Faith Christian Community - Doctrinal Statement Booklet

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Doctrinal Statement Booklet

Doctrinal Statement Booklet

Our Vision

A church without walls releasing the kingdom of God by carrying the light of Christ into the darkness.
2 Corinthians 4:5-7

Our Mission

Partnering to display the power and love of Christ through transformed lives at home and around the world.

Our Strategic Objectives

Establish a process and opportunities to transform lives for Christ.

Equip people for ministry.

Develop and implement a plan to enhance partnering and outreach.

Develop a plan to be financially responsible to maximize ministries.

Develop and execute an appropriate facilities plan that supports the ministries.

Our Doctrinal Statement

We recognize that good, godly, orthodox people will differ in their understanding of Bible truths. Even the apostles acknowledged some difficulty in this area. Even though both were inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter said that Paul wrote some things that are “hard to understand.” (2 Peter 3:16) Even though we may have differences in our comprehension of God’s Word, the church has an obligation to uphold truth and to enforce clear doctrinal minimums. Paul calls the church “...God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth,” 1 Timothy 3:15b. In seeking to be a “pillar and foundation of the truth,” without being judgmental and divisive, we sought a Bible description of doctrinal minimums. It is found in 1 John 4. In this passage, John identifies five doctrinal minimums.

1. The “Incarnation” of Christ

“Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God...” 1 John 4:2.

Acknowledging that Jesus is God in the flesh is a non-negotiable truth. Every true believer must believe that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Our membership statement is: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and my Lord and Savior.” We believe that mankind “fell” because of sin and that the Son, Jesus Christ, was sent to redeem us. Jesus was fully human and fully God.

2. Conversion to Jesus

“They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them,” 1 John 4:5. But, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” John 10:27.

There are two categories of people: the world - those who do not accept Jesus as their savior, and believers - those who have trusted in Jesus and are seeking to obey His commands. Salvation is a gift of God’s grace; no works or merit on our part can ever accomplish what Jesus did on the cross. Those who have accepted Christ are living the “eternal life” (1 John 1:2). We are called to live in the security of the Love of God as brothers and sisters of Jesus, not in fear of judgment (John 3:1-3, Hebrews 10:19-27).

3. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

“...the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world,” 1 John 4:4.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher, counselor and guide. He is placed in the heart of every obedient believer as a gift of God. Orthodox teaching includes instruction about this Person who dwells in our hearts, providing comfort, conviction and inspiration to serve Jesus. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself in our lives as we display the character of Jesus and the power to overcome sin.

4. The Authority of Scripture

“We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the spirit of falsehood,” 1 John 4:6.

We understand that the apostle was using the word “we” editorially to refer to himself and the other apostles, the human authors of New Testament Scripture. We may disagree about the meaning of Scripture, or its application, but the authority of Scripture is not negotiable. No human opinion comes close to the power and authority of God’s inspired Word. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart,” Hebrews 4:12.

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

When dealing with passages where sincere, honest, godly men and women disagree about the meaning and application of a passage, we will endeavor to fairly represent all sides, while not hesitating to clearly state which position we hold. It is quite possible that two different Bible teachers at Faith Christian Community will take opposing positions regarding a Bible passage, while upholding its inspiration and accepting one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

5. The Obligation to Love One Another

John uses seven verses to describe the doctrinal foundations of the faith, and fourteen verses to emphasize the importance of love. It is possible for us to be completely orthodox in the doctrinal content of our teaching and still be false teachers, if we aren’t practicing love! “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal...the greatest of these is love,” 1 Corinthians 13:1,13. In other words, to espouse the teaching of Christ without the love of Christ is heresy! “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk,” 1 Timothy 1:5-6.

