The Christian Gathering Articles of Faith

1.1 The Godhead  

 We Believe in One God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

A. God the Father.

God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He created the universe in love. He created man in His own image for fellowship and called man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.

B. The Son.

Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption, He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two natures—God and man—in one person.

C. The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature and conforms us to the image of Christ. The baptism with the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1.2 The Scripture.

We believe in the absolute inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, given by the Holy Spirit without error, as He moved upon holy men of old. Furthermore, we believe that the Church has no authority to establish doctrine or practice contrary to the same Scriptures, which were subsequently accepted as canon by the early Christian Church.

1.3 Man.

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

1.4 The Atonement.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.

1.5 Salvation.

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.

1.6 The Christian Life.

We believe that those who are called by the name of Christ should depart from iniquity. Understanding that salvation from the penalty of sin only begins the process of redemption, we acknowledge that one work of the Holy Spirit is to create in us the character of Christ.

1.7 The Church.

We believe the identity of the Body of Christ on the earth is primarily perceived through the local church. While encouraging the voluntary association of local churches, and recognizing the need of the consensus on matters of fundamental doctrine and conduct, we strongly confess the local church to be  autonomous.

The goal of the church is to make disciples of all nations and to present the saints complete in Christ. The five-fold ministries listed in Ephesians 4 govern the church, along with the Elders and service of the deacons, as well as other leadership roles mentioned in Scripture. Church policy is a balance between congregation and Eldership authority, emphasizing the final authority of the church leadership. It is essential to the life of the church that scriptural patterns of discipline are practiced and that oversight for church discipline, individual and corporate, is exercised by the leadership of the church.

1.8 Baptism and the Lord's Supper

We believe that all of God's people are to be buried with our Lord Jesus Christ in the waters of baptism, subsequent to conversion.

The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our loving participation in Him. Both institutions are restricted to those who are believers.

1.9 The Family

We believe that the institution of marriage/family and God's church family are the highest institutions on earth. We believe that strong families produce a strong church and a strong church will produce strong families.

1.10 The Priesthood of All Believers

We believe in the priesthood of the believer. This is to say, all people born of God have equal status before, and direct access to, their Lord. We believe that all members of the church are called to do the work of the ministry.

1.11 Eschatology

We believe in the literal second coming of our Lord, the literal rule of Christ upon the earth, the resurrection of the regenerate to eternal life and the unregenerate to eternal damnation, and the ultimate victory of the eternal Kingdom of God.