Pastor's
Welcome
What
We Believe
Apostolic
Ministry
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We
Believe…
...in one GOD, revealed in three Persons; The Father, The Son, and The
Holy Spirit. Our God, holy and omnipotent, desires a relationship with
mankind. (Matthew 3:15-16; Mark 12:29; John 16:26, 17:21; I Corinthians
12:3)
...that the HOLY BIBLE is divinely inspired, both the Old and New Testaments.
God's Word is one of the main ways He communicates with His children, reveals
Himself and shows His will for our lives. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12,
1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
...that MAN, in his natural state, is a sinner, lost, undone, without hope,
and without God. We also believe that man can be forgiven and know God
through Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:19-23; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:1-2,
12-13)
...in the DIVINITY AND HUMANITY OF CHRIST JESUS. Jesus Christ of Nazareth
is God. He came in the flesh, fully human, was crucified under Pontius
Pilate, died on the cross and rose from the dead, in order to set mankind
free from the bondage of sin and be restored to a relationship with God.
(Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1-4; Acts 2:36-3:14, Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians
1:15-20; Hebrews 1:3-14)
...in the BLOOD ATONEMENT. The blood of Jesus Christ has paid the price
for all the SIN of mankind. His righteousness is given (or imputed) to
all who believe in Him and accept Him as Lord. There is no sin too great
that His blood is not sufficient to cleanse and forgive. (John 3:16-18;
Romans 5:8-11, 17; Ephesians 1:3-14; I Peter 2:24; I John 4:10; Hebrews
9:22)
… in the BODILY RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ died, was buried, resurrected (as evidenced by crowds of over 500
people),
then ascended to the Father and is presently seated at the right hand of
the Father, making intercession for us. (Matthew 26:63-64; Luke 24:36-39;
John 20:24-29; Acts 1:1-3; Romans 8:34; I Corinthians 15:3-5; Hebrews 7:24-25;)
...in the SECOND COMING of Jesus Christ. We believe in the visible, bodily
return of Jesus Christ to this earth to gather His Church (His Bride) and
judge the world. (Acts 1:8-11; John 20:6-8; Ephesians 5:23-27;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; James 5:8; Revelation
1:7) (Note: It is
not necessary that we all believe alike concerning whether He will return
before, during or after the Great Tribulation.)
...in SALVATION by Faith through Grace. The terms of salvation are a personal,
heartfelt faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and a confession of Him as such,
combined with repentance toward God for personal sin which results in the
regeneration (new birth) of a person. Good works are not a condition of
salvation; rather, they are the fruit of salvation. Salvation is given
entirely by the unending grace of our Lord and not by any good thing we
do. Salvation is a love gift from God, whose love is unconditional. (Acts
2:38, 3:19-20; Romans 5:1-9, Ephesians 2:8-9)
...in the HOLY SPIRIT, the third person of the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit's purposes in redeeming man are to convict him of sin,
to regenerate (give
new birth to) the repentant believer, to guide the believer in understanding
the Holy Scriptures and to indwell and give gifts to believers as He wills,
that they may minister as Christ would. Further, we believe that the manifestations
of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, shall operate
in present day churches that confess Jesus Christ as Lord and submit to
the direction of the Holy Spirit’s leading. We believe a believer
can be baptized in the Holy Spirit during the time Jesus is regenerating
him, or any time subsequent to his salvation experience. We believe that
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (with an evidence of speaking with other
tongues as the Spirit gives utterance) is for all believers, as promised
in Scripture by John the Baptist, witnessed by the early disciples of Christ,
and is evidenced in the lives of many present-day believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The purpose of this baptism is for the believer to be empowered
to live a Christ-like life and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. (Matthew
3:11; Luke 11:13, 24:49; John 7:37-39, 14:16-17, 16:5-14; Acts 1:4-5&8,
2:1-4, 38-47; 10:44-47)
...in HEAVEN AND HELL. The Holy Scriptures clearly set
forth the doctrine of eternal punishment for the lost and eternal blessings
and rewards in
the presence of God for the saved. (Hell for the unsaved and Heaven for
the saved.) We also believe that no man has to go to hell. Jesus made
the provision that all people, everywhere, can be saved from an eternity
without Christ and live in heaven forever. (Matthew 25:34,
41, 46; Luke 16:19-31; John 14:1-3, 17:3; Revelation 8:15, 20:11-15)
… in the LOCAL CHURCH. We believe that the Church
of
the
Lord Jesus Christ is a Local Expression of a Body of Believers who have been
baptized in
the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; who are under recognized,
delegate authorities; and who assemble to worship, carry forth the Great
Commission and minister as the Holy Spirit leads. (Matthew
16:18, 28:19-20; Acts 2:40-47; 20:28; Ephesians 5:22-32; I Timothy 3:15)
…in
a SEPARATED LIFE.
