Our Mission
BE A FORCE FOR GOD
We believe that it is the will of God that every born again man and woman is destined to be conformed into the image and likeness of God. This transformation is possible by being filled with the Holy Spirit and walking with Jesus in Spirit and in truth. (2 Cor. 3:17-19, Phil. 3:10, Eph. 2:10, Rom. 12:2)
IMPACTING COMMUNITIES FOR CHRIST
We believe that it is the will of God for the church to be the agent for change in the world today. (John 13:35)
UNITING CHURCHES
We believe that the will of God is to break down the walls of division between believers and build bridges to unite us. (Eph. 2:14, 4:4-6, 4:13)
Core Values
The Bible is our authority — read together, taught faithfully, lived honestly.
Jesus is the heart of everything. His life, death, and resurrection change us.
We gather with joy and reverence — making space for the presence of God.
We believe the will of God is to break down the walls of division between believers and build bridges that unite us. (Eph. 2:14, 4:4-6, 4:13)
We follow Jesus into our neighborhood, meeting needs with humility.
We move toward people the way Jesus moves toward us — with grace and truth.
Statement of Faith
We hold to the historic Christian faith as expressed by the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana).
The Word of God is referred to as the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, both Old and New Testament. We believe it is the sole authority for every believer, the Church. We believe that all scripture was given to men from God and is the source of Wisdom, Truth and Life. We believe that scripture is God-breathed, holy and powerful to save and transform men and women into the image and character of Christ (sanctification). We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, ( The Logos) is the living Word of God alive in us by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Spirit and the Word agree.
(Psalms 119:105 & 160; Proverbs 12:5; I John. 5:8; John 17:17 Romans 8:29; II Timothy 1:13 & 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21)
God exists in three persons, yet one in essence: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the creator of all that exists; He loves and cares for His creation. We believe God to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the God who revealed Himself to Moses, who received from God the first five books of the bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in which God reveals His essence and very nature, His ways, His will and plan for mankind.
Through Jesus Christ we understand God as Father and those who believe in the Son as the family of God.
(Genesis 1; Genesis 12 – 36)
GOD – Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
The Supreme Being; Jehovah; the Eternal and Infinite Spirit; the Creator and the Sovereign of the universe (God is spirit and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth – John. 4:24)
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father and incarnated by a virgin birth to become a man. Jesus lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for all sins for all time by dying on the cross for mankind. He demonstrated His divinity and His power over death, hell and the grave by being raised from the dead on the third day by the power of the Holy Spirit. He ascended into heaven 40 days later where He now reigns as the Head of The Church and every believers Advocate. He will return to earth again. Now and forever, He reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
(Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:1-5 & 14:10-30; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4; I Corinthians 15:3-4; I Timothy 6:14-15; Hebrews 4:14-15)
Christ – Noah Webster’s Dictionary 1828
Anointed; To Anoint; The Anointed (of God); an appellation given to the Savior of the world, and synonymous with the Hebrew word Messiah.
The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Godhead, equal with God the Father and God the Son. He convicts the world of its need to make Jesus, Savior and Lord of their lives. He lives in every believer from the moment of salvation and brings us into the family of God. Also, He infuses believers with power to live in the fullness of divine power to make one a true disciple empowered to “go into the world and make disciples.”
The Spirit’s ministry includes, but is not limited to, instruction in the word of God, revelation of truth as the Spirit of Truth, leading and guiding us into all truth. He seals us as God’s guarantee of redemption. The believer is invited to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us a transformed, victorious and overcoming life to bear abundant and good “fruit.”
(John 15:1-8; Jn. 16:13-14; Luke. 11:13; Rom. 8: 15-17; Gal. 5:22-25; Eph. 1:13; Eph. 5:18)
Holy Spirit – Noah Webster’s Dictionary 1828
Free from sin and sinful affections (desires). Applied to the Supreme Being, perfectly pure and immaculate and complete in moral character. Consecrated and set-apart for a sacred use or to services and worship of God.
