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Our Statement of Faith and Practices
Definition Church’s Statement of Faith is intended to clarify what we believe the Bible teaches on a number of essential topics. Before reading on these topics, we’d like you to understand our beliefs on how this Statement should be read and approached.
If you’d like to be a part of our church, our hope is that you would carry this same vision and heart in how we relate to each other.
Our mission is to help you be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did; and Jesus is the truth. Our conviction is this: If we help each other grow in relationship with Jesus, Jesus will clarify our theology, increase our freedom, and anoint us to work together to share this good news with our world!
The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in truth and practice. In its original writing, it is inspired by God, infallible and inerrant.
There is one God, who has eternally existed in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are equally and eternally God.
Jesus Christ is God, the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, and died on the cross for our sins. The shedding of His blood is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. He rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.
The Holy Spirit is God, the third member of the trinity, and God’s active presence in the world to do God's work. When a person opens his or her heart to Christ, he or she is born again by the Spirit. At Salvation the Holy Spirit comes to live in the new believer’s heart. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to be with Jesus, to live in God’s presence. The Holy Spirit helps us become like Jesus by transforming us from the inside out. Finally, the Holy Spirit empowers us to go into our world and do what Jesus did. This is what it means to live a Spirit filled life.
The church is the Body of Christ, representing Jesus in the world, empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus together and to teach others to follow Jesus in order to experience abundant life and fulfill the great commission.
God created mankind without sin. However, Adam and Eve freely decided to rebel against God’s rule, declared independence, and brought sin (disordered desires) into God’s good creation. Mankind’s only hope is redemption, through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Repentance is turning away from sin and independence and turning to Christ in faith and dependence. The Christian life is a transformational journey. As we learn to be with Jesus, we become like Jesus, and in time begin doing what Jesus did.
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. Therefore, through our faith in Christ, we too will be raised to new and eternal life.
We are saved by grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift from God, not something we can earn. Salvation allows us to escape God’s judgment so we can enjoy heaven–eternal paradise with God.
Christians are people who have decided to trust Jesus for salvation and to follow Him in grace. They are born again, adopted into God’s family, and have the Holy Spirit living in them.
Sanctification is the ongoing process of becoming like Jesus. As we yield to God’s Word and His Spirit, He produces His life and character in us.
The Sacraments or ordinances of the church are a visible, physical representation of a spiritual and theological reality the early church instituted to build and strengthen our faith. They allow us to have an experience that serves as a metaphor and public testimony representing an important spiritual moment and step of faith a new believer has decided to take.
Jesus taught new believers to be baptized in water, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Baptism means to immerse and symbolizes a person’s death (turning away from sin and independence) and resurrection (turning to Jesus, following Him in faith and dependence). Baptism is a public witness and declaration that a person has decided to follow Christ.
Communion is a worship experience where believers remember, reflect upon and celebrate what Christ accomplished on the cross for our salvation, redemption, and sanctification. The bread represents his body which was broken for us. The wine/juice represents his blood which was shed for us. Communion is a time of reflection, repentance, and worship as our hearts are filled with wonder and gratitude for all Jesus has done for us.
The Holy Spirit is currently and actively working to equip the church today through a variety of spiritual gifts. They are used to build and sanctify the church, to demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and to confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible's lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters.
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures.
Marriage is a monogamous, heterosexual union instituted and ordained by God. As such, it is to be an exclusive covenantal union of one man and one woman for the purpose of a lifetime of mutual commitment and companionship. A civil government's sanction of a union will be recognized as a legitimate marriage by this church only to the extent that it is consistent with this belief. God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity is to occur outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We believe that God created human beings and that He created them male and female. Therefore, gender is a biological fact and people should live in accordance with their biological gender. As such, God created men and women differently so as to complement and complete each other.
Because we believe that all human beings are created in the image of God, we affirm the unique value of all human life. We believe that life begins at the point of conception and that every life should be protected and honored whenever possible.
Nearly all of the change and transformation we experience with God happens in community and meaningful relationships. Small groups provide you a safe place to experience the freedom and redemption that Jesus came to give you—and help others experience the same. We meet regularly in small groups with other believers to encourage, challenge, and love each other as the family of God.
Jesus places a clear emphasis on finding rest and peace in Him. The practice of Sabbath teaches us to release control and to leave behind the idols of productivity and image. We rest weekly to remember that our identity is about more than just what we do for God. Taking time each week to stop working and to rest and connect with God teaches us that God is in control and we were made for a relationship with Him, not just productivity for Him.
We are influenced by what we surround ourselves with. Solitude helps us silence all the voices in our lives to more clearly hear God and connect with Him. When we can find quiet and solitude, we develop a greater understanding of our emotions, our thoughts, and God’s perspective on our lives. We practice solitude to eliminate unhealthy influences and more clearly discern God’s will for our lives.
Reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible gives us the ability to hear God’s voice, understand our relationships, discern His will and purpose for our lives, and discover the truth. We believe that before you begin your day, God has something to say. We study the Bible daily to connect with and learn from God.
Prayer allows us to learn God’s heart for us and to share our hearts with Him. Prayer is powerful and often changes our circumstances, our perspective, or both. We pray daily to express our emotions to God (the good and the bad), allow Him to address our thinking, and ask God to move in our lives and our world.
Fasting teaches us to put aside our desires (both good and bad) for a season for something better. We learn to hunger for the things of God more than what our flesh wants. It prepares us to fight temptation and strengthens our spiritual resolve. We refrain from eating (or consuming things like tv, social media, news, etc.) for set periods of time throughout the year to hear God’s voice more clearly and renew our spiritual hunger for His purposes in our lives.
We share our faith with others because if we’ve truly experienced God’s grace and love others, we will want them to experience the same. Sharing our faith sharpens our understanding of the Word, reminds us of everything that God has done for us, and helps others experience His love. We share the Gospel (that Jesus came and died so we could have a relationship with Him) wherever there is an opportunity to introduce others to the same love that changed our lives.
Jesus modeled servant leadership better than anyone who has walked the planet and then challenged us to live the same way. When we serve, we are reminded that our issues are not the only issues, that the world is bigger than our problems. We find joy in helping others overcome their struggles. We serve because through serving, we find life, and we help others find life.
The story of the Gospel can be summed up in two words: God (the subject), gave (the verb). If we are to reflect our Creator's image, we must be willing to live lives of extravagant generosity. We must be willing to give of our time, skills, and finances. We reflect our Creator's generosity and share the love and hope of the Gospel with others through our giving.
