STATEMENT OF FAITH

• There is only one True Living God, creator of heaven and earth, who exists eternally as three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without division of nature.

 

• The Bible is God's Word and is unique revelation to people. It is the inspired Word of God, and the supreme and final authority on all matters upon which it teaches. No other writings are vested with such divine authority.

 

• God’s Inclusive Love for ALL people. All people are created in God's image and matter deeply to Him. Central to the message of the Bible is that God loves people, and invites them to live in communion with Himself and in community with each other. We believe that being a full Christian is to proclaim the; (A) whosoever found in John 3:16 as the foundation for inclusion. That all can experience salvation without condition regardless of background, can; (B) Believe on Him; “Jesus” as the only necessary requirement for salvation; (C) shall have everlasting life as the result of the whosoever, believing on Jesus Christ.

 

• God gives salvation and eternal life to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and in His sacrifice on his or her behalf. Salvation cannot be earned through personal goodness or human effort. It is a gift that must be received by humble repentance and faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross.

 

• Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless human life, willingly took upon Himself all of our sins, died and rose again bodily, and is at the right hand of the Father as our advocate and mediator. Some day, He will return to consummate history and to fulfill the eternal plan of God.

 

• The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and draws people to Christ. Believers should be baptized with his spirit. Upon baptism in the Holy Spirit, He indwells in the believer. He is available to empower them to lead Christ-like lives, and gives them spiritual gifts with which to serve the church and reach out to a lost and needy world.

 

• The Death and resurrection of the Believer seals the eternal destiny of each person. Believers are received into God's loving presence and rewarded for their faithfulness to Him in this life.

 

• Spiritual unity to be expressed among all Christians by acceptance and inclusive love of one another across ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, national, generational, sexual orientation, gender, and denominational lines.

 

• The local church is a congregation of believers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction, encouragement, mutual accountability, and community with each other. Through it, believers invest time, energy, and resources to fulfill the Great Commission — reaching lost people and growing them into fully devoted followers of Christ.

 

• The Grace of God “For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” (Titus 2:11,12) “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17). A Christian, to keep saved, must walk with God and keep himself in the love of God (Jude 21), and in the grace of God. The word “grace” means “favor.” When a person transgresses and sins against God, he loses favor. If he continues to sin and does not repent, he will eventually be lost and cast into the lake of fire. (Read John 15:1,6; II Peter 2:20-22) Jude speaks of the backsliders of his day and their reward. (Read Hebrews 6:4-6) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” (Ephesians 2:8).

 

• Communion/The Lord’s Supper; Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, gave the first communion, consisting of bread and wine (Genesis 14:18), to our father Abraham. Christ, being “made a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Evidently administered the same (Hebrews 7:21; Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-32).On the night of our Lord’s betrayal, He ate the Passover supper with His apostles, after which He instituted the Communion service. “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19, 20). Paul instructed the Church how to observe it (I Corinthians 11:23, 24, 25).

 

• Repentance and Remission of Sin; The only grounds upon which God will accept a sinner is repentance from the heart for his sins that he has committed. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise (Psalm 51:17). John preached repentance, Jesus proclaimed it, and before His ascension commanded that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). Peter fulfilled this command on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38).

 

• Water Baptism. The scriptural mode of baptism is immersion, and is only for those who have fully repented, having turned from their sins and a love of the world. It should be administered by a duly authorized minister of the Gospel in obedience to the Word of God and in the name of Jesus Christ, according to the Acts of the Apostles; 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5, thus obeying and fulfilling Matthew 28:19.

 

• Baptism of the Holy Spirit; John the Baptist, in Matthew 3:11, said “… He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”; Jesus in Acts 1:5, said, “… ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”; Luke tells us in Acts 2:4, “… and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, (languages) as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The terms “baptized with the Holy Ghost,” “filled with the Holy Ghost,” and the “gift of the Holy Ghost,” are synonymous terms which are interchangeable in the Bible.

 

• Apostolic Doctrine of the New Birth essential for Believers; The basic and fundamental doctrine of this Organization shall be the Bible standard of full salvation, which is repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance (Acts 2:4,38; John 3:5).

 

• Holiness is the Lifestyle of the Christian believer. We believe that godly living should characterize the life and walk of all saints according to the sign and example found in I Peter 2:21; Titus 2:11; Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 12:14; I Peter 1:15-17. We believe we are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1), to abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22), and to turn away from those who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (II Timothy 3:5; I Corinthians 11:6; I Timothy 2:9,10; I Peter 2:3,4). Holiness is not only an inward presence of God but it is also reflected in the outward life of the Christian in his conduct in this world.

 

• Tithing is a Christian responsibility; We believe tithing is God’s financial plan to provide for His work, and has been since the days of Abraham. Tithing came with faith under Abraham, Moses’ law enjoined it, Israel practiced it when she was right with God, Jesus endorsed it (Matthew 23:23), and Paul said to lay by in store as God has prospered you. Do not rob God of His portion that is tithes and offerings (Read Malachi 3).

 

• The Return of the Lord Jesus Christ; That the Lord Jesus Christ is to come to earth in person is a doctrine clearly set forth in apostolic times. James taught it; the Apostles preached it; the saints expect it; (See Matthew 24:1, etc.; Acts 1:11; 3:19-21; I Corinthians 1:7,8; 11:26; Philippians 3:20,21; Titus 2:13).

 

• The endowment of the Holy Ghost; the filling and controlling power of the Holy Ghost for service and victorious living. (Ephesians 5:18, Acts 20:27)

 

• The continuing power of all spiritual gifts for the edification of the body of Christ until the end of this dispensation age, until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13, I Corinthians 12-14; Romans 12)

 

• Spiritual Gifts are given for the perfecting of the Saints, for work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the Body of Christ and are given without regard to ethnicity, social class, background, sexual orientation or gender (Ephesians 4:7-12; Galatians 3:26-28).

 

• The full autonomy of the local church as an independent entity under the head of the Church, Jesus Christ, through pastoral authority, with regards to: A) government, polity, and operations, Titus 1:5, Acts 15:1 - 35, B) discipline, I Corinthians 5:5, Matthew 18:15-17, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15, and C) the spiritual guide and covering of the Episcopacy. (Titus 1: 5, Acts 15:1-35)

 

• The Biblical terminologies for leadership in the contemporary church: Apostle, Bishop, Overseer, Pastor, Minister, Elder, and Deacon. We believe all of these are designations for servant-leadership positions in the Church (Jeremiah 3:15; Acts 20:28; 2 Corinthians 6:4; 1 Timothy 3:1-7).

 

• Praise & Worship to and of a Holy God (Psalm 46-50, 150; John 4:23, 24).