statement of faith

We believe in the one true and living God, perfect in wisdom, sovereignty, holiness, justice, mercy, and love. He exists eternally in three co-equal persons who act together in creation, providence, and redemption.

I Timothy 1:12; Psalm 86:15; Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Genesis 1:26; I Peter 1:2; Hebrews 1:1-3

The Father reigns with providential care over all life and history in the created universe; He hears and answers prayers. He initiated salvation by sending His Son, and He is the Father to those who, by faith, accept His Son as Lord and Savior.

I Chronicles 29:11-13; Matthew 7:11; I John 4:9-10; John 3:16; John 1:12; Acts 16:3

The Son became man, Jesus Christ, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Being fully God and fully man, He revealed God through His sinless life, miracles, and parabolic teachings. He provided salvation through His death and bodily resurrection. The Son is the mediator between believers and the Father, as he states that no one gets to the Father except through Him.

I Corinthians 15:3-4; II Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:23-25; John 14:9; Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 4:23- 24; John 1:14; Matthew 1:18; Romans 8:34; John 14-23; Philippians 2:5-11

The Holy Spirit inspired men to write the Scriptures (II Peter 1:21). Through this Word, He reveals the sinful natures of the world and draws them to the Savior. The Holy Spirit is the teacher and the counselor who bears witness to the newness of life in every believer. By regeneration and conversion, the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit indwells, seals, and gives spiritual gifts to all believers for ministry in the church and society.

James 1:18; John 16:7-11; I Thessalonians 1:5-6; Romans 8:16; Romans 8:9-11; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 12:6-8; I Peter 4:10

We believe God created spiritual beings, namely angels to serve Him and do His will. The holy angels are obedient spirits tasked with ministering to the heirs of salvation and glorifying God. Angels are divine beings who bring messages from God with the ultimate goal of restoration. Certain angels called demons, Satan being their leader, through deliberate choice revolted and fell from their exalted position. They now tempt individuals to rebel against God, and their destiny in hell has been sealed by Christ’s victory over sin and death.

Hebrews 1:6-7, 13-14; Psalm 148:1-5; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 2:14; I Timothy 4:1; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:7-9; Revelation 20:10

We believe God created man in His own image to have fellowship with Him and to be a steward over His creation. Through temptation, Adam chose to disobey God; this brought sin, death, and suffering to the human race and all creation. Therefore, everyone is born with a sinful nature and needs to be reconciled to God. Satan tempts people to rebel against God, even those who love Him. Nonetheless, everyone is personally responsible to God for thoughts, actions, and beliefs and has the right to approach Him through Jesus Christ, the only mediator.

Genesis 1:26-28; Romans 14:12; Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-21, 8:22; Ephesians 4:27; II Corinthians 2:11; Matthew 16:23; I Timothy 2:5; Romans 3:9-18, 23

We believe salvation is redemption of the whole person from sin and death through
Christ. Salvation is offered as a free gift by God to all and must be received personally through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture states that God is at enmity with the carnal mind. It is through the process of revelation that our minds are transformed and renewed. As a child of God, the believer is acquitted of all guilt and brought into a new relationship of peace. Christians grow as the Holy Spirit enables them to understand and obey the Word of God.

II Timothy 1:9-10; I Thessalonians 5:23; II Peter 3:18; Ephesians 4:15; I Thessalonians 3:12; I Timothy 2:4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 20:21; Romans 5:1

We believe that Christ is the head and the Church is the body, as all who believe in Him are His members. Christians are commanded to be baptized upon profession of faith and to unite with a local church for mutual encouragement and growth in discipleship through worship, service, and the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. The body of Christ is bonded by the Spirit of God who unites us through the great calling of faith and belief in the true Word. We believe that there is only one truth upon which we are connected to the true vine (Jesus), as taught by the earliest Christians.

Ephesians 1:22-23; Romans 12:4-5; Acts 2:41-42, 47; Luke 24:45-48; Ephesians 4:4

We believe God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring all things to their appropriate end and establish the new heaven and the new earth. The certain hope of the Christian is that Jesus Christ will return to the earth suddenly, personally, and visibly in glory according to His promise. The dead will be raised, and Christ will judge mankind in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to the everlasting punishment originally prepared for the devil and his angels. The righteous, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and dwell eternally with the Lord.

