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Our Beliefs & Affiliations |
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Our guide in understanding the nature and function of the New Testament church is the Word of God and the witness of the Holy Spirit. We hold to these principles (praxes) in light of our understanding of New Testament church: 1. We advocate and encourage body life through open and active participatory worship of ALL people who gather in our house church gatherings. We recognize the Priesthood of ALL Believers where each person is a minister to God, to one another and to those who have yet to enter into the Kingdom of God. In this context, open worship creates an atmosphere of intimacy with God and with one another whereby each person encounters the Lord and are renewed, transformed, and empowered to do the will of God. 2. We advocate and encourage open sharing by ALL who are gathered through testimonies, insights, Scripture, a song, creative expression (artistic drawing, poetry or prose), from the youngest to the oldest among us. Eveyone is encouraged to share and participate with what the Lord has impressed upon their own hearts which causes the WHOLE body the edified and built up. We trust the Holy Spirit to guide us in the flow of His direction in our gatherings and submit to His leading. 3. We advocate and encourage open ministry whereby each member of the gathering functions in their own particular ministry gift and calling. This often manifests itself in ministry within the body and also in the community at large. As a house church we recognize that God is at work within our communities and has already established ministry opportunities within the city or region. As such we see no need or desire as a house church to re-invent what God has already provided. We do not encourage the separation of church from the culture. Every person within the body is called to be an agent of grace, love, mercy and compassion. We simply call out the gift within the person and come alongside and encourage the person to let Jesus live out His life in their calling and ministry. 4. We confess that what we previously knew as the church, has over the centuries moved away from the New Testament pattern of body life. We advocate and encourage a return to Biblical patterns of body life and the Scriptural ways of gathering as seen in Acts 2:44-47, I Cor 12:4-7, I Cor 12:27-30, I Cor 14:26-33, and Eph 4:3-16, among others. 5. We advocate and encourage a return to the Five Fold Ministries to body life. The people of God need ALL the gifts of the Spirit (Rom 12; 1 Cor 12-14; Eph 4) in operation within their gatherings so that the body may be edified, equipped and released in the work of the ministry.
We believe in: The verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. The eternal existence of One True God who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Savior of men, the Lord Jesus Christ, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, very God and very man. The creation, test and fall of man, as recorded in Genesis; His total spiritual depravity and inability to attain to divine righteousness. The Gospel of the Grace of God, how that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day for our justification. The salvation of sinners by Grace, through faith alone in the perfect and sufficient work of Christ on our behalf upon the cross of Calvary excluding all human merit. Water baptism of believers by immersion in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The baptism of the Holy spirit as an experience subsequent to salvation, with the scriptural evidence, namely, speaking in tongues. The gifts of the Spirit as enumerated in I Corinthians, being exercised and practiced as manifest in the early Church. The Lord's Supper, as a memorial for believers. The healing of the body by Divine Power, or Divine Healing in many aspects as manifested in the early Church. The eternal life of the believer and the eternal punishment of the unbeliever. The Spirit-filled life of separation from the world, and the perfecting of holiness in the fear of God as an expression of Christian faith. The reality and personality of Satan and demons. The reality and ministry of holy angels. The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church.* *Note: There are a variety of expressions of belief concerning what is spoken of as the Second Coming. The range varies from dispensationalism, premillenialism, amillenialism, post millenialism and transmillenialism.
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