WHAT WE BELIEVE

Desiring an attitude of love and Christian unity, and in keeping with the principles of personal freedom, so highly esteemed by the Evangelical Covenant Church, we wish to make clear that the following statement sets forth the positions which this church chooses to teach and defend. It is required that the ministerial staff and all church members understand, support and live out this statement.

• The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God without error in the original writings, and the complete  revelation of His  will for the salvation of men, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.  

 

• There is one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

• Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures.  Further, He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where at the right hand of God, He is our High Priest and advocate.  

 

• The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, during this age, to convict men of sin, intercede for and empower the believer for godly living and service.  The Holy Spirit supplies sovereignly, with the Father and the Son, all the enabling gifts for the Church and the individual in the Church to exalt Christ.  These gifts are given for the completion of the body and not for personal status.  Such gifts are not a measure of spiritual stature or the criteria for evaluating spiritual maturity.  We are commanded to seek the fullness of the Spirit in the common worship of the Church (Eph 5:18ff).  We are to manifest the gifts imparted and the fruit bestowed by the Spirit.  We believe in the Holy Spirit.  

 

• God created man in His own image but man turned from God, fell into sin and therefore is lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.  

 

• The shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for the justification and salvation for all who believe and only those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born of the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God.  

 

• There will be a bodily resurrection of all the dead, of the believer to everlasting joy with the Lord, and of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting punishment away from the presence of the Lord.  The personal, pre-millennial, and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ is our blessed hope and has a strong motivational effect on the personal life and service of the believer.

 

• The true church is composed of all persons, who through faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and united together in the body of Christ, of which He is the head.  

 

• The Holy Scriptures are the source of the Church’s life and the means for its renewal.  By continuing to listen to, accept, and reflect upon the Word of God, it keeps its ministry vital and its witness clear.  “If you continue in my Word,” says Jesus, “you are my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31ff) Included in the ministry of The Word is the observance of Baptism and Holy Communion as sacraments of the church, expressly commanded by our Lord.  They are visible signs of the invisible grace of Jesus Christ.  These we do in remembrance of the Lord’s redemptive work as He continues to reveal Himself to us as we obey and partake in these commands.

We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
We believe the Bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The dynamic, transforming power of the word of God directs the church and the life of each Christian (2 Timothy 3:16 ). This reliance on the Bible leads us to affirm both men and women as ordained ministers and at every level of leadership. (Acts 2:18) It is the reason we pursue ethnic diversity in our church and is the inspiration for every act of compassion, mercy, and justice.

We affirm the necessity of the new birth.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). New birth in Christ means committing ourselves to him and receiving forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life. It means being alive in Christ, and this life has the qualities of love and righteousness, joy and peace. New birth is only the beginning (John 3:3). Growing to maturity in Christ is a lifelong process for both individuals and communities of believers, God forms and transforms us, and it is through people transformed by Christ that God transforms the world.

We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
The early Covenanters were known as “Mission Friends” people of shared faith who came together to carry out God’s mission both far and near. The mission for them and for us includes evangelism, Christian formation, and ministries of compassion, mercy, and justice. We follow Christ’s two central calls. The Great Commission sends us out into all the world to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19) The Great Commandment calls us to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31)

We affirm the Church as a fellowship of believers.
Membership in the Covenant Church is by confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ and is open to all believers. (Romans 10:10.) We observe baptism (1 Peter 3:21) and Holy Communion (1 Corinthians 10:16) as sacraments commanded by Jesus. We believe in the priesthood of all believers, that is, we all share in the ministry of the church. We also affirm that God calls some men and women into professional, full-time ministry. The church is not an institution, organization, or building. It is a grace-filled fellowship of believers who participate in the life and mission of Jesus Christ. It is a family of equals, as the New Testament teaches that within Christian community there is to be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
The Covenant Church affirms the Trinitarian understanding of one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The new Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit works both within individuals and among them. We believe it is the Holy Spirit who instills in our hearts a desire to turn to Christ, and who assures us that Christ dwells within us. It is the Holy Spirit who enables our obedience to Christ and conforms us to his image, and it is the Spirit in us that enables us to continue Christ’s mission in the world. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to us as individuals and binds us together as Christ‘s body. (Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, John 14:26, Luke 1:35, Matthew 3:16-17, 1 Timothy 2:5, Genesis 11:7, Ephesians 4:4-6, Titus 3:5, Galatians 4:6, John 16:7, Matthew 3:16, Ezekiel 11:5, John 8:58, Genesis 1:1-31.)

We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). This freedom is a gift of God in Christ, and it manifests itself in a right relationship with God and others. It is not a private gift to be used selfishly (Matthew 5:16) but is given to serve the community and the world. For Paul, this freedom means that we are set free from the power of those things that on their own tend to divide (Romans 14:5, Romans 14:20 ). United in Christ, we offer freedom to one another to differ on issues of belief or practice where the biblical and historical record seems to allow for a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God. We in the Covenant Church seek to focus on what unites us as followers of Christ, rather than on what divides us.
(1 Corinthians 1:10, Psalms 133:1, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 4:3, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Galatians 3:28 )