Our Doctrinal Statement:
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are the standard and guide to our faith and practice. It is critical to study, memorize and obey the Scriptures, to grow in faith, wisdom and spiritual strength.
The one true eternal God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present invisible creator and ruler of the universe and all things. God exists as three distinguishable but inseparable Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God created the Heavens and Earth. God’s visible creation provides clear evidence of His existence. On the sixth day of Creation, God formed humans in His own image and breathed life into them.
Mankind was created innocent by his Maker, but voluntarily disobeyed and sin entered the world. As a result people cannot gain right standing before God without the forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God. He was divinely conceived, sinless, and made a vicarious atonement for the sins of the world by His death. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and humans, and continues to intercede for believers. He was physically resurrected and ascended into Heaven. He will have a personal, visible return to the world to set up His Kingdom and to judge the living and the dead. All who personally accept God’s pardon through Jesus Christ are forgiven, reconciled to God, and will forever live in God’s presence. We receive forgiveness by believing in Jesus and choosing him to become the ruler of our lives, thus becoming spiritually regenerated (“born again”).
The Holy Spirit is the means by which believers are born again, taught, instructed, inspired and empowered to serve God and others. Christians filled with the Holy Spirit should show the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an event different from conversion, and is often given by the “laying on of hands” of other believers. Its primary purpose is to empower the believer for sharing the gospel. Believers have various spiritual gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. These gifts were not limited to Jesus’ apostles, and continue today. God gives different gifts to different people, according to His particular plan for them. All of these gifts are to be freely exercised by both male and female believers.
The Church (consisting of born-again believers) is the Body of Christ, not just a building, institution, organization or place of worship. Believers are to meet together regularly, in an orderly fashion. The Great Commission, which Jesus explicitly gave to His Church, is to evangelize the world. This is the believer’s primary purpose in life; to make Christ’s love known to the whole world, and to seek to win others into God’s Heavenly Kingdom. We believe that the gospel has a humanitarian mandate to not only preach but also to show the tangible love of God.
Further information is available at the Foursquare website.