Statement of Faith
(Our Essentials)

• We believe in one God, the maker of heaven and earth.
• We believe in the full deity and full humanity of Jesus Christ, God's only son.
• We believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified for our sins, rose from the dead the third day, was received up to heaven and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
• We believe the Bible is God's Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.
• We believe in the new birth experience of regeneration of the heart and the subsequent cleansing from sin by the Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the present day work of the Holy Spirit to fill believers with power for ministry as well as Holy living.
• We believe in the equality and essential dignity of men and women of all races, ages, and classes. We recognize that all persons are made in the image of God and are to reflect that image in the community of believers, in the home, and in society.
• We believe that men and women are to diligently develop and use their God-given gifts for the good of the home, church, and society.
• We believe in one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one body of Christ, of which all regenerated believers, belong.

These are the essentials needed to be saved. All other doctrines peculiar to specific denominations or groups are debatable and we agree to respect others beliefs while maintaining the right to disagree.

• We believe as stated in John 3:16, that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, We also believe that upon receiving God's gift of love to us, we then begin to progressively experience His abundant, eternal and divine Life. His love prompts us to return that same love to Him in a number of ways. The closer we grow to Him, the more we desire to express His love as we are transformed into His likeness. We do this by living for the benefit of others, unto the glory and praise of the Name of Jesus. His love also compels us to cultivate every spiritual fruit and gift He has placed within us, in order that His church will grow to a more complete expression of Him and His message of Good News to mankind.

• The Lord’s Supper celebrated weekly as a full, fellowship meal and as the main reason for the weekly church meeting (Ac 2:42 , 20:7, 1Co 11:18 -20, 11:33 ). In the center of the feast there is to be the one cup and the one loaf (1Co 10:16 -17), both symbolizing and creating unity. The mood of the meal is to be joy, not solemn reflection, because the focus of the Lord’s Supper is the excitement of the Second Coming. It is a rehearsal dinner for the future Wedding Banquet of the Lamb (Re 19:6-9)!

• Church meetings that are interactive and spontaneous, per 1 Corinthians 14, rather than performances by professionals. Every one is to be free to contribute to the meetings (via a teaching, a song, a testimony, a prayer, etc.). Open participation is to be the norm, not the exception. The over arching directive for anything said in the meeting is that it must edify the church (1Co 14:26 ).

• A commitment to New Testament patterns (apostolic tradition) for church practice (1Co 11:2, Phlp 4:9, 2Th 2:15) and well as apostolic teaching for church theology (Ac 2:42). Concerned questions, and the burden of explanation, ought to fall on those who seek to deviate from apostolic tradition, not on those who wish to keep it

• Consensus decisions made by the body, following Christ as Head of His church. Thus, elder-led more so than elder-ruled churches. Though elders are very important to the functioning of the church, decisions are generally to be made by the church corporately, not by its elders only (Mt 18:15-20, Lk 22:24-27, 1Pe 51-4).

• Home-sized and house-based churches (thus, smaller rather than larger fellowships) that are linked together into networks of autonomous house churches (Ro 16:5, 1Co 1:27-29, Col 4:15, Phlm 2). City-wide church activities might include larger rented facilities where evangelism, leadership training, the equipping of the saints, multi-church Bible studies, public worship, etc. occur. However, the regular Lord’s Day meeting of the local church is to be homes.

• Church as more of a family than a business. Meeting in homes helps foster community, accountability and intimacy among the members of the body. Further, churches are to be family friendly. The church and the family are to be integrated, not segregated. Children belong in church meetings and Bible studies with their parents.

• Generous giving to support church workers (such as missionaries and qualified elders) and those in need. Without the overhead of such expenses as the construction and upkeep of a sanctuary, more money is free to be directed to where needed most.

This type of church is largely lay-led, simple, easy to reproduce, intimate, personal, inexpensive, and down-home. It is also the biblical pattern. Indeed, how can we improve on God’s design?
 
In stating the above convictions, we do not intend to imply factiousness, elitism, spiritual superiority, nor arrogance. We love and appreciate all those who belong to Christ, regardless of how they live out their church life (Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.). Yet these are deeply held convictions with us, and we humbly present them to the church at large in hopes of persuading our brothers and sisters to enjoy the benefits of New Testament church practice along with us!

The community that meets here has made a conscious effort to seek to follow the traditions of the Twelve in their church practice. In short, we believe that the patterns for church life evident in the New Testament are not merely descriptive, but are actually prescriptive (1Co 11:2, 2Th 2:15). Thus, even though we are quite “traditional” in the New Testament sense, what we advocate is rather nontraditional by contemporary standards.
 
Our desire is to provide resources in how the early church met together in community. To this end, we will be posting many Articles on our web site.
 
To Jesus alone be all the glory, power, and honor!