Man was created in the image and likeness of God, male and female. They were innocent until they disobeyed God. Their sin resulted in a separation from God and a “fall” from their state of innocence and God likeness. Similarly, all have followed Adam’s sin of rebellion.
We believe that man was born in the image of God and thus destined for greatness and can fulfill this great destiny through a relationship with God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
(Gen. 1:26-31; Gen. 6:5; I John. 3:4; & 3:15; Mt. 5:22; Rom. 1:32 & 3:23; Rom. 5: 12-14 & 7: 17-24; Eph. 2:12 & 4:18)
The Holiness of God and the sinfulness of man resulted in a breach or separation between the two. This alienation required a remedy that only God could achieve.
The price to be paid for man’s sin is eternal death and since sin tainted every man there was no man found capable of paying such an enormous debt. It would require a worthy, sinless, perfect and eternal life to atone for eternal sin and death.
Only the Holy Blood of a Holy and Eternal God would suffice.
We believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the shedding of His blood was the only hope of man to be reconciled back to God. His blood satisfied the demand of divine justice, atoned for our sins and appeased the wrath of God. Thus, a relationship of hostility and alienation was and is changed into one of peace and fellowship. (justification, salvation, redemption)
Thus, a new and unbreakable covenant between God the Father and God the Son was established; mankind may now enter into this covenant by faith. God took the initiative, “…while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, the godly for the ungodly” because “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”
(John. 3:16-17; Rom. 5: 8-10; II Cor. 5: 17-20; Col. 1:21-22)
The local assembly of believers, as well as, the redeemed of all ages who follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Pentecost is the birth of the church and is founded upon the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. She was purchased by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 1:15-23; 2:1-4; 2:13)
The Greek word for church is “ekklesia” which means congregation or group. It is used 115 times in the Book of Acts and the Epistles. It references, also, all believers throughout the ages. Language and contexts signify fellowship as opposed to individuals apart from fellowship.
Church – Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
Pertaining to the Temple of God of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Repeated terms are: collective, assembly, disciples, united, worshippers, body, followers, number, temple and house of worship. Never is a reference made to the individual believer in isolation from other believers.
The commission of the church is found in Mat. 18:18-20, “…go into all the world….”
We believe Jesus will personally return to gather His people and judge the world in righteousness. We live in joyful anticipation of that day.
We believe that Holy Communion, Baptism and Foot Washing are the great sacraments of the church. All speak of the New Covenant which is sealed by the blood of Christ and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to offer victory through the resurrection.
The Lord’s Supper – Holy Communion (I Cor. 11:23-33)
We believe that the elements for communion symbolize the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The bread represents his body broken for us and his blood represents the forgiveness of sins. We receive communion to remember His great sacrifice.
Baptism (Rom. 6:3-6)
We believe that baptism is an outward expression of an inward faith that Jesus Christ lives within the life of the baptism candidate and is Savior and Lord. We believe that full immersion baptism identifies the candidate with the death and burial of Christ (under the water) and that the newness of a resurrection life is expressed as the candidate bursts out of the water.
Foot Washing (John. 13:3-17)
When Jesus girds himself with a towel, at the Last Supper, and washes the disciples’ feet he modeled for believers the depths of humility and servant-hood.
We believe that God’s original and current intention for the family emanates from the union of a man and a woman as described in the Genesis account in the Bible. The command of God “to be fruitful and multiply” can be achieved by the sexual union of a man and woman as husband and wife, thereby making the “two to become one flesh.”
(Gen. 2: 21-25; Rom. 1: 24-28; Eph. 5: 25-33)
We believe in the sanctity of life. That God is the author and giver of life and as such, He declares in Holy Scripture that He alone has the right to give and take life.
Therefore, any and all efforts of man to take life “into his own hands” by denying life to the innocent unborn, or denying life to the aged, or taking life by killing or murder are explicitly forbidden by God.
