The Scriptures

We believe that the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God, in whole and in part, error-free in the original writings and the supreme authority of faith and practice for believers in Jesus Christ. We further believe that there is but one true interpretation of any Biblical passage and this is found when one accurately applies the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation. (Psalm 119:160; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:1-2; Hebrews 4:12)

God

We believe there is but one living and true God who is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. We further believe that God is one in essence while eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Though each person of the Godhead possesses precisely the same nature and attributes, each functions differently in respect to God’s purposes and dealings with man. (Deuteronomy 4:39; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Father

The first person of the trinity orders and directs all things according to His own purpose, pleasure and grace. The Father is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption. He has decreed all things that come to pass for His own glory. He graciously involves Himself in the affairs of men, hears and answers prayers, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (1 Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 103:19; Matthew 6:9; John 5:19-24; Ephesians 1:3-6)

The Son

The second person of the trinity is both the eternal Son of God and virgin-born Son of man. Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, surrendered nothing of His deity during His earthly life. Having led a sinless life, He satisfied the Father’s justice concerning sin by His substitutionary death. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His physical ascension and His visible return to earth to establish His earthly kingdom. (John 1:14-18; Acts 1:11; Romans 3:24-26; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 2:17-18; Revelation 20:11-15)

The Spirit

The third person of the trinity executes the will of God in the world of men. It is the Holy Spirit who applies the salvation Jesus Christ secured through His death on the cross. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers the church to live a lifestyle pleasing to God, endowing it with special gifts which equip believers to accomplish distinct ministries, planned beforehand by God the Father. (John 3:1-8; 15-16; 16:4-15; 1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18-21)

Man

We believe that man was directly created in the image of God to enjoy His fellowship and to fulfill God’s Will on earth. Man sinned by a voluntary act of personal disobedience to the Will of God; as a result, all men are spiritually dead and subject to the certainty of physical death. The fall of man was a non-repeatable historical fact, the effects of which are transmitted to all men, each of whom is born with a sinful nature and sins habitually in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; 3:3-4; Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-23; Ephesians 2:1-3)

Salvation

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as the only sufficient, substitutionary sacrifice. All who believe in Him are declared justified by the Father on the grounds of Jesus’ death and resurrection. All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith have been regenerated by and baptized in the Holy Spirit. They become, thereby, the children of God forever and members of the one true church, the universal Body of Christ. This salvation will result in righteous living and good works as the believer submits his life to the control of the Holy Spirit who directs the life of the believer in harmony with the word of God. (John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:21-26; 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; Titus 3:4-7; Hebrews 10:10-12; 1 John 5:11-13)

The Church

We believe the church, the Body and Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism, that is composed of all who have trusted in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. We believe the church was created at Pentecost and that the believer is placed in the church by the work of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the church is separate from Israel. (Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 10:32)
At the local level, the church is the gathering of believers in Jesus Christ who voluntarily commit to one another for the purpose of corporate worship, fellowship, equipping, service, and the practice of stewarding their lives to fulfill the great commission. (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-13, Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20)

Lord's Supper

The Lord’s Supper is primarily summed up in the command of Christ, ‘Do this in remembrance of Me’. It is first and foremost a memorial of Christ and His redemptive death, and secondly an expression of our fellowship with one another. (Luke 22.19, 1 Corinthians 11.24-25) We believe the Lord’s Supper is open to all who meet the prerequisites outlined in Scripture. First, that one personally knows Jesus Christ as Savior, and secondly, that they have a cleansed life.  Membership at Fellowship is not necessary to celebrate the Lord's Supper with us.  Just membership into the family of Christ. We corporately share the Lord’s Supper in our Sunday Celebration (worship) service the first Sunday of every month, and we also encourage its celebration in our Community Groups.  The Lord's Supper is also made available every Sunday for those who wish to partake.  (Psalm 24.3-4, 1 Corinthians 11.17-34)

Baptism

Baptism is an essential ‘first step’ for a believer who seeks to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. We uphold the act of baptism as a sacred command of Scripture. Every believer, serious about his or her faith, will also be serious about baptism. It is the ‘badge’ of our identity with Christ. In many ways, baptism is to Christianity what a ring is to marriage and proclaims the following:

• It proclaims Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
• It publicly identifies one’s new life in Christ (Matthew 10:32)
• It portrays a believer’s death to sin and his resurrection to a spiritual life and lifestyle through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:3-7, 10-11)

Our method of baptism is the method of immersion. We feel strongly that this mode is the one presented in the New Testament for the following reasons:

• The Greek word for baptism means: ‘to submerge, plunge, drench, saturate, dip’
• Immersion followed the Jewish proselyte practice
• The practice of the early church was immersion

Also, we do not believe it is necessary to re-baptize believers who have made a profession of faith and have been baptized by another church into the universal body of Christ. Therefore, we do not use baptism as a means to make a person a member of our congregation once one has already become a member of Christ’s church.

The Future

We believe that the next great event is the fulfillment of prophecy which will be the imminent, personal return of Jesus Christ. This is the hope, for which all those who love Jesus Christ yearn. Though the time of Christ’s return is a mystery known only to the Father Himself, we believe that it is as sure as Jesus’ first coming was fact. (Matthew 24-25; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 20:1-4)