Concerning God:
We believe that God is One, though existing in three persons: God the Father, Yahweh; God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. This Three-in-One relationship is known as the Trinity or the Godhead.
Throughout scripture God has further revealed Himself to mankind in many ways, including as Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Healer, Helper, Savior, and many others. God is eternally King, ruling over His creation in perfect holiness, with perfect wisdom, love, justice, and power.
Concerning the Scriptures:
We believe that the Bible is the trustworthy and authoritative Word of God, given to mankind as the most reliable source of spiritual revelation and eternal truth. The Old and New Testament comprise the complete set of scriptures, written by men under the influence and infallibility of the Holy Spirit, the core message of which is to point humanity to the saving grace of God through the God-man Jesus Christ.
Concerning the Creation:
We believe that all things that exist in the seen and unseen universe were created by God, for His good pleasure, and though corrupted by sin, remain under His direct rule as King and point to God’s glory and majesty.
We hold a strong belief in the accuracy of the creation story as told in Genesis 1 and 2.
Concerning the Kingdom of God
Coming from the compound word for “King’s Domain,” we believe that the Kingdom of God describes the rule of God over all of creation, and is without end. Though attempts have been made by men and angels to overthrow God’s dominion in the earth, there has never been a threat to His reign or His power. By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the world, God governs and sustains everything that exists from His throne in Heaven, through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Concerning Satan:
We believe that Satan was originally one of the “hosts of heaven” and servants of God, who, in an act of pride, rebelled against God and became the devil - the “father of lies” and “accuser of men.” In this rebellion he also took a large number of other heavenly beings with him into sin, which became demons. Scripture seems to record this rebellion as taking place before the creation of the physical universe, and resulted in Satan and the demons being cast out of God's presence.
After the creation of humankind, Satan once again acted in pride by tempting the first man and woman into sin, and established his own counterfeit kingdom of rebellion against God.
Concerning Humanity:
We believe that humankind was created unique among all earthly creatures by being created in the image of God (imago Dei), to have fellowship with him, and to act as God’s stewards and ambassadors over the earth. Though sin has taken hold of all of humanity, every human being still bears the mark of the image of God, and are inherently worthy of love, dignity, and respect.
Concerning Sin:
Through Satan’s temptations, the first humans, Adam and Eve, fell into sin, by their willful ignorance of the word and command of God, thus alienating themselves from God and introducing sin, sickness, and God's judgment to the earth. Through this “fall,” Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation, and built their own kingdom of darkness. Due to their sinful condition, all humans are now born captive to Satan's kingdom in life and subject to God's eternal judgment at death. Through their captivity to sin (total depravity), people are forever incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts.
Concerning Jesus Christ:
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the ultimate revelation of God’s glory and nature to mankind. In His earthly incarnation, Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect and sinless life, and gave Himself in obedience to death on the cross making atonement for the sins and penalties of humanity. He was dead, buried, and was physically resurrected to life on the third day. He was glorified, ascended into heaven as humanity’s only Savior and Lord, and He shall come again personally and visibly to claim His Bride, the Church, and to judge the living and the dead.
Concerning Salvation, Healing, and Deliverance:
We believe that throughout history, as recorded in the Bible, God has promised salvation through His covenants with Israel and greater prophetic promises to the earth. When the fullness of time came, Jesus Christ took on flesh and entered His creation, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit fulfilled these promises to overcome every curse of sin, sickness, and the devil. After living a sinless life, Jesus died on the cross, taking the punishment for the sin of the world (redemption), and offering reconciliation with God to all those who would believe in Him. This eternal forgiveness of sin is a free gift from God, given to men by grace, through faith in Christ alone, not based on works, to the glory of God.
We believe that by the stripes placed on His body by whips and thorns, Jesus purchased the healing of our physical bodies, and by His death on the cross as a righteous sacrifice, He disarmed the demonic powers and removed the demonic hold on those who believe in Him.
We believe that these three elements of salvation: forgiveness of sin, physical healing, and deliverance from the authority of the devil are promises to all believers in Christ, paid for by His atonement on the cross. (Isaiah 53, Psalm 103:2-3, Luke 4:18-19)
Concerning the Church:
We believe that the church is the worldwide body of Christ, of which Jesus is the head. The members of the church are those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by the repentance of sin and confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving him and by making him known to the lost world. (Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 3:8-12).
This one, worldwide church of Jesus Christ, is made up of many small congregations who meet together at the local level, and have God-appointed leadership for the government and administration of the church.
Concerning Local Church Leadership
We believe that the leadership of the church, especially in its local forms, was never intended to rest in a single leader. Rather, the biblical model is that the church is to be led by a team of men and women, collectively known as “elders," on whom Christ has placed a calling and anointing for the various roles of church government, commonly referred to as the “fivefold ministry.” These roles are apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. These roles, as well as the general purpose of church eldership is spelled out in Ephesians 4:12-14.
Not only must these men and women have the calling and anointing for these roles but must also meet the character qualities for church oversight laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-9. Other terms used in scripture for elders are “overseer” and “presbyter.”
In addition to the elders, local churches may appoint deacons, meaning “servants” as official ministers in the church. While deacons do not generally provide oversight to the church, they are still viewed as recognized ministers in the service of the church body. As with the elders, deacons must meet the character qualities laid out in Acts 6:3 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13.
Although throughout history the church has used various other terminology for church leadership, such as bishops, priests, cardinals, vicars, etc., we do not see these words as biblically recognized offices, and therefore do not use them as a part of our churches or ministries.