We believe that believers should seek, as the early disciples did,
to practice the separated life from the world
and unto Jesus Christ and to set standards of conduct which shall exalt
our Lord and edify His church. (Romans 12:1-3; II Corinthians
6:17; Galatians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11; Colossians 3:17)
…in DIVINE
HEALING.
We believe that God does use doctors, medicines and other material
means for healing. However, we believe divine healing
has been provided for us in the Atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. Divine
healing may be received through the laying on of hands by Elders, laying
on of hands by believers, by the prayer of an anointed person gifted
for healing the sick, by the anointing with oil and the prayer of faith,
or by a direct act of faith where the believer receives healing directly
from the Lord Jesus Christ without ministry from anyone else. (Isaiah
52:5; James 5:14-16; Mark 16:18; I Corinthians 12:9; Mark 11:23)
…in
the ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH. We believe
that the two ordinances of the Church as set by the Lord Jesus Christ
are water baptism (Immersion)
and communion (The Lord’s Supper). (Matthew 3:15-16 & 28:19-20;
Acts 8:38; Romans 6:1-4; Luke 22:13-20)
…in
the COMMISSION OF THE BELIEVER. Each
believer is a priest of the Lord Jesus Christ and has direct access
to the Father through
the Lord Jesus. The Kingdom of God consists of believers who have been
given the responsibility of reconciling man back to God. Every believer
must have a living and growing relationship with Christ and functioning
as an ambassador to the world for Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20;
2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
…in
the PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER. We
believe that each believer is a priest of the Lord Jesus Christ and
has direct access to the Father
through the Lord Jesus. Each person must believe for himself, be baptized
for himself, obey for himself and answer to the Creator for himself.
(Revelation 1:6; I Peter 2:9)
…in
the GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH. We believe
that the New Testament Church should be apostolic in nature and governed
by delegated authorities.
Those authorities at New Covenant Church are the Elders and Pastors with
trans-local apostolic oversight. We understand and believe that God’s
order of government for the local church is one of the church being birthed
under the oversight of an apostolic ministry with the elders and pastors
being raised up under the oversight of that apostle. Once that level
of local church government is established, the church operates in an
autonomous manner under the oversight of an apostle in an on-going relationship.
This relationship is to be one by mutual consent of the apostle and the
pastor and elders of the local church. (Acts 9:27, 12:25-13:3;
15:1-30; Ephesians 4:11-12)
…in SERVANT
LEADERSHIP. We believe Christ has put significant
leadership and spiritual responsibility into the hands of church leaders.
We aim to exercise the authority in caring for God’s people with
humility, selflessness, grace, and a sincere desire to build up the Body
of Christ. (Philippians 2:5-11; I Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:7;
I Timothy 1:1-5)
…in TITHES
AND OFFERINGS. We believe that God’s plan
of finance for His work is by tithes and offerings and that it is
a joy
for His children to acknowledge His Lordship in this manner. (Genesis
14:17-20; Malachi 3:6-12; Matthew 23:23; Acts 20:35; II Corinthians 8 & 9;
Hebrews 7:1-10)
A
more comprehensive explanation of what we believe can be obtained by
contacting the church
office at 229-247-7777.
If
you would like to download the above in a Word document, you
can click
here.
God Bless You! If
you have not already done so, may you come to trust and get to know
the God who created you and loves you with all of His heart. (For more
information about knowing God, click
here.)
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