion. A high-anointed angel, traditionally called Lucifer, chose to leave his sphere of proper authority in the hopes of supplanting the Trinity. In this great revolt a huge multitude of angels followed. Today these beings are known as demons and the fallen anointed angel is called The Devil/Satan. In the human realm these fallen beings engage in deception, manipulation, spiritual blinding, possession, division and general sabotage against the Mission of God. In this we affirm that while dualism is not a proper view of spiritual warfare, there is still a real and grave threat in the spiritual realm for which the Church must be aware. We also affirm that through the work of the cross Jesus has defeated Satan, sin and death and that this reality is at work in an already/not fully realized dynamic.

Isaiah 14:12-17, Ezekiel 28:11-19, John 12:31-33, Romans 16:20, Ephesians 6:12-18, Colossians 2:13-15, Hebrews 2:14-15, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8, & Revelation 12-14; 19-20.

Humanity

Every person is created in the image of God. This means every person has significant worth. No person is exempt from God’s love. However, every person has tainted the God- image in his or her life through sin. We believe that humanity was confronted with a moral choice in the Garden. By voluntarily disobeying God’s command and yielding to the enticement of Satan, humanity lost its original condition and became physically, morally, intellectually and spiritually separated from and condemned by God. In consequence of this act of disobedience, the entire human race became involved in sin, so that in every heart there is by nature a disposition that leads to acts, affections and attitudes of sin, which incur guilt and bring about the righteous judgment of God. Every person who has ever lived is in need of forgiveness and restoration back to the image God intended for us. This comes only by way of repentance and faith in the finished work of Jesus.

Genesis 1:27; 3:1-24, Isaiah 59:1-2, & Romans 3:23; 5:12.

Salvation

Salvation is fully a gift from God to humanity given by His grace to anyone who places their trust in the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. When a person places their life into the hands of Jesus Christ they enter into salvation. This salvation is a process in that it is both instant and ongoing. In one sense, we are “saved” – that is, we have been forgiven, justified and have a home prepared for us in eternity. In another sense, we are”being saved” – that is, our lives continue to be transformed into the image of God. This transformation will take the rest of our lives and will only be complete at the end of our lives when we meet God face-to-face. We believe that every Christian can have a valid sense of assurance concerning their salvation, relationship with God and their destiny. Through faith in Jesus Christ, confidence in what the Bible explains and the ministry of the Holy Spirit such assurance becomes real and personal.

Romans 5:1, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 10:14, 1 Peter 2:2, & 1 John 5:13

Kingdom

The Kingdom is the current dynamic of Jesus’ authority in heaven and on earth. The Kingdom began at the first advent of Jesus and will continue progressively until the final consummation of all things at His return. During this age of the Kingdom both believers and unbelievers populate the Kingdom. The foundational difference is that the believing community realizes both the presence and life of the Kingdom of Jesus, while the unbelieving world is oblivious to its power and glory. At the end of the age Jesus will harvest His Kingdom – the righteous to glory and the unrighteous to judgment. During the age of the Kingdom the Church is the messenger and possessor of the gospel: the keys of the Kingdom.

Matthew 12:28; 13:1-52; 16:13-19; 18:15-20, Mark 9:42-48, Luke 17:20-21 & Colossians 1:11-14

Church

God desires for us to work out our salvation in relationship with other followers of Jesus. The church is the gathered community of missional theologians who have surrendered their lives to God’s leadership and transformation. There is one global Church, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The church is the display of the mission Jesus lived out. God has sent His church into the world to be the vehicle that receives and shares His Kingdom.

The global church is expressed in smaller venues known as the local church. A local church is a group of people who are chosen in God the Father, regenerate in God the Holy Spirit, and redeemed in God the Son Jesus Christ whom they confess as Lord. In obedience to the Scriptures they organize under qualified leadership, gathering regularly for worship and preaching, observing the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, under the unity of the gospel, in the power of grace, for the purpose true godliness, so as scatter into the world with the Commission and Commandment that Jesus left to His missionary Church for His glory and their joy.

Matthew 16:18-19, Ephesians 4:3-16, Hebrews 10:25 & 1 Peter 4:11

Consummation

One day Jesus Christ will return at a time of the Father’s choosing. Our task as followers of Jesus is not to try and figure out when that return will be, but rather, to live every day in light of that return. When Jesus does return, His Kingdom will be brought to its perfect fullness.

Mark 13:32-37 & Revelation 19-22

Eternity

We believe that people were created to exist forever. They will either exist eternally separated from God by sin in a conscious eternal torment known as hell or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation in a new creation that spans both heaven and earth.

John 3:16, 5:28, 29 & 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10

Concluding Remarks

While we fully affirm and subscribe to the preceding statements as finding their origin in Scripture and essential to Christian faith and practice, we also realize that they are systematic interpretations of an organically given Bible, and as such should be understood as subsidiary to the full Old and New Testament texts.

ORDINANCES

Baptism and communion are the two sacraments that Jesus instituted for His disciples to observe.

Baptism by Immersion

We believe that every person who has confessed faith in Jesus Christ should be baptized by full immersion as a one-time act that displays a profession of faith. We believe that baptism should occur at the time of or shortly after an individual professes Jesus as God and Savior. The act of water baptism itself is not the saving mechanism nor does it cleanse the flesh from sin; but is the outward expression of the inward reality that Jesus Christ has cleansed the soul. The immersion into water is representative of the death and burial of Jesus while the coming up out of the water identifies the believer with the resurrection of Jesus.

Matthew 28:19 and Romans 6:3-4

Communion For The Converted

We believe that partaking in communion is an essential action in response to God’s word for those that possess a personal faith in the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. The action of taking communion is a reminder of the death of Jesus on the cross with the bread symbolizing the body and the cup symbolizing the pouring out of Christ’s blood and the benefits earned for us by the person and work of Jesus. When we willingly come to the table, with a heart of forgiveness, Christ is spiritually present with us and we find reassurance in His love for us on a personal level as well as showing unity as a body of believers.

Luke 22:17-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:26-27