What We Believe
The Trinity
We believe that God is One person and yet simultaneously is Three persons, in unity of the Godhead.
• God The Father: Always Was, Is, and Shall Always be; the Creator of All Things, Almighty, All Knowing, All Present.
• God The Son: God in the flesh, God’s Only Son, was with the Father from the Beginning, was, is, and shall always be, Born of a Virgin, Taught the World of the Father, Crucified, Rose Again and now sits on the right side of God the Father in Heaven, and one day will return for the final Victory, Savior for all who believe in Him; Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. Reconciles us from our sin, to the Father. We believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, through the sacrifice of the Cross, if we but come through faith and trust in Him and the victory over the Cross.
• God the Holy Spirit: God with us now in Spirit which enters our lives as we surrender ourselves to God’s Lordship, Christ living within us to empower, bless, and guide our lives.
The Church: We believe that Christ established His Church to continue His work by proclaiming to the world God’s desire for all of mankind’s repentance and God’s gift of Saving Grace by faith through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. We believe that regardless of denominational and some doctrinal differences, the Church of Jesus Christ is universal; that where Jesus Christ is the center of faith there is then a oneness of the church in and through Jesus Christ.
Sacraments: We believe that there are two sacraments, which Jesus instituted for the church to continue to lift up throughout its ministry.
• Baptism: Baptism is an outward sign of an inward dwelling spirit. It is also a statement to God and those in the faith of Christ, that God is ours but most of all we belong to Him and are in His abiding care.
Holy Communion: We celebrate the participation of the Cup and Bread of Holy Communion in remembering our Savior’s “Last Supper” and His Sacrifice/Passion/Suffering on the Cross of Calvary for our sins. These elements are symbols of Jesus’ Body and Blood. All persons coming with repentant hearts are welcome to come to the Lord’s Supper.
We believe “original sin” is born into the nature of all mankind, that man’s nature is sinful. Our nature is inclined to evil, which is engendered from Adam and thus mankind is fallen and separated from fellowship with God apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ and our faith upon that work of grace.
Values we hold dear:
• We believe that God loves each of us and desires a personal and growing relationship with each of us. (John 3:16; Phil. 3:1ff))
• We believe that lost people matter to God (those who know not Christ Jesus as Savior), and thus they matter to us. (Luke 5:30-32; 15)
• We believe that loving relationship should permeate every aspect of and every relationship of the church. (John 17, 1 Cor. 12 & 13)
• We believe that the church of Jesus Christ, in order to fulfill Jesus’ prayer and the image of God the Father to God the Son, should function as a unified community of faith and servanthood with men and women alike using their spiritual gifts for the common good of all. (1 Cor. 12, Rom. 12)
• We believe that the ministry of the church and the will of God needs all of us in service in order to fulfill His plan for us in this time in eternity and history. (1 Cor. 12, Eph. 4)
• We believe that excellence in our service and worship brings honor and glory to God. (Proverbs 27:17, Mal.1:6-14, Col.3:17)
• We believe that God’s vision for His church always precedes resources, but that in God’s infinite ability He will also always provide the material, financial, intellectual, and spiritual resources in and through His people to fulfill that vision. (Heb. 11:1 ff)
• We believe that Biblical authority is primary to who we are as individuals and as the church, and yet we must also be culturally relevant. In this way, as ambassadors for Christ, we are “in the world” and yet not “of the world”. (1 Tim.4:13; 2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Pt. 1:16-21; Rev. 22:18-19)
• We believe that participation with the rest of the body of faith by each person is essential for maturity of both the body and the individual. (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4)
• We believe that Biblical Study and Prayer produces maturity which is essential for the spiritual growth of the body and the strength of its ministry. (2 Tim.3:16,17; John 17; Col,1:9-14, Heb. 13:18-19)
• We believe it is important for each person to be ready to give an account for their lives, for the return of Christ, “perhaps today,” could be experienced this very day. There is much work to be done. (Mt.24:3 ff, Rev 1-22)
• We believe that cooperatively as the church or individually, we cannot fulfill our mission and callings of ministry alone. We need God’s Presence. We are the church of Jesus Christ by His Grace, and in order to be all that God desires of us we must be empowered by His Spirit. In order for us to accurately know God and faithfully serve Him (Him alone) we must be indwelled with Divine power and Divine wisdom not humanity’s power or wisdom. We must never allow ourselves to be a form of religion without His power. (Acts 1,2,3 ff)
To be true Disciples of Jesus Christ, St A’s, seeks:
• To be a Biblically Based community, in which all that we decide, all that we say, all that we teach, all that we stand for, and all that we live for, is based on the authority of the Scriptures.
• To cooperatively and individually lift up, “to exalt”, the name of Jesus Christ in the worship of the body and in whatever arenas of opportunities may be in God’s plan. To glorify the name of God in worship.
• To accept the commission to “go into all the world…” as the focus of every outreach ministry, to lead those without a knowledge of Jesus Christ to a place where they can see, hear, and experience the love-grace-and redemption offered them by Jesus Christ.
• To train and educate all members of the church to first become contagious in their Christian faith and Christian witnessing. Also, we want to create in all members the knowledge of and the usage of his/her Spiritual Gifts for the ministry of Christ, thus fulfilling their God given callings and purpose in God’s perfect plan. This requires both Biblical maturity and growth, as well as creating opportunities beyond the daily coincidences for the usage of each person’s ministries and gifts (volunteers on a mission).
• To be an example within society of moral perfection as directed and authorized by the scriptures, in both our obedience and our proclamation.
• To proclaim the justice and the mercy of God that is offered unto all persons regardless of any circumstances, and to always express this with Godly compassion.
Our Philosophy of Ministry
• The most important aspect of our church is making disciples. A disciple is a mature, growing believer who walks with God, lives the word, contributes to the work, and impacts the world.
• The senior pastor’s role and commitment is to give direction, train leaders, teach the Word, and be a model disciple. The senior pastor oversees the work of the church as primarily carried out by the laity. The pastor is part of the leadership team meeting the ministry needs of the congregation. The role of other staff members, as members of the leadership team, is the same as that of the senior pastor (pastors) in that staff member’s area of ministry.
• The role of lay leadership is to model discipleship, to grow in their own ministry skills, and to equip the rest of the congregation for ministry.
• The church member’s commitment is to grow as a disciple, to be trained to use his/her gifts, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the role of ministering to Christians and pre-Christians. The church will encourage and empower members to be creative, pro-active, need-oriented, and involved in disciple making. The church will grant authorization and give resources whenever possible to train all members so this may continually occur in the life every member.
• We recognize servant gifts as being equally important as leadership gifts in building a healthy, disciple making church.
• All staff, policy makers, and group leaders must be growing disciples committed to the church’s philosophy of ministry.
• Leaders must be persons of character who are willing to use their gifts in service.
• All leaders of key ministries will take part in on-going leadership training events on a regular basis to constantly improve the gifts God has given them.
• Church Programs: The purpose of every activity of our church is to intentionally develop and strengthen disciples. We will evaluate every activity and modify as needed based on its effectiveness in making disciples.
• Through Church Programming, we will offer small groups and other ministries at multiple commitment levels to develop sequential growth for disciples.
• We believe a healthy, mature, and growing disciple is also a more contagious Christian whom God will use in taking Jesus Christ to those persons they meet in this life-time.