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MAILING
ADDRESS
Church
in the Vineyard
111 Vineyard
Way
West Grove, PA 19390
(610) 345-1102
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Core Beliefs
Core Beliefs are often the
focus of the alignment question. They
are important to us as well and are a part of an overall picture of our church.
In this section, we provide a summary statements of our beliefs.
This is a more detailed discussion than the one from our denomination,
the Evangelical Free Church of America. Specific
statements about issues often cause controversy.
Summary:
¨
About
God.
God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God
is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, having all power and
majesty. God exists as the Trinity, in three persons, yet one God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God
passionately desires relationship with us and towards this end continually
invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning, and service. Genesis
1:1, John 14:6-9, 15-17 and John 16:7-15, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14,1
John 4:9-10
¨
About
Jesus Christ.
God expressed Himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for the
sins of us all, was buried, rose again from the dead, and ascended to heaven.
Colossians 1:13-23 and
Colossians 2:8-14, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Matthew 22:36-40 John 14:1-3, Hebrews
1:1-3, Acts 10:42-43, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-1
¨
About the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, sent from God
to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ, teaches, comforts, and
empowers us, giving each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity,
interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character, and love among
Christians. Romans 5:5 and Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Galatians 5:16-25,
Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 4:3-4, and Ephesians 5:18, John 14:26 and John
16:7-1
¨
About the Bible.
We believe that God speaks to us in the
Bible, and that it is our privilege to seek to understand God's message and
apply it responsibly to our lives. The Bible is our standard in all we say and
do. We believe that God's unchangeable Biblical message ought to be presented
in relevant and contemporary ways, free of religious jargon and understandable
to the people of our community. Matthew
5:17-19, 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17,Hebrew 4:12, 2 Peter 1:16-21 and
2 Peter 3:14-18, Psalm 19:7-11 and Psalm 119:9-16, Joshua 1:7-8, Acts 17:11
¨
About Salvation.
All people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to
live in a vital relationship with God. However, through our sin (failing to
live by God's moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God
and we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship,
spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. However, God sent His Son,
Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken
relationships with God and others, through Christ's death on the cross, a
perfect act of redemption for each of us. Salvation comes to people on the
basis of God's grace through their faith in Jesus alone. They receive the free
gift of forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting of their sin
and embracing Jesus as their Savior (sin payment) and Lord (leader of their
lives). Good works and a holy
life, although totally unable to save anyone, are the natural product of
repentant, believing people. I Peter
2:24, 3:18, Romans 3:9-28, Romans 6:23, and Romans 10:9-10, John 3:16 and John
5:24, Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:3-8,James 2:14-26
Detailed Statement From the
Evangelical Free Church of America
l.
We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the
inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete
revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and the divine and final
authority for Christian faith and life.
2.
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and
eternally existing in three persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
3.
We believe that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, having been
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He died on the cross, as a sacrifice for our sins, according to the
Scriptures. Further, He rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven,
where at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and
Advocate.
4.
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord
Jesus Christ, and during this age to convict men, regenerate the believing
sinner, and indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly
living and service.
5.
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but fell into sin
and is therefore lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can
salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
6.
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection
provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe,
and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and thus
become the children of God.
7.
We believe that water baptism and Lord's Supper are ordinances to be
observed by the church during the present age.
8.
We believe that the true church is composed of all such persons who,
through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the
Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ of which He is the
Head.
9.
We believe that only those who are thus members of the true church
shall be eligible for membership in the local church.
10. We believe
that Jesus Christ is the Lord and head of the Church, and that every local
church has the right, under Christ, to decide and govern its own affairs.
11. We believe in
the personal, pre-millennial, and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and
that this "blessed hope" has a vital bearing on the personal life
and service of the believer.
12.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, of the believer to
everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, and of the unbeliever to
judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.
Specific Issues:
1.
Women in Ministry—We affirm that women can serve along side of men in
leadership and teaching positions as they are gifted and have the appropriate
character. Limitations on women
in these roles in a few New Testament texts were driven by cultural
assumptions of the time and specific needs in those churches, not by timeless
biblical principles.
2.
Charismatic Gifts—We affirm that all of the gifts ascribed to God’s
Spirit are potentially useful for today.
We do not affirm the notion that only those who have these gifts have
God’s Spirit or ideas such that every Christian will speak in tongues.
Every true Christian has God’s Spirit even if they do not fully
access God’s power.
3.
Baptism—We practice baptism of believers by immersing them in water.
We do not practice infant baptism.
We do not require baptism for church membership, but believe it is a
significant way to publicly declare one’s faith in Jesus.
4.
Homosexuality—While we do not approve of homophobia or hate crimes
against those of a same-sex orientation, we believe that, like other forms of
sexual expression outside of a marriage commitment, homosexuality is a sin.
We believe individuals with this lifestyle will find their patterns of
behavior challenged in a relationship with Jesus. We all will find corrections/alterations of what comes
“naturally” to us as God changes us to be more like Him.
5.
Divorce—Divorce is a concession that is not part of God’s design
for marriage (Matthew 19). There
are certain situations where divorce is advisable.
There are others when it is clearly against God’s will.
While divorce can complicate an individual’s life, it is not a cause,
in and of itself, for keeping people from leadership positions.
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