Concerning Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that Jesus Christ commanded two ordinances or sacraments to be practiced by the Church: water baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Baptism
Baptism is recorded in scripture as being the first obedient act of faith by a new believer, by which he/she publicly renounces sin and ties to the kingdom of darkness, and publicly declares themselves a follower of Jesus Christ in faith. This means that baptism must take place after someone has a saving faith in Jesus, and therefore the practice of baptizing infants and young children has no biblical significance. While we do not believe baptism plays a part in the person’s salvation, we do recognize it as a powerful prophetic action which can lead to very real, life-changing results.
The biblical picture of baptism, which translates as “immersion,” is that of being buried with Christ in His death (by going under the water), and being raised up to new life in Him (by coming up from the water). We therefore believe in and practice baptism by fully submerging a person under water, rather than sprinkling or pouring water over them.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper, also known as communion or the eucharist, was given to the early disciples on the night before Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. The bread was broken to represent Jesus’ body, and the wine was poured to represent Jesus’ blood which was to be shed for our atonement. As believer’s take the bread and wine in communion, we remember the prophetic promise of the Passover in the Old Testament, the fulfillment of that promise in the death of Jesus Christ, and look forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb in eternity. Jesus’ command was simply that this ordinance should be celebrated corporately and regularly by the church.
While we do not affirm the belief in transubstantiation (that the bread and wine change substance to actually become the flesh and blood of Christ once taken), we do hold that there is a supernatural grace which comes during the communion that can cleanse the conscience, bring physical healing, and grant deliverance from the devil’s hold on the believer.
Concerning the Work of The Holy Spirit:
We believe that the promise of God to humanity in both the Old and New Testament is that God would give the Holy Spirit to His people to help us, to reveal truth to us, and to bring us to Christ-likeness. The New Testament demonstrates that the fulfillment of this promise is currently available to all believers in Christ, and generally comes in two parts (though they may happen at the same time). (Joel 2:28-29; Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4)
Firstly, the Holy Spirit fills the person at salvation, bringing new life and giving the ability to repent of sin and live in holiness. We see this demonstrated to us in Jesus’ own life of holiness throughout his life as a man led by the Holy Spirit. This promise was first fulfilled for the church on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion when Jesus breathed on His disciples saying, “receive the Holy Spirit.” Many refer to this aspect as the Holy Spirit dwelling “IN” you for your personal sanctification.
The second part of this promise happens when the person is immersed (baptized) deeper into the Holy Spirit for supernatural empowerment to be a witness for Jesus Christ. We see this demonstrated by Christ at his Baptism when the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and remained on Jesus, at which point He began his public ministry marked by supernatural demonstrations of the Kingdom of God. For the church, this promise was first fulfilled at Pentecost, where we see the first use of the gift of tongues, and a supernatural boldness to proclaim the gospel, leading to over 3,000 people being converted at once. Often referred to as the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit,’ this secondary filling is referred to by many as the Holy Spirit “UPON” you for the benefit of others.
Although we do believe that both the infilling and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are God’s promises for all believers, we also recognize that for some people, at various times and seasons of life, there may be other “impartations” of the Holy Spirit, as He takes them deeper into Himself or releases new giftings and anointings into their lives. We should, therefore, never stop seeking Him for “more” (see Luke 11:13).
Concerning Spiritual Gifts
We believe in the current, continuing ministry of the Holy Spirit through believers in the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Spirit (often called “continuationism”). These gifts include prophecy, healing, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, discerning of spirits, helps and administrations, word of knowledge, word of wisdom,, service, generosity, exhortation, mercy, leadership, and teaching. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit also appoints certain individuals to spiritual offices, which are apostle, prophet, evangelism, pastor, and teacher. (1 Corinthians 12:8-11; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-12)
We believe these gifts can biblically come to believers in two ways. The first is by deep, dedicated prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit, and actively waiting on God. This particular way was demonstrated at Pentecost. (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1-4)
The second is through the laying on of hands for “impartation” or a “transfer of anointing.” By the laying on of hands scripture records individuals being baptized in the Holy Spirit, being healed of physical ailments, being equipped with various spiritual gifts, and some being marked and commissioned for ministry leadership and service. (Hebrews 6:2; James 5:14-15 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; Romans 1:11; Acts 6:6, 13:3, 19:6)
We believe that all believers should seek the Holy Spirit to be empowered with supernatural gifts for the benefit of God’s Kingdom on earth.
Concerning Spiritual Discipline and Christian Life:
We believe that the Christian life is to be marked by full submission to Jesus Christ in every aspect of life, in order to be conformed to the image of Christ, which is a restoration to the original image of God before the fall. This submission is learned in prayer, listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and in the study of and meditation on the Word of God (the Bible). Furthermore, an ongoing practice of the spiritual disciplines help us to conform our lives to Christ. These are things such as involvement with a community of faith (local church), worship and celebration, fasting, charitable giving through tithes and offerings, resting and Sabbath, confession of sin, solitude, care for the poor, orphans and widows, evangelism, and outreach to the lost.
Concerning End Times:
We believe that God’s Kingdom was reestablished on earth through the ministry of Jesus, and has been growing ever since through the missionary work of the Holy Spirit and church. While we see that the devil is still at work in the world, fighting to keep his hold on the earth through sin and evil, we reject any theology that grants him victory over the world or over the church. He is a defeated foe who’s kingdom of darkness is coming to an end daily as the church continues the mission of taking the gospel to the lost, and his kingdom will continue to shrink until his final defeat at Jesus’ return.
We hold that the final prophecies yet to be fulfilled concerning the end times are two-fold:
“May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering!”