Some groups deal with truth as though all truths were equal in importance and impact; as though truth were like dominoes - knock one over and they all fall down! This is legalism - dependence upon our correctness doctrinally or morally - works -for salvation. Jesus taught that truths are not all equal. He told the Pharisees that they had “left undone the weightier matters” of truth and justice. Jesus dealt with truth like a target. A target has a “bull’s-eye” and rings that grow larger as you proceed outward from center. The “bull’s-eye” of Christian teaching is the identity of Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection. The indwelling of God’s Spirit, the authority of Scripture, and the necessity of love are “inner ring” issues. Many other issues are matters of truth. Our desire and intent should be to believe and practice the truth in every area of our lives, tempered with the fact that our relationship with God is not based on our accuracy, either morally or doctrinally.

“But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast,” Ephesians 2:4-9.

Memorials of Baptism & Communion

Baptism and Communion are physical celebrations of spiritual realities and doctrinal truth.

They are sacred to us because they were given to us by Jesus, Himself. Both were given to remind us that our relationship with God and forgiveness of sins are not based on our performance or goodness, but upon His sacrifice on the cross.

Baptism

Baptism is immersion in water to express faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism demonstrates our understanding that our relationship with God is based on what Jesus did in His death, burial and resurrection and not our works. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection,” Romans 6:3-5.

Communion

Communion is sharing together the simple Passover meal of unleavened bread and grape juice to represent the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,’” Matthew 26:26-28.

Ministry Structure

A TREE of LIFE

MINISTRY
Every Member a Minister (Leaves & Branches) Romans 12:5

SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Church & Ministry Leadership (Trunk) Matthew 23:11

MEMBERSHIP
(Roots) Colossians 2:6-7

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”
Proverbs 11:30

Membership

(Roots): Resources for Growth

Journey through Faith: To help you “receive Christ Jesus as Lord.”

Get Acquainted Brunches: To help women meet other members of the body.

SmallGroups: Connection groups which provide fellowship and close personal relationships.

Bible Classes: To give you God’s answers to your questions.

Servant Leadership

(Trunk): The “BRIDGE” from the Roots to the Branches

Church Leadership: (Elders, Overseers, Shepherds, Pastors) Each member must meet the qualifications listed in I Timothy 3, and Titus 1. The Church Leadership Council is arranged according to six God-given priorities:

Loving God: Includes prayer, worship and the Word. Acts 6 identifies these elements as the highest priorities for spiritual leaders. This team coordinates and aligns the ministries of Faith Christian Community that involve prayer, worship, and the teaching of God’s Word.
Oversight: This team, called the Executive Leadership Team works with the Senior Pastor to provide direction, authority to quickly mediate and provide arbitration for issues that arise, and to serve as “shepherds to the shepherds.”
Shepherding: This team oversees and leads the many ministries that are committed to the spiritual well being of others. This team is responsible for the “community” in Faith Christian Community.
Ministry support: This team’s primary concern is to provide leadership and resources to the Ministry leaders and Ministry councils of Faith Christian Community. They coordinate ministry communication, training, and alignment.
Outreach: The outreach team coordinates the evangelistic efforts of our church, insuring that we “keep the main thing the main thing.
Corporate Oversight: This team takes care of the church’s business including finances, facilities, member resources.

Ministry

(Leaves & Branches): Every Member a Minister Empowered and Equipped Members Impacting the World for Christ.

Ministry Teams:

Ministry Teams are groups of individuals (ministers) operating in their areas of gifting and service to the body. Ministry Teams support and provide specific ministry functions both inside and outside the church body, thus fulfilling the overall vision and direction of the church. Ministry Teams will include team members, a team leader, and an oversight team.

The life of Jesus flows through the roots and trunk into the branches and leaves to bear the fruit of changed lives. Ministry occurs as we work together to meet needs and care for others, both within the church and in the community. Ministry Teams are formed to organize people with similar gifts into a common identity in order to fulfill common goals.

Baptism Process

When you have decided to receive Christ in your life, your next step is to be baptized. Let us know of your desire by talking to a Pastor or Prayer Partner at one of our weekend services, or by contacting the church office at 243-1777.

Membership Process

Once you have decided to become a member, you can contact the church office to schedule a meeting with the Pastor to discuss any further questions you may have about membership.