Other Beliefs

A vital part of our vision is building positive influence within multiple denominations. We are passionate pursuers of Jesus' prayer for all believers to be one. (John 17:21)

Because of this, we do not claim to be part of any one denomination and you will find our list of beliefs to be broken down to what we would call the "bare necessities." If you asked us, we would simply tell you that we are Christians. We believe in helping churches find harmony where there is theological diversity, so we wish to honor that diversity as an organization. 

 

GOD

We believe there is One living and true God. The Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The sovereign Creator, King, and Judge over all Heaven and Earth. We believe He is everything we need and all that we should hope to become. We believe He is infinite in holiness and all that is good. We believe He is everywhere, all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future. We believe we owe Him the highest love, reverence, and obedience. We believe God reveals Himself to us as a community within Himself: Father, Son, and Spirit. We believe their role in relation to each other can be explained like this: The will of Father is carried out by the obedience of the Son through the power of the Spirit. God is three in one. Distinct in persons, but without division of nature, essence, or being; still One living and true Lord. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 

GOD THE FATHER

We believe God as Father reigns with providential care over the Heavens. We believe it is by the will of the Father that all of Heaven and Earth was created. We believe that in the beginning, it was the will of the Father for humanity to reign over the Earth as a reflection of God who reigns over the Heavens. We believe His wisdom is to be trusted above all else. We believe He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, all wise, and so much more than we can express in words. We believe God is Father to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all humanity.

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11; 20:1; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7

 

GOD THE SON

We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal, one and only begotten Son of God. We believe He is from the beginning; specifically He is the Word of God through whom all creation came to be, to which He brings grace, truth, and love. In His incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth, He was conceived in Israel in the 1st Century by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin named Mary, husband to Joseph of Nazareth, descendent of King David; who descended from Naasson, who descended from Judah, who descended from Jacob, who descended from Isaac, who descended from Abraham, who descended from Noah, who descended from Adam, who was created from the dust by the hands of God the Son, through the power of God the Spirit, by the will of God the Father. We believe Jesus perfectly revealed and obeyed the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature, identifying Himself completely with humanity yet without sin. We believe He honored the divine law by His obedience, and in His death on the cross He provided the path for humanity, through faith, to fulfill their purpose by giving us the decision to be liberated from the consequences and slavery of our selfish nature, to be free from sin. We believe, most importantly, that He was raised from the dead and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. We believe that He ascended into heaven, still dwelling in the same resurrected body, and is now exalted at the right hand of God. We believe one day He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission: The Kingdom of God.

Genesis 18:1; Psalms 2:7; 110:1; Daniel 7:13-14 Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

 

GOD THE SPIRIT

We believe The Spirit of God is the power of God and fully divine. We believe He proceeds from the will of Father, and is the power through whom we can obey God's will. We believe the Spirit empowered & inspired select individuals to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables humanity to understand truth. We believe it is through the power of the Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead. He convicts humanity of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls human beings to the Savior, and is the power by which humans can be born again and into the family of God. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. We believe He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord, becoming one with our spirit and desires to empower us to fulfill our purpose. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer individually and the church collectively in worship.

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

 

THE SCRIPTURES

We Believe The Holy Bible was written by divinely inspired individuals and is God's revelation of Himself and His Kingdom to humanity. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. All Scripture is trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us. The Scriptures are my ultimate authority. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21

 

SALVATION, SIN, & HUMANITY

We believe that in the beginning, it was the will of the Father that Heaven and Earth would live in perfect harmony, that God and humanity would live in perfect harmony. We believe it is God's will that humanity reign over the Earth by reflecting God's essence, character, and perfection just as He reigns over the Heavens. We believe that Scripture teaches God is distinct from humanity in person and essence. We believe humanity was intended to share in God's glory, though He is superior to us in all ways. We believe that in the beginning, we were deceived by the Enemy and chose, in our disobedience, to trust in our own selfishness and wisdom instead of the wisdom and perfection of God. We believe sin is the opposite of God's nature and He cannot sin. Because of our disobedience, we believe sin (evil, selfishness, chaos, and all that is opposite of God's nature) entered the world and separated us from God–separated Heaven from Earth.

We believe that sin and all that it infects will be sentenced at the final judgement to be contained outside of the New Heavens and the New Earth; eternally separated from God and all that He is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, and more. These things will not be present outside of God's Kingdom, for it is because of God that these things exist. This includes people who are not born again, who do not place their trust and faith in God.

We believe God the Son was sent to die in the place of condemned sinners to make a way for us to be brought back into a right relationship with God. This was the only way redemption could be bought; God gave His son and Jesus sacrificed Himself willingly and with full knowledge of this. We believe that it is only through faith in Jesus, who was raised from the dead, that people can experience God’s forgiveness and have hope of eternal life with Him. We believe when a person turns to God and places their trust fully in Jesus they are “born-again” by the Spirit of God. This means that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell forever in the spirit of the believer making them alive to God and able to live a “new” life that honors the Lord. The believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of Christ’s return and is assured of being spared from God’s judgement. After Jesus returns, believers will dwell with God forever in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Genesis 1:28, 12:3, 15:6; John 3:16-17, Ezekiel 36:26; 1 John 4:10; Romans 3:10-12, 23; 6:19-23; 8:1-39; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:3:4-6, Revelation 21:1-27, Revelation 22:1-4 John 1:12-13; 16:8-11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:23-25

  

THE CHURCH

The Church is the Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe it is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel, that is, the Kingdom of God, to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Both men and women are gifted for service in the church. We believe the church is the Body of Christ which includes those who will dwell in the Kingdom of God, believers from every age, ethnicity, language, gender, and nation.

Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3

 

THE KINGDOM

The Kingdom of God* includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which individuals enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all humanity in righteousness. The unrighteous will be judged. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in the New Heaven and New Earth with the Lord.

Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 3:2; 4:8-10,23; 12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Romans 5:17; 8:19; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 11:10,16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13; Revelation 1:6,9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22 Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13

 

*Further explained in "Salvation, Sin, & Humanity."

 

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