Articles of Faith
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 Scriptures. The Bible is the written Word of God that is revealed and enlightened by the Holy Ghost. God not only speaks through his written Word but also personally to his people by his Spirit. The two will not conflict but complement each other.
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. To “believe” means that a person has faith enough to trust and submit their life into the hand of God. (John 10:28; Phil 1:6)
The Godhead
We believe in One God revealed as Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all.
A. God the Father
God the Father is the invisible 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 as the Word 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. All the Godhead bodily resides in him. (Colossians 1:13-19; Colossians 2:9 ; Romans 2:20)
C. The Holy Ghost
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. (Acts 2:4, 38-39; Acts 19:6; Acts 10:44-46)
Man
We believe that all mankind are God’s beloved children that were created for the purpose of relationship with him and one another. Man was created in the image and likeness of God – body, soul and spirit; three yet one. Because God wanted a creature that could not only receive his love but could willingly love him back, God breathed a soul (mind, will and emotions) into man making him above all his other creations.
Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the church: 1.) Baptism and 2.) 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.
The Church Body
We believe the Church is not a place that we go, but who we are. We encourage the voluntary association of local church bodies in effort to enrich our community and promote the expansion of the Kingdom. The five-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4 are for the edification of the church body and to mature the saints for the work of the ministry. These gifts must be present in those ordained into leadership positions. The headship of the Elders, the service of the Deacons, as well as other leadership roles mentioned in Scripture governs the local church body. They are selected first according to their gifts and secondly according to the qualifications laid out in Titus 1 and I Timothy 3. Church policy is a balance between congregation and Eldership authority, emphasizing the work and leading of the Holy Spirit. We believe that every pastor needs a pastor. The lead pastors/elders are covered by the presbytery connected with Father’s Heart Ministries. It is essential to the life of the church to be under the order of scriptural patterns is exercised by the leadership of the church.
The Ministry of the Saints
We believe in the priesthood of the believer. This is to say, all people born of God are called Saints and have equal status before, and direct access to, their Lord. We believe that all members of His church are called to do the work of the ministry. The home, workplace, school, community, etc., is the place of ministry of the Kingdom. We believe that it is the mandate of the apostle, prophet, teacher, pastors and evangelist to equip the saints for the work of their ministry. This is the ministry TO the church so they can go out and to do the ministry OF the church.
The Christian Life and Its Mission
We believe that as one that represents God’s Kingdom, we should depart from iniquity and seek upmost to follow the example of daily living laid out by Jesus and his Apostles.
We acknowledge that one of the works of the Holy Spirit is to create in us the character of Christ. Loving God, loving others as we learn to love ourselves is the highest goal of our teaching. (Matthew 22: 37-40; Galatians 5:16)
We believe that those who are called by the name of Christ are anointed to be his ambassadors into the whole world –starting locally.
Our first mission field is those closest to us and expands out into our individual spheres of influence. We believe that the institution of marriage/family and God’s church family are the highest institutions on earth and that our families are our first ministry.
It is our goal for our homes to be a place of peace and love. Spiritually and emotionally healthy individuals and families, even while imperfect, are the greatest influence to their community.
We are not only seeking to get the community to the church, but most importantly, to get the church out to the community.
The Kingdom of God
We believe that the Kingdom of God is within man and is already established on earth. They are the Body of Christ in the world now. We that are “in Christ” are now seated with him in the Kingdom ruling and reigning as priests and kings in the Spirit. Jesus is our King of kings. One day Christ will return bringing he departed saints with him and set up a new heaven and a new earth where we will live with him in eternity.