Our Statement of Faith


General Statement:


We receive and proclaim the Bible as the only inspired and authoritative revelation given to man by God, and we endeavor to conform all of our teaching and practice to its demands. All else that claims inspiration or authority must yield to the Bible.

Particular Statement:


Salvation:


We believe that all men and women are born spiritually dead, separated from God. Eternal life and inheritance of the kingdom of God for each man and woman, depends upon:

✦ Coming into spiritual union with Messiah, which is achieved through
✦ Personal faith in the atoning value of his death
✦ Confidence in the life-giving power of his resurrection
✦ Declaring him to be Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9-13)
✦ Yielding to the Lordship of Messiah, through daily obedience to his will as revealed in Scripture and conscience.

Proclamation:

We have little confidence in organized programs for Church growth, but every confidence in the power of the preaching of the Word to draw men and women to Messiah (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

Healing:

We believe that bodily healing is provided in the atonement, and that James 5:13-16 is a typical example for the Church today. This healing covenant does not preclude the use of medicine or of medical science, but it does require all Christians to turn to the Lord in times of sickness, with an expectation that prayer and the laying on of hands will facilitate their recovery.

Pentecost:

We believe that every Christian should receive a personal baptism in the Holy Ghost subsequent to the new birth, after the pattern described in the book of Acts, and taught in the New Testament letters.

Faith:

We rejoice in the biblical concepts of faith (Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 17:20-21; 21:20-22; John 15:7-8; 16:23-24; &c.) Vigorous faith is the key to answered prayer and to successful appropriation of the many promises of God. Without such faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

Talents:

Our aim is to create opportunities for every man and woman to serve the Church with whatever talent he or she has been given by God, whether teaching, administration, hospitality, counseling, music, art, drama, and so on (Romans 12:3-8).

Discipleship:

Our aim is to disciple people to Messiah, and bring them to the knowledge of and obedience to his will. Therefore, we do not aspire to disciple people to a Church, nor to a creed, nor to any man.

It is rightly expected that the members of the Church will ordinarily and gladly submit to the properly exercised oversight, ministry, and disciplines of the Church.

However, we also recognize that each Christian, in the exercise of his or her spiritual priesthood, must retain the right to dissent from any authority save that of Scripture and conscience (1 John 2:27).

Baptism:

Although we respect other views on the subject of baptism, we believe that the weight of Biblical evidence favors believers’ baptism, but baptism is not essential for salvation. Baptism is by full immersion subsequent to a responsible, personal, and public confession of faith in Yeshua.

We do not practice infant baptism, but we do encourage parents to bring their children to the Lord for special act of dedication.

Communion/Eucharist:

Since the Eucharist is one of the few things that Messiah specifically commanded his followers to do corporately, we celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday morning as an integral part of our worship program.

We do not believe that a man’s or woman’s salvation depends upon taking communion each week. However, we do teach that the Eucharist is a powerful aid to dynamic Christian life.

Hence, our view of the Eucharist is this:

✦ It is more than a mere memorial, for it is a channel of the grace of God.
✦ It is not essential in order to remain a Christian.
✦ Yet it must be regularly kept as a vital part of each believer’s growth in Messiah.

Prayer:

We are committed to unremitting collective and individual prayer as the undergirding source of all real life and all worthwhile endeavor in the Church. Perhaps the best places for such prayer, and for warm friendship, are home fellowships, in which we encourage each member of the Church to participate.

Charismata:

We believe that the diverse gifts of the Holy Ghost (the “Charismata,” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11) should be freely operative in the church, and that it is the presence of these gifts that particularly equips the Church to be as Messiah himself would be if he were ministering in our locality.

Church:

We see two (2) expressions of the Church—

The universal church which is “the body of Christ” on earth, built out of Christians from many denominations.

The local Church, which is “the body of Christ” within is own community, called to be as Messiah himself would be if he were ministering in person in that place (Romans 12:3-8). We believe that the main emphasis in Scripture is upon individual local churches, and we are striving to be such a church, operating in harmony with biblical principles as God has enabled us to understand them.

Worship:

We view the Church as being primarily a worshiping community, and we believe that each local Church can best fulfill its evangelical mandate through the medium of powerful, charismatic worship (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

To that end, we place major emphasis upon creating a rich and mature style that will be, itself, an unmistakable witness of God’s presence.

We desire a worship style that is joyful yet dignified, powerful yet reverent; one that combines the best of the old and of the new.