We believe that scripture expressly ascribes to the state the power and authority to render justice, which includes capital punishment for those who violate God’s standards for life. The state must only do so as an agent under God for the good and protection of His people.
( Lev. 18: 21-30; II Kings 21: 6, 12-16; II Chron. 28:3; Rom. 13: 1-6 )
Further Beliefs
As expressed by the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana).
The singularity, the exclusivity, the divinity of the one Lord Jesus is central to who we are. He is the Bread of Life. the one Mediator between God and humankind. The Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. The Son of Man. The Sonn of God. The Word become Flesh. The Name at which every knee shall bow. Jesus is the subject (Acts 2:36).
The Person, the work, and the power of the Holy Spirit is fundamental to who we are as a people. We unabashedly own the truth that the Spirit can transform us, possess us, equip us, and empower us. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us, makes us holy, sets us apart for sacred service, and seals us for eternity’s sake. It is the Spirit that convicts us of sin and enables us to overcome sin. It is the Holy Spirit that can breathe supernatural gifts into us, for Jesus’ sake. He is the Comforter promised by Jesus and the witness of our redemption (Gal 5:22-23).
We are a people uniquely called by God to be a catalyst for Christian unity, believing that the division of the body of Christ is hell’s greatest weapon to thwart heaven’s ends in this world. We are convinced that the sp[lintering of the body is not the Lord’s work, but the enemy’s; we believe that hell trembles at the prospect of a people united, redeemed by the blood, and possessed by the Spirit (John 17:28).
Love God with you whole self. And love your neighbors as yourself. The Scripture tells us this is the sum of the Law and the Prophets. When a teacher of the Law sought to test Jesus (Luke 10), asking, “What must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus asked him what he read in the Scripture. When the man replied with the Great Commandments, Jesus approved, saying, “You have answered well; do this and you will live.” It was this exchange that birthed the seminal parable of the Good Samaritan. As a people in the pursuit of holiness, the Great Commandments clothe us.
We are a people of the Bible – the Old and New Testaments, supernaturally inspired, preserved across time, cultures, and continents, delivered to us, useful for reproof and instruction, for righteousness. The Scripture is out backstop, the ultimate field of inquiry and judgement, the measure of conduct, faith, and practice. Whatever the question, whatever the test, whatever comes before us, in the end, it is the Scripture, above all other disciplines, that informs and defines us. All other sources of knowledge fall beneath its shadow (2 Tim 3:14-17).
To go and make disciples is the divine privilege and responsibility given to each of us. We champion the work of evangelism and discipleship in out own neighborhood, as well as the sending of international and home missionaries to places beyond our individual reach (Matt 28:19-20).
The rule and reign of Gold is a present reality to be embraced and experienced today. His kingdom is not of this world and will therefore never be about earthly politics. As children of God, the spiritual riches of the King of kings are ours to claim and steward as we preach the good news of the kingdom to the world (Luke 17:20-21).
Thought difficult for the human mind to fully comprehend, our one God expresses himself in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity serves a unique role to bring God glory and accomplish his purposes in the world (Gen 1:26, 2 Cor 13:14).
The distributions of gifts by the Holy Spirit for the edification of the body of Christ is not determined by gender. God has poured out his Spirit on all people, and both sons and daughters will prophesy – and teach, and shepherd the flock. In Christ, in the kingdom of God, that which once divided us – Jew, Gentile; slave, free; male, female – no longer separate. From the earliest days of the Church of God movement, we’ve celebrated the ministry leadership of outstanding women clergy and continue to do so (Acts 2:17; Gal 3:28).
You will find a great diversity of convictions and practices within the Church of God. Though we have differences, we share a common story of faith, growing together into the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). We worship and serve as citizens of God’s kingdom. We celebrate our life in Christ and accept our call to be the body of Christ in our world – all to the glory of God.
Our pastors love conversations like this. Reach out — we’d be honored to talk.
