What We Believe
We believe there is only one true God who is the eternal King, Creator and Redeemer of all that is. He is perfectly holy, just, loving and truthful. He has revealed Himself to be eternally self-existent – one being in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God.
We believe humankind was created in the image of God to know and enjoy Him yet we willfully rejected the Lordship and glory of God for which we were intended. Because of this, sickness, death and judgment entered the world and now creation experiences the effects and consequences of sin.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin, Mary, and is God’s Anointed One, empowered by the Holy Spirit to inaugurate God’s kingdom on earth. He was crucified for our sins, died, was buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven, and is now alive today in the presence of God the Father and in His people. He is “true God” and “true man.”
We believe we are saved by God’s grace, through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Anyone can be restored to fellowship with God through repenting, believing and receiving Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit, convicts, regenerates, justifies, and adopts us as we enter the kingdom of God as His sons and daughters.
We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live holy and minister supernaturally. The baptism of the Holy Spirit according to Acts 1:4-8 and 2:4 is poured out on believers that they might have power to be witnesses.
We believe the victorious redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides freedom from the power of the enemy – sin, lies, sickness and torment.
We believe the Church consists of all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. He gave His church the ordinances of baptism and communion. The Church exists to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ and further advance His kingdom by undoing the works of the enemy, preaching and living the good news of God’s love, and discipling the nations – baptizing and teaching them to love and obey God.
We believe in the ever-increasing government of God and in the Blessed Hope, which is the glorious visible return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His overcoming bride – His church. Heaven and hell are real places. There will be a resurrection of the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting death.
Decisions That Define Us
We’ve made and listed below some decisions that reflect the state of our hearts and the reality we’re establishing in our community. We believe these decisions are prompted by the Holy Spirit, and we are so happy to see them applied in the Kingdom. As you read, we want to make sure you understand the context. These decisions are in no way a criticism of any church or denominational movement – they are an articulation of who we have chosen to be, and the path we’ve decided to follow.
Here are the Decisions that Define Us:
- We have decided that teaching the Gospel without demonstrating the Gospel is not enough. Good preaching, good doctrine, and being good people is not enough.
- We have decided that having a good church club is not enough, good fellowship is not enough, and just being a member of that club is not enough.
- We have decided that having good Bible studies is good, but not good enough, that just making it to heaven is not our goal, and that knowing about God without truly knowing and experiencing God is meaningless.
- We have decided that having good programs is not enough; that change without transformation is intolerable, and that staying the same is not an option.
- We have decided that gifting without character is futile.
- We have decided that singing songs without worshiping is shallow and having meetings without God showing up is pointless.
- We have decided that having faith without works is not enough and having works without love is not acceptable – that our function comes out of our relationship first with the Father and second with each other.
- We have decided that reading about the book of Acts without living the book of Acts is unthinkable.
- We have decided that confident faith is good and bold faith is better.
- We have decided that hearing about the Holy Spirit without experiencing Him is silly, that believing in
- His presence without seeing It manifested in signs and wonders is hypocrisy, that believing in healing without seeing people healed is absurd, and that believing in deliverance without people being delivered is absolutely ridiculous.
- We have decided to be Holy Spirit filled, Holy Spirit led, and Holy Spirit empowered – anything less doesn’t work for us.
- We have decided to be the ones telling the stories of God’s power – not the ones hearing about them.
- We have decided that living saved, but not supernatural is living below our privilege and short of what Christ died for.
- We have decided that we are a battle ship not a cruise ship, an army, not an audience; Special forces not spectators, missionaries not club members.
- We have decided to value both pioneers and settlers – pioneers to expand our territory and settlers to build on those territories – but we are not squatters – people who take up space others have fought for without improving it.
- We have decided to be infectious instead of innocuous, contagious instead of quarantined, deadly instead of benign.
- We have decided to be radical lovers and outrageous givers.
- We have decided that we are a mission station and not a museum:
Therefore:
1. We honor the past – we don’t live in it.
2. We live in the present with our eyes on the future.
3. We see past events – successes and failures – as stepping-stones not stop signs.
4. We pursue learning in order to be transformed, not learning in order to know.
5. We are people of engagement not observation.
6. We focus on what could be, not on what is or has been.
7. We are not limited to the four walls of this building. Our influence is not restricted by location – Not even the nations are out of bounds.
8. We are more concerned about how many we send out into the world than how many we convince
to come into the building. This building is meant to be filled and it will be – but it will not be
the measure of who we are or the measure of our effectiveness.
9. We raise up world changers – not tour guides. We train commandos, not committees.
10. We are a people of our destiny, not of our history. - We have decided that it is better to fail while reaching for the impossible that God has planned for us than succeed settling for less.
- We have decided that nothing short of His Kingdom come, His will be done in our world as it is in Heaven will satisfy.
- We have decided that we will not be satisfied until our world freaks out and cries out “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
“Decisions that Define Us” from “Decisions that Define Us” and “The power of Your Life Message” by David Crone. Copyrighted by David Crone and destiny Image Publishing. Used by permission.