Our Beliefs

PHILOSOPHY
The church is a great mystery. We are told this in many ways by the teachings of Christ and the apostles, but specifically by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter five. When the Bible tells us that something is a mystery, it is telling us that the natural mind cannot comprehend it apart from divine revelation.

The Apostle Paul declares that the Lord gave him special revelation regarding the church, that he had become a steward of the mystery, and that the manifold wisdom of God would be revealed through the church. This is but one of many awesome statements he makes regarding the church. At the very least, we are careful lest we become presumptuous that we understand the church better than we do.

We are told that the Church triumphant (those with the Lord) and the church militant (those yet on earth) are one in Christ.

We are told that the church is His Body–the “fullness of Him.” We are told that marriage is a model of His relationship to the church. These statements only sober us as we seek to peer into this divine truth.

The church is more than a mysterious truth, however; it is a functioning congregation built upon and around Jesus Christ. It is those who gather unto Him. It is those who have been born of His Spirit, have followed Him in baptism, and are committed to His lordship.

The church is local, universal, and eternal, that is, the church is everyone everywhere who are His; it is those who gather in all locations; and it is those who gather in eternal glory.

It is the local gathering that most concerns us here because that is where the day-to-day functions occur, where the issue of leadership, unity, care, needs, and solutions must be met. While the local church must follow Jesus to become a functional part of His larger church, the local church is where new believers first come to know church life.

Our philosophy of local church life is that the church is Bible-based and Christ-centered. It is built upon the New Covenant made by Christ in His blood. His covenant is our foundation; His kingdom reign is our government. We believe Christ’s government in the Holy Spirit produces righteousness, peace, and joy.

We believe that Christ Himself calls and ordains pastors and elders to be established in the local church and, along with the other leadership gifts, to lead the church and equip it for its mission in the community and in the world.

We also believe that He gives gifts of the Holy Spirit to members of the body to manifest His wisdom and power, and as those gifts function in love, the church is built up in the stature of Christ to carry out its task to be the light of the world, the model of divine community, and the embassy of heaven to represent Christ to the world.

Ephesians chapter 4 gives us two ingredients that nourish our interaction within the church. The love of Christ is our motive toward one another…accepting one another as Christ accepts us; and the truth…the meat that feeds us. “Speaking the truth in love, we will grow up unto Him.”

In order to accomplish our church mission of “Proclaiming Jesus Christ, Demonstrating His love, and living His way,” we must find practical methods. We have established a presbytery to lead and govern the local church; a senior pastor to serve as the spiritual leader and overseer; small groups to give a more personal approach to care, fellowship, and evangelism; and a large variety of ministry teams to serve the church mission and provide an opportunity for every member to become involved in the growth and mission of the church. Bear in mind now and later as you “handle” the church; it is His body, He loved it so much that He gave His life for it.

BIBLICAL BASIS
We base our faith and practice on the Word of God, the Old and New Testaments. We believe that God has spoken to the world through His Scriptures, His Living Word. We trust the Bible, believing that His living presence permeates all the printed pages. When we read it, we touch God, His perspective, and find out what He wants for us. In the Bible we see both God’s love and God’s truth.

The Scriptures themselves tell us that they are “inspired;” that is, the very breath or spirit of God produced what we are reading, it is not simply the product of human effort. On the contrary, God supervised the release of His Word, sometimes in prophetic statements, poetry, history, and teaching. He spoke to people through dreams and visions, through events and politics, through prophets, kings, and working people. God’s Word speaks exactly what is in God’s heart and mind.

God’s love for people permeates these pages. His Word focuses on His lovecare for us, His graciousness and compassion, as well as His rulership among the nations of the world. His Word tells us clearly who He is, His purposes and plans for this world, and His desire to live in us and work with us on earth all our days.

God’s authority as Father and Savior saturates these pages. What we read, then, affects us not like mere human words, but words which carry God’s sovereign viewpoint. He speaks as creator and king. He speaks as one who exercises a loving rulership over all He has made. He speaks as one who knows everything. And He speaks as one who has restored His friendship with us through the redemption by Jesus Christ.

The Word of God is alive and full of power. His living presence permeates the words we read and releases His power to accomplish what He says in those words. Therefore, the Word of God will accomplish whatever purpose or design is expressed. It is creative; it breathes life into a repentant person, mends broken families and gathers resources for the needy; the Word of God carries the power of God’s person.

The Scriptures tell us that His Holy Spirit “watches over” the Word to insure that His message comes to us clearly. Since His first words to Adam and Eve, then to Noah and Abraham, to David and Isaiah, to Jesus and Paul, God’s Spirit has protected the Father’s message. So with confidence we encounter God’s Word, for His Spirit enables us to receive and understand the message that is for us.

The Word of God finds its highest expression in the person of Jesus Christ. As the Living word of God, He revealed all that was in the Father’s heart for us. So our confidence in God’s word stands on His presence in it, His power released through it, His Son who came and demonstrated it, and His Spirit who makes it work in our lives.