Statement of Faith

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=183801" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=215 BGCOLOR="#CC3366" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04d06732dkcfyw.gif"> <div> <IMG SRC="05fbb010.gif" border=0 width="187" height="257" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=95 BGCOLOR="#CC99CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#993366" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Believer's Fellowship</b></FONT><B>  </b><B> </b><B>|   </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Believers Fellowship"><U><B>home</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision Statement"><U>Vision Statement</U></A>   |   <B>Statement of Faith</b>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Directions"><U>Directions</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prophetic Words"><U>Prophetic Words</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Photos"><U>Church Photos</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pastor Brian G. 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He pre-existed with God in the form of God. He freely gave up His position, humbled Himself, and became incarnated as a man. We believe Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Holy Spirit</b></I><I><B> </b></I>   We believe the Holy Spirit is God. He came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration and sanctification for believers in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit makes the presence of Jesus Christ real in believers. He teaches, comforts, guides, convicts, and enables believers to live in ways that honor God. He empowers believers for ministry. He indwells everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. We believe in the present and interactive ministry of the Holy Spirit and in all the biblical gifts, which He continues to give today. </div> <div>      </div> <div> <I><B>The Scriptures</b></I><I> </I>   We believe the Bible is God-breathed and is perfect in its accuracy and sure in its dependability.  It is the only conclusive source of wisdom, knowledge and understanding concerning anything we need to know about eternal salvation or practical wisdom concerning relationships, morality, character and conduct.  True spiritual growth requires the Word of God, for it shows us Christ's likeness so that we can be shaped into His image.  The Word of God must be ministered literally and life-givingly in the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Life.   We believe Spirit-led application of the Word of God is the pathway to abundant life and godliness.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The New Birth</b></I>    We believe that accepting and confessing Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God and asking Him to forgive our sins, results in a re-conception and regeneration of our lives. This results in a new birth as we become a new creation in Him unto eternal life. This new birth or being "born again" does not make our decisions and actions immediately perfect; it is the beginning of a new way of life that allows God, in His faithfulness, to conform us to His nature . </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Atonement</b></I><I>    </I>We believe the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sins and His bodily resurrection provide the only ground for justification, forgiveness, and salvation for all who believe that He is the Son of God. Through the atonement, and therefore as the "last Adam", Jesus came to return all who believe in Him to the original mandate that the first Adam failed to accomplish.   We believe the offering of the holy, pure blood of the spotless Lamb of God has atoned for our sins and redeemed us.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Fall of Man</b></I><I>    </I>We believe that human nature origins from two  persons, male and female, who were created in God's image from the dust of the Earth. They were created perfect, but then sinned, thus plunging them and all humanity into sin, guilt, suffering, and death. Therefore all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice. We believe that God, through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, regenerates those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Resurrection</b></I><I>     </I>We believe Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father in all power, majesty and authority.  Likewise, for all who believe in Him, He has seated those saints in heavenly places with Him. We believe that when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father He gave five ministry gifts to mankind: the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher. These ministry gifts are to mature and unify His people and advance His Kingdom.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Baptism in the Holy Spirit </b></I><I>   </I>We believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as being an impartation which empowers, strengthens, comforts, and is accompanied by the manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit endues and transforms the believer to increasingly be formed to the nature and mind of Christ. We accept, acknowledge, encourage, and seek all of the biblical gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit. They are present, active, and vital in aiding the Church and the advancing of the glorious Kingdom of God. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Lord's Supper </b></I><I>   </I>We believe and acknowledge the ordinance of the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus and His crucifixion for the atonement for our sins. He was the Passover Lamb and fulfilled the Feast of Passover. We believe the Lord's Supper is a holy ordinance, and that it testifies of our union with Him and of the remission of our sins through His sacrifice on the Cross. Partaking of the Lord's Supper in a corporate setting also testifies of our relationship with each other as the Body of Christ. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Water Baptism</b></I><I>   </I>We believe that water baptism should be by immersion and consummated immediately after committing to the Lordship of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for our sin. This ordinance is a personal and public statement of our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf. It is also a commitment to follow His example and lay down our lives for the sake of His Kingdom. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Divine Healing</b></I>   We believe Jesus' stripes and blood releases a resource of healing at every dimension of our need, physically, emotionally and spiritually.   As Jesus has borne our sin, so has He borne our sicknesses.  By the anointing with oil, the prayer of faith and the laying on of hands, we have faith in the Healer, who has given authority to His disciples to heal and deliver.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Kingdom of God</b></I>    We believe, as  kings and priests unto our God, the kingdom of God is at hand and is within us in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.   The kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and is advanced by preaching, prayer, deliverance, expectation of the miraculous and a life surrendered to the power of the Holy Spirit.   </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Worship</b></I>   We believe, as priests unto our God, ours is the privilege to invite His majestic presence in the spirit of praiseful worship.  We become more like Him as we worship in Spirit and in Truth.  As we bring a sacrifice of praise unto our God, He will deliver us from our enemies while we enjoy His loving presence.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Antioch Model of Ministry</b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#993366" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>     </b></FONT></div> <div>     "And after they had <I>preached the gospel</I> to that city and had <I>made </I></div> <div> <I>many disciples</I>, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch <I>strengthening the souls</I> of the disciples, encouraging them to continue inthe faith, and saying, `Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.'  And when they had <I>appointed elders for them</I> in every church, <I>having prayed with fasting, they commended them</I> to the Lord in whom</div> <div> they had believed … and from there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.  And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they <I>began to report all things that God had done</I> with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.  And they <I>spent a long time with</I></div> <div> <I>the disciples</I>."   Acts 14:21-23, 26-28</div> <bR> <div> We believe in the Antioch model of ministry, which compels the church to:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Preach the full gospel of the kingdom</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Make disciples</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Strengthen and encourage the brethren</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Raise up new leadership and ministers</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Confirm through prayer, fasting and the laying on of hands</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Remain accountable and report to spiritual authority and covering</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Maintain relationships through fellowship with believers</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Minister deliverance, healing and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as part of the full gospel</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id18_m.htm" TITLE="Statement of Faith"><U>Back to Top</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Believers Fellowship"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>