Statement of Faith

Jesus is Lord. The singularity, the exclusivity, the divinity of the one Lord Jesus stood tall. The Bread of Life. The Water of Life. The Lamb of God. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. The one Mediator between God and humankind. The Lord of lords, the King of kings. The Son of Man. The Son of God. The Word become flesh. The Name at which every knee shall bow. Jesus is the subject. He is God. About His supremacy there is no dispute in the church. It is non-negotiable. We will not be convening any conferences to discuss whether He is all that. He is. Period. This defines us.

Holiness. The Person, the work, and the power of the Holy Spirit is fundamental to who we are as a people. We unabashedly own the truth that the Spirit can transform us, possess us, equip us, and empower us. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us, makes us holy, sets us apart for sacred service, and seals us for eternity’s sake. It is the Spirit that convicts us of sin and enables us to overcome sin. It is the Holy Spirit that can breathe supernatural gifts into us, for Jesus’ sake. He is the Comforter promised by Jesus and the witness of our redemption. We will not be debating whether the Holy Spirit is all that or whether He can transform us into holy people. He is, He does. This defines us.

Unity. We are a people uniquely called by God to be a catalyst for Christian unity, believing that the division of the body of Christ is hell’s greatest weapon to thwart heaven’s ends in this world. We are convinced that the splintering of the body is not the Lord’s work, but the Enemy’s; we believe that hell trembles at the prospect of a people united, redeemed by the blood, possessed by the Spirit. Unity is not for us an also-ran on the to-do list of God, but a primary driver of who and why we are called out. We are not spending time arguing whether the Church of God should embrace this ambition. It is who we are. Non-negotiable. It defines us.

The Supremacy of Scripture. We are a people of the Book, the Good Book, the Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments, supernaturally inspired, preserved across time, cultures, and continents, delivered to us, useful for reproof and instruction, for righteousness. The Scripture is our backstop, the ultimate field of inquiry and judgment, the measure of conduct, faith, and practice. Whatever the question, whatever the test, whatever comes before us, in the end, it is the Scripture, above all other disciplines, that informs and defines us. We are not wrestling with whether the Bible is authoritative, without peer, or supreme; all other sources of knowledge fall beneath its shadow. It is non-negotiable. It defines us. It is who we are.

The Great Commandments. Love God with your whole self and love your neighbors as yourself. The Scripture tells us this is the sum of the Law and the Prophets. When a teacher of the Law sought to test Jesus (Luke 10), asking, “What must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus asked him what he read in the Scripture. When the man replied with the Great Commandments, Jesus approved, saying, “You have answered well; do this and you will live.” It was this exchange that birthed the seminal parable of the Good Samaritan. As a people in the pursuit of holiness, the Great Commandments clothe us. We are not wondering whether they are key, we are not searching for better lights. They are, by the Lord’s own testimony, defining. They define us.