Ephesians 1:9-10; Revelation 21:1; Philippians 3:20-21; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7, 3:11; John 14:1-3; II Corinthians 5:10; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10

We believe that the divine revelation of the Word leads believers into a deeper relationship with the Father. We need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to guide us through the interpretation of Scripture so that we are in alignment with the earliest doctrine taught by Christ Himself. The mysteries in Scripture unveil us to the true meanings that the Father placed in the Word. This ultimately helps us to leave carnal mindsets through the spiritual washing and regeneration of the soul. The unveiling of the Word activates hope and vision to see the Lord’s will for our lives. Jesus declared that His church would be built on the rock of revelation as Peter received a divine revelation from the Father regarding the identity of Christ. Through the redemption process, revelation allows believers to reach God’s original plan for mankind: to be spiritual beings who live in perfect harmony and peace with the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 1:17; Hebrews 6:1; Matthew 5:8; Revelation 1:1-20; Matthew 16:13-20

There are a variety of denominations today, which means there are a variety of different interpretations. The Apostle Paul warns against the preaching of a different Gospel, of a different Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6,8). The church is fervently warned concerning the end times and the rise of false teachers and a great falling away from the truth. Peter says that these destructive heresies will be secretly brought into the church, and many will follow their destructive ways (2 Peter 2:1-2).

With so many warnings concerning false teachers and destructive heresies what remedy did the church have to protect the flock from falling away? How do we know who has the correct interpretation? The Apostle Peter said that the Word is not open for private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). So, what did Jesus leave us, that gives us the assurance that we are in the truth? The Apostle Paul called them the “traditions” (2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6).

Part of the last move of God is going back to the original blueprint, the original church, the one and true Gospel. The traditions, as the Apostle Paul calls them, are the revelations, or interpretations of the Word of God that Jesus gave His disciples after the resurrection. In the Gospel of Luke (after the resurrection), it was said that “He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27) and we know that the Jesus said that “I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,)” (Hebrews 10:7).

Jesus interpreted the entire Word of God to his disciples; however, these revelations were not written down. The Apostle Paul mentions traditions that were written, and others were oracularly transmitted. Jesus did say to His disciples “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12) It was after the resurrection that Jesus had given these traditions, and these are the traditions Paul emphasized that we needed to hold true.

The Ante Nicene Fathers were the stewards of these traditions and were much more familiar with them than we are. Past revivalists understood this and sought to understand those revelations that Jesus imparted after the resurrection. John G Lake had a powerful gift of healing, and the Lord used him in revival. He stated concerning the early church:

“The crucifixion of Jesus was but the entrance into the greatest of His divine revelations. Jesus not only rose from the dead, but He determined in His own soul to take captive that power that had been captivating men and subjecting them to death’s control. So, Jesus entered into the grave. The early church was much more conversant (familiar with or knowledgeable about something) with this phase of the Lord’s victory than we are. The literature of the early church fathers is full of the wonder of what took place in the life and ministry of Jesus after He was in the grave.” ~John G Lake July 15, 1920 Chicago, Illinois of Pentecostal Assemblies (Collection of his teachings).

There are revelations that were taught after the resurrection that were sought after, as these revivalists understood their true power and the importance of returning to them. This is an unspoken pattern among the movers and shakers of the faith. George Whitfield, who was the leader of the first Great Awakening revival in America, accredited the revival to the preaching of John Wesley. John Wesley, who is known as the Father of the Methodist and Pentecostal churches, said this:

“Can any who spend several years in those seats of learning be excused if they do not read the Fathers, the most authentic commentators on Scripture, as being both nearest the fountain, eminently endued with the Spirit by whom all Scripture was given. It will be easily perceived; I speak chiefly of those who wrote before the Council of Nicea.” ~John Wesley “Advice to the Clergy” 1756

The pattern has been set and we follow after the pattern that Jesus Christ had first established with His apostles. When you read the writings of His apostles, you can see how far the church today has fallen from its original path. Part of the last move is restoring the early church teachings back to the church as a key part of preparing the church for the coming glory. The early church prophesied about the time we are in now and how we should be prepared.

Paul warns that many shall fall away from the truth, and many will follow the doctrines of demons and heap up teachers after their itching ears (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Paul prophecies about the great falling away in 2 Thessalonians and he instructs us to adhere to the traditions that he has given by word of mouth or by epistle (2 Thessalonians 2:2-15). We are now in the end times and have gone back to the original “water well”, to follow the original teachings, in order to be found pure and not fall into the great deception at the end.

The Didache, also known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," is an ancient Christian text believed to have been written in the first century AD. It serves as a valuable resource for understanding the beliefs and practices of the early Christian community. The Didache provides insight into early Christian worship, ethics, church organization and end-time prophecy, offering a glimpse into the formative period of Christianity. Its significance lies in its role as a window into the early development of Christian doctrine and practice, aiding scholars and believers in understanding the foundational teachings of the faith, and provides the basis for the transformation process of becoming a Christian and walking it out.

The Apostolic Constitutions is a collection of early Christian writings dating back to the late 4th century. It consists of eight books that compile church regulations, liturgical instructions, and teachings attributed to the apostles. The importance of the Apostolic Constitution lies in its preservation of early Christian traditions and its role in shaping the organizational structure and liturgical practices of the early church. It provides valuable insights into the governance, worship, and beliefs of early Christianity, offering a historical and doctrinal resource for understanding the development of the Christian faith and how the church was to judge and govern itself.