Doctrinal Statement for Grace Community Church:
By faith, we affirm the following:
- We affirm that there is one God, Creator of all, who is infinitely perfect and eternally subsistent in the persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:6, Psalm 90:1-2, Matthew 3:16-17)
- We affirm the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God and that it is eternally reliable in all matters of Christian faith and practice. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
- We affirm the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His substitutionary and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory. (Isaiah 7:14, Hebrews 4:15, Mark 6:30-44, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Matthew 28: 1-10, Acts 1:9, Acts 2:22-33, John 14:2-3)
- We affirm the ultimate victory of Christ’s Church over the forces of darkness. (1 Corinthians 11:3, Matthew 16:18, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
- We affirm the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We affirm the fullness of the Holy Spirit as the empowerment of the Christian for witness and service, that the Holy Spirit provides one or more spiritual gifts to all believers, manifesting them as He wills, and that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are operative today. (Romans 8:11-12, Acts 1:8, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, John 16:13)
- We affirm believer’s baptism by immersion in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. (mode of baptism is not to be a condition of membership or covenant) (Mark 1:9-10, Matthew 28:19)
- We affirm the Table of Our Lord, the Lord’s Supper, for all believers. (Luke 22:19)
- We affirm the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, those that are saved to the resurrection of life and those that are lost to
isolation from the Living God in Hell
. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 20:1-15)
- We affirm that salvation is by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We affirm that repentance toward God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and being born again by the Holy Spirit are necessary for salvation. God’s purpose for His children is to conform them into the divine image of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 24:46-47, Romans 3:21-22, John 3:3-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
- We affirm the one, universal church which is the Body of Christ. We affirm all who are born again as its members. We affirm the church’s purpose as offering worship to God, fellowship and instruction to itself, and evangelism and service to the world. We affirm the offices of Ephesians 4:11 as the church’s divinely established order and government. We affirm the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4:1-16, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
- We affirm that God’s original plan was for men and women to
rule over the earth
together. Christ has brought His church into relationship with God so that In the last days I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
(Acts 2:17), thus both men and women are welcome to serve as pastors, elders and deacons as the Lord calls and gifts. (Genesis 1:26-28, Acts 1:14, Acts 18:6, Acts 21:9, Romans 16:1-16, Philippians 4:2-3, Colossians 4:16, John 20:17-18)
- We affirm that Christ knocked down the dividing wall between people, promoting a congregation where all are welcome, celebrating
there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but all are one in Christ
(Ephesians 2:11-17, Galatians. 3:28)
