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our
mission statement:
how we fulfill our purpose...
Building Bigger
Hearts & Better Lives
our
faith statement:
what we believe...
In essential beliefs, we have
unity.
"There is one Body and one
Spirit...there is one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, and one God and Father of us all..." Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV)
In non-essential beliefs,
we have liberty.
"Accept him whose faith is weak,
without passing judgement on disputable
matters...Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own
master he stands or fails...So then each
of us will give an account of himself to
God...So whatever you believe about these things keep between
yourself and God." Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22
(NIV)
In all our beliefs, we show
love.
"If I have the gift of prophesy
and can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have
not love, I am nothing." 1 Corinthians
13:2 (NIV)
the
essentials we believe...
1. ABOUT
GOD
God is the Creator
and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three
personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three
are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis
1:1,26,27; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians
13:14
2. ABOUT
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a
sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for
the sins of all the people by dying on a cross. He rose from the
dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death.
He ascended to Heaven and will return again someday to earth to
reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Matthew
1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-15;14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1
Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15;
Titus 2:13
3. ABOUT
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is
co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is
present in the world to make people aware of their need for
Jesus Christ. He also lives in every
Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the
Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual
truth, and guidance in doing what is
right. As Christians, we seek to live under His
daily control.
2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1
Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13;
Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18
4. ABOUT
THE BIBLE
The Bible is God's
Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the
supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme
source of truth for Christian beliefs and
living.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 12:6; Psalm
119:105,160; Proverbs 30:5
5. ABOUT
HUMAN BEINGS
People are made in
the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character.
People are the supreme object of God's creation. Although
every person has tremendous potential for
good, all of us are marred by an attitude of
disobedience toward God called "sin".
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23
6. ABOUT
SALVATION
Salvation is God's
free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can
never make up for our sin by
self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus
Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from
sin's penalty. When we turn from our
self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are
saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus
Christ into his life by faith.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5;
Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1
7. ABOUT
ETERNITY
People were
created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally
separated from God by sin or eternally with God through
forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally
separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in
union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real
places of eternal existence.
John 3:16; 12:25; 14:2-3; 17:3; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15
our
lifestyle statement...
Beliefs are not worth much unless
they are translated into actions. Based on
what the Bible teaches, we feel very strongly about the following
seven practices:
1. THE
BIBLE AS OUR SOLE AUTHORITY
"The whole Bible was given to us
by inspiration from God and is useful to
teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our
lives, it strengthens us and helps us to
do what is right." 2 Timothy 3:15 (GN)
Since God's Word is the only
completely reliable truthful authority, we
accept the Bible as our manual for living. Our first question when
faced with a decision is "What does the
Bible say?" We practice daily Bible reading,
Bible study, and Bible memorization. The Bible is the basis
for all we believe.
2. AUTONOMY
OF EACH LOCAL CHURCH
"Christ is the head of His Body,
the Church, He is the source of the Body's
life..." Colossians 1:18 (GN)
Jesus Christ is the recognized Head of our Church, not any person or
group. Although we are a part of the
"International Church of the Foursquare Gospel",
and while we recognize the value of associating and
cooperating with other groups of
Christians, we believe every local church should be to some extent
self- governing.
3. "PRIESTHOOD"
OF EVERY BELIEVER
"To him who loves us and has freed
us from our sins by His blood, and has
made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father - to
Him be glory and power for ever and ever!
Amen!" Revelation 1:5-6 (NIV)
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may
declare the praises of Him who called you out
of darkness into His wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
The Bible teaches that every Christian is called to "full- time"
Christian
service, regardless of his or her vocation. We practice the truth
that every believer is a minister by
encouraging every member to find a place of
service and ministry. Every believer has direct access to God
through prayer and Bible reading.
4.
TITHING
"A tithe of everything you produce
belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the
Lord." Leviticus 27:30 (NIV)
At NewHeart Foursquare Church, we practice tithing for the support
of Christ's Body, the Church, as God
commands. We recognize that giving 10% of
our income is the biblical standard of giving.
5. IMMERSION
"Having been buried with Him in
baptism and raised with Him through your
faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead." Colossians
2:12 (NIV)
We practice baptism by immersion under water - the way Jesus was
baptized and the way the Bible commands.
6. SPIRIT-LED
LIVING
Jesus said: "I am the Vine, you
are the branches. If you abide in Me and I
in you, you will bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do
nothing" John 15:5 (NIV)
We believe the only way possible to live the Christian life is by
God's power within us. So we seek to
practice a daily dependence on God's Spirit to
enable us to do what is right. (Phillipians 2:13; Ephesians
5:18)
7. TELLING
OTHERS ABOUT JESUS
"Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to give the
reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
It is the responsibility of every Christian to share Good News with
those whom God brings us in contact. We
practice personal sharing about Christ and
invite friends to church. We believe that the Holy Spirit will do
the work of salvation in the lives of our
families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers as
we are faithful and obedient to bring and include people in
His life and love.
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