While not attempting a complete theological statement, we affirm several crucial matters of doctrine with a long history of biblical Christianity. We humbly and gladly acknowledge these truths as an act of worship to our Lord, recognizing that we worship in Spirit and in truth.
Theological Affirmations
This local church accepts the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and affirms all the doctrines of the faith expressed in the Apostles’, Nicene and Chalcedon creeds.
More specifically, we affirm the following:
Our Lord: We stand in fellowship with apostolic Christianity in affirming faith in the one and only true God; we worship Him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As believers we regard it as essential to acknowledge Christ as fully divine and fully human. We believe the Holy Spirit living in the believer imparts the life of Christ to us and continues His work of comfort, cleansing, discernment, conviction, and care, bringing us to maturity and fruitfulness.
Mark 12:29-30; John 1:1-14; 8:19,42,58; 10:18,30; 16:8,15; 17:3-5; Philippians 2:5, 9-11; Hebrews 1:3-8
The Bible: We believe that the sixty-six books of the Old Testament and New Testament canon comprise the Word of God – God’s mind to us as fallen people. We affirm with the confessions of old, that the Bible is “the only infallible rule for faith and practice.” In other words, the Bible governs what we believe and what we do. We consider the Bible to be God’s finished revelation, expressing the complete mind of God with regard to our salvation. This means that we do not look for any other revelation by man or angel to add to that which God has completely expressed in the sixty-six books of the Bible. We do not believe the Scriptures are to be worshipped as an end in themselves, but – even as Jesus taught – they are to lead us to a living fellowship with Himself.
Exodus 20:1; Psalm 19:7-11; Matthew 1:22; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21
The Gospel: Recognizing that man without Christ is utterly lost, we thankfully proclaim the Good News: namely, that the Lord reigns over all and through his kingdom. Furthermore, we are accepted by God and justified, not through any goodness or work of our own, but by grace alone. By wholehearted repentance and simple faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, we are saved from judgment, our sins are taken away, and we are made children of God.
Isaiah 52:6, 61:1-3; Luke 18:9-14; Romans 3:21-24; 5:1-11; 11:5-6; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Galatians 2:15-21; Ephesians 2:1-10 ; 1 Peter 2:24,25
God’s Church: Since the church throughout the world is Christ’s body, we are persuaded that we are called to love the church even as He does. In our own particular local expression of the church, we will discern the body by regarding our life together as sacred, by seeking to maintain the unity of the Spirit in love, and by building the body towards maturity.
1 Corinthians 12:12,13; Ephesians 4:1, 5:32; Philippians 2:1-5; Colossians 3:12-17
The Blessed Hope: Central to our hope as believers is the promise that Jesus will personally and visibly return to this world. As Christians we look forward to His coming as the fulfillment of our faith and the conclusion of the story of His redemption. We believe that it is our final destiny to share in His heaven and to eternally behold and worship Him in His glory. Because Christ’s coming will mean judgment to those who do not believe, we are called in the remaining time to holy living and active evangelism, activities that have their foundation in the local church as an expression of the kingdom of God on earth.
John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:1-11; Titus 2:11-13; 1 Peter 1:3-9; 2 Peter 3:1-13
Core Values
The Gospel: We value the good news that humanity without Christ is utterly lost, and we proclaim this Good News: namely, that the Lord reigns over all and through his kingdom. Furthermore, we are accepted by God and justified, not through any goodness or work of our own, but by grace alone. By wholehearted repentance and simple faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, we are saved from judgment, our sins are taken away, and we are made children of God. We depend on this gospel’s truth and consequence daily.
Loving Community: We value the gathering of God’s people not only for corporate worship, but as a called out and redeemed community – sacrificially loving one another through the Spirit and bearing one another’s burdens. The church is the family of God.
Manifest Presence of God: By faith, God unites us with Christ – this is an inalterable new and eternal state for all who believe. In this union, God also invites us into a personal knowing of his love, power and presence – times when we are experientially aware of his promised presence. We value this transformational spiritual nearness of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Marriage of Word & Spirit: We value the Word as illuminated and applied by the Spirit. Committed to biblical authority, we foster robust theological dialogue, rooted in God’s breathed out Word. At the same time, we welcome the still-speaking Spirit to direct, correct, and convict us prophetically in keeping with God’s revealed Word. The Word and Spirit are not in conflict. We hold fast to our core convictions and graciously appraise all else through careful study and honest discussion.
Mission: We value the core move of God to save his creation by sending the Son into the world, and also the Son’s work to send His people by the power of the Holy Spirit. The church participates in God’s mission, living as His people, declaring His gospel message and demonstrating His Kingdom.
Spiritual Formation: We value the ongoing work of change the Spirit brings about by grace. Spiritual formation is a lifelong process of transformation in Christ nurtured by pursuing personal devotion, participating in healthy community, and engaging in strong mission.
Theological Principles
Unity Amid Differences: We affirm the phrase first espoused in the 17th century, “in the essentials unity, in the non-essentials diversity, in all things charity.” This means that we believe that all doctrine is important, but that common adherence on all points of doctrine is not necessary for salvation or membership in the local church. The Apostles Creed articulates the primary essentials well.
In practice, we hold the following theological distinctives. You might disagree with one or more of them and belong to CCC as a member, but you must know these will create the ministry ethos for our congregation.
Continuist: We believe that all spiritual gifts, taught and modeled in the Scriptures, are viable today within their proper context. This is true because we live in the same spiritual era as the New Testament following Christ’s ascension – the “Already-Not Yet” Kingdom of Christ, inaugurated and awaiting His triumphant return.
Apostolic: Drawing our understanding from the wider view of apostleship in the New Testament (such as in Ephesians 4:11) and its simple root meaning of “to send,” we affirm the place for apostolic gifts in the forward growth of the church through church planting, missional work, networking, and partnership.
Reformed: We affirm the historic “Solas” from the Reformation period, as well as a high understanding of God’s sovereignty over all things, including man’s salvation.
Evangelical: We support the broad evangelical convictions of Biblical inerrancy, the necessity of being “born again” into a personal relationship with Jesus, and the high priority of mission and evangelism in our lives and for our churches.
Elder-Led Governance: We are a church governed by elders who are in mutual submission to one another (1 Timothy 3). They are men who shepherd God’s flock (Acts 20:28) as they submit to the Great Shepherd himself (1 Peter 5:4). We believe leadership is called by God, defined by servanthood (John 13:13-17), and led by the Spirit.
Believer Baptism: We believe baptism gives us a picture of an inward change that has already occurred in union with Christ through faith. We believe the weight of the Scripture’s teaching points to faith alone as the means of salvation, and that the sign of grace is the circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, and not an outward sign (Deut. 10:16, Ezek. 36:26-27, Col 2:11-12). Baptism, then, is a sacred act of public obedience and functions to announce professed faith and a belonging to God’s family. This is commonly called “believers’ baptism”.