Our Beliefs
Core Beliefs
1. What We Believe About God
We believe the Scriptures teach that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, whose name is Jehovah, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
2. What We Believe About Salvation
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God; who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon him our nature, yet without sin; honored the divine law by his personal obedience, and by his death made a full atonement for our sins; that having risen from the dead, he is now enthroned in heaven; and uniting in his wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfections, he is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all-sufficient Savior. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
Regeneration frees you from the penalty of sin; Hell
Sanctification frees you from the power of sin; Heart
Glorification frees you from the presence of sin; Heaven
3. What We Believe About Scripture
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us, and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried.
4. What We Believe About Discipleship
We believe, by God’s grace, every member of the church is to be a disciple of Christ, and every disciple of Christ is to be a disciple-maker. We believe people transformed, and being transformed, by the Gospel, will desire to love God and love others as the natural response to the work of the Gospel in their own lives. The church is to then equip them for the work of the ministry! In other words, the Gospel’s work is to move us to make disciples. We are therefore committed to equipping one another for making disciples.
5. What We Believe About Expositional Preaching
We believe the Bible is the inerrant, authoritative, infallible Word of God. We believe the Word of God, enabled by the Spirit of God, has the power to change lives. We do not desire to promote the latest and greatest ideas for life-improvement; rather, we seek to preach the Word, giving light to the God-breathed, life-transforming eternal truths that we desperately need to hear in order to have life, hope, and freedom in Christ.
6. What We Believe About Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtor-ship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. We are therefore under obligation to serve Him with our time, talents, and treasure; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.
7. What We Believe About Missions
A. Locally
We desire to share the love of Christ with those in our immediate context of the greater Dayton area by any strategic means possible. We want to have compassion for those who are hurting and consider it a privilege to be able to respond in love to those in need around us just as Christ has first reached out in love to us in our great need. We hope to adopt ministries that already exist and create ministries that are needed but do not exist to engage in ministry to the least of these in our community. (This would include prison ministry, schools, human trafficking, recovery ministries (drug and alcohol).
B. Globally
Our strategy will be to come alongside indigenous leaders across the globe with our prayers, service, financial support, and theological and discipleship training so that they might more deeply love Jesus, and more effectively make Disciples of Christ.
8. What We Believe About The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ (Baptism; full emerging & Communion), governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation, each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
9. What We Believe About The Family
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of society and the primary context for discipleship. Families are composed of people related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. Husband and wife (male and female from birth) are both made in God’s image and have equal value before God; while at the same time possessing distinct roles in the marriage. The husband is to gently lead and sacrificially love his wife as Christ loved the church and the wife is to graciously submit herself to her husband as the church willingly submits to Christ. Children are to honor and obey their parents for the glory of God and their ultimate good.
We believe the family is not only the first context created by God for making disciples but the primary context for the discipleship of our children. Therefore, a core value of our ministry is ministering to families in a way that helps them to “raise their children in the training and instruction of the Lord”. We want our church to serve as a complement to the ministry happening in each of our homes. We see the church not just as an institution, organization, or business, but more so as a family of families.
