STATEMENT OF BELIEFS

We believe in loving God, loving people, and changing the world. We are committed to helping everyone know and understand God’s love for them. We hope you will find a home at Ekklesia and begin to connect to the family of believers through worship and serving others in the community.

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About God

• We Believe in one God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:9-10
• We Believe God is the creator of man and all things. Genesis 1:1; Acts 17:24-28
• We Believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son and Savior of the world. John 3:16; Matthew 1:18; John 20:24-31
• We Believe the Holy Spirit dwells within every Christian. John 16:5-15

About the Bible

• We Believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the final authority for all matters of faith. Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16

About Mankind

• We Believe that man, created by God, willfully sinned, and as a result, is lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:7

About Salvation

• We Believe salvation (the forgiveness of sins) comes by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ (His death on the cross). Matthew 26:28; Romans 5:8-11; Ephesians 2:8-9
• We Believe the Bible teaches that the pattern to follow to receive Jesus as Savior is to believe in Christ as God’s Son and Savior of the world, to repent of personal sin, to confess Christ as Lord, and to be immersed in baptism. Luke 24:45-47; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-7; 2 Peter 3:9

About the Church

• We Believe the church is the body and bride of Christ, founded on the day of Pentecost, consisting of all Christians everywhere. Matthew 16:13-18; Acts 2:14-47
• We Believe it is God’s plan for the elders to shepherd the local church. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:1-4

About Communion

• We Believe celebrating communion was both modeled and commended by Christ. We believe communion is a memorial, a proclamation, and a participation in the new covenant in Christ Jesus as defined in Scripture.

About Spiritual Gifts

• We Believe that a variety of gifts – some that were for a particular time, and some that remain – were given by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of establishing, expanding, building up, and serving the body of Christ to bring glory to God. Christ has designed the local church like a physical body, consisting of many members that serve many functions, with Christ himself as the head. We are interdependent on each other, and all believers must be the part God has designed and gifted them to be. If not, the body suffers.
• The Spirit of God does not work in a manner contrary to his word, including in the equipping of the body with spiritual gifts. We do not believe in prioritizing the miraculous gifts of the Spirit over the essential gifts of the Spirit – such as the fruits of the Spirit. At Ekklesia we will act in the following ways in our organized gatherings so that there will be order and unity within the church:
  • We will seek God’s healing as prescribed to New Testament believers in James 5:13 – 16, through prayer and anointing with oil by the elders.
  • We seek the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit for serving others, sharing the gospel, and doing good works.
  • We measure the presence of the Holy Spirit by the fruit of the Spirit as an ongoing work in our lives.
  • Because cultural understandings of tongues and prophecy are a non-salvation area of contention among believers, we do not practice or provide space in any of our gatherings for anything that can cause confusion. We teach biblically and contextually about these gifts for unity, clarification, and edification throughout the body of Christ.

About Stewardship & Generosity

• We Believe our whole lives – our money, our talent, and our time – are to be given obediently and generously in response to God’s grace, mercy, and love for us.
• We Believe that giving 10% of our income is defined as a tithe. The biblical starting point of giving is the local church (the storehouse).
• We Believe that any giving over 10% is an offering of gratitude for the great things God does for us daily and can be directed at the giver’s discretion to any worthwhile ministry, church, or organization.
• We Believe that generosity and stewardship are essential to maturity and the accomplishment of Christ’s ongoing mission. Leviticus 27:30, Malachi 3:7-12, Acts 4:32-5:11, 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Mark 12:43, 2 Samuel 24:24, Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42

About Marriage, Gender, & Sexuality

• We Believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
• We Believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture.
• We Believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other.
• We Believe that God has commanded that no sexual activity, of any kind, be engaged in outside of marriage.
• We Believe that neither the federal government, the state, nor the church, nor any other individual possesses the authority or jurisdiction to set or alter Scripture’s definition of marriage. Therefore, unions or partnerships that do not conform to the Biblical definition of marriage are not acknowledged by Ekklesia Christian Church as marriage. We acknowledge that there are some individuals who do not have a physical attraction towards the opposite sex, or who do not wish to marry. We believe these brothers and sisters are wholeheartedly supported and encouraged to remain voluntarily celibate as delineated in Scripture.
• We Believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are repudiated and are not in accord with Scriptures nor the doctrines of Ekklesia Christian Church.
• We Believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who forsake their sin, seeking his mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
• We Believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Ekklesia Christian Church as the local body of Christ, and to provide a Biblical role model to Ekklesia Christian Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Ekklesia Christian Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by Ekklesia Christian Church’s Doctrinal Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:1-8, 32-38, Hebrews 13:4, Matthew 15:18-20, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Matthew 5:16, Philippians 2:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 5:22, Acts 3:19-21, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 6:31, Matthew 19:4-12, Isaiah 56:3-5

About the Sanctity of Human Life

• We Believe that all human life is sacred and created by God, in His image.
• We Believe human life is of immeasurable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. Therefore we believe that we are called to teach about the value of all human life. Therefore we believe that abortion and euthanasia are wrong. Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 139

About Eternal Security

• We Believe a person is saved by grace through faith, and faith is evidenced by action and fruit in a person’s life. We believe faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior is eternal security. Luke 8:13-14, John 10:27-28, Ephesians 2:8-10, James 2:14, Romans 1:5

About Eternity

• We Believe death seals the eternal destiny of each person. The saved will inherit eternal life; the unsaved, eternal separation from God. Romans 8:10-11, Daniel 12:2, John 6:47

About Relationships

• We Believe the God created us for relationship – relationship with God and with one another. We emphasize the greatest commandments, which are to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love others as ourselves. It is by our primary relationship with God, through Jesus, with the Holy Spirit working in us, that love and all Godly fruit is possible. It is by our love for one another as Christians that people will know we are true disciples of Jesus Christ. We bring glory to God by living our lives in authentic, life changing relationship with Him and with one another. Genesis 1-2, Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:34-40, John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 1:5-7

About Ordination

• Ordination through Ekklesia Christian Church is reserved for men who serve as full-time staff for the church. It is overseen and bestowed by the laying on of hands by the Elders. Men who have been identified to serve in pastoral positions in a supported staff role are required to complete ordination. Regular participation and leadership in the following pastoral duties are required to maintain ordination: Weddings, Funerals, Preaching/Teaching, Baptism, and Communion.
• Ekklesia Christian Church ordains men for ministry under the oversight of our Eldership. If a pastor disqualifies himself, his ordination will be removed. If a pastor moves to another church ministry outside the oversight of Ekklesia Christian Church Elders, we will recommend that their ordination continues under the leadership of that church, and that they should reissue his certificate of ordination. In certain cases where a para-church ministry is involved, ordination will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Ekklesia reserves the right to remove ordination. Acts 13:1-3, 20:26-31, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 4:14, 5:17, 5:22