Scriptures

We believe the bible is the Life Giving Word of God, and that the Old and New Testaments were the product of men inspired by the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, is what we accept as our guide in becoming fully developing followers of Jesus. (I Thessalonians 2:13, II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:21)

The Trinity

The Lord is one but is manifested in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit being co-equal. (I John 5:7) God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He created the universe in love. He created man in His own image to have a family and sent Jesus to restore man to Himself after the rebellion and fall of man. (John 1:14; 14:28; 16:28) Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption, He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary so He is forever one Christ with two natures—God and man. The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature and conforms us to the image of Christ. (John 15:26)

Salvation

The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, to save us from our sinful lives and eternal hell, and is based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. (Romans 3:23) Salvation is affected by personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification) and personal acceptance of Him into one’s life as Savior and Lord (regeneration). The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Salvation is an act of free will in response to God’s personal love for mankind. (Romans 5:8) It is predestined only in the sense that God, through His omniscience, already knew those who would choose Him, but made man a free moral agent, able to choose. It is secure in the eternal, unchanging commitment of God who does not lie and is forever the same. Salvation should produce an active lifestyle of loving obedience and service to Jesus Christ our Savior. (Ephesians 2:8)

Water Baptism and the Lord's Supper

The Word of God requires of the Church two continual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first, baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual’s life and is a testimony to all that the person now belongs to Jesus. It is identification with Jesus and is sealed in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again. Both are reserved for those who are believers. (Matthew 28:19, Acts 8:36-39, Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12)

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this age and is received subsequent to the new birth. This experience releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit including the gift of the heavenly prayer language. (Matthew 3:11, John 14:16-17, Acts 1:8; 2:4; 2:38-39; 19:1-7 Note: We recognize that emotionalism has often been associated with expressions of the Holy Spirit and at times there has been a failure in the global church to properly administrate the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, but we do not think these are sufficient reasons to limit the work or expression of the Holy Spirit at Faith Family Church. Jesus clearly said that He was sending the Holy Spirit to add power to our daily walk and we by no means want to diminish the gift that Jesus paid such a terrible price to give us.

Sanctification

The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe that sanctification is a progressive work of grace, starting at the time of salvation and continuing until the return of Jesus. (Hebrews 12:14, I Thessalonians 5:23, II Peter 3:18, I Corinthians 1:30, II Corinthians 3:18, Philippians 3:12-14)

Healing

Healing is for the whole body. It is a provision for every believer through the power of God by the prayer of faith and the laying on of hands. We do not believe that this was only available in bible times, but is active and accessible today. Healing—body, soul and spirit—and all of God’s provisions for His saints, are provided for in the atonement, but these must be appropriated. (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17, Mark 16:18, James 5:14-16, I Peter 2:24)

Christian Life

We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the believer in this world to be one of balance between what is expected of us as Christians and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. Hence, God’s provision for His children is total, and the promises are final and forever. The shortcomings of the individual and of the Church are because we are ever progressing in sanctification. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.

The Church

We believe the purpose of the church and church leadership is to be an example of the goodness of God, thereby leading men to repentance, and to train those who believe to live a life of victory in this earth. (Romans 2:4, Ephesians 4:12) The church is a body of people who come together to celebrate Jesus, not a building or a personality. It is comprised of all the believers who meet together and participate in becoming fully developing followers of the way of Christ. Meeting for Church should be a time when we come together corporately to worship, and individually discover our good life. (I Corinthians 12:27)

End Times

The angels said, "This same Jesus...shall so come in like manner..." (Acts 1:11) We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the millennium and the final judgment. The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, determined by their relationship to Jesus Christ. We agree with the Bible I reference to the final state of the new heavens and the new earth. When He comes, "... the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air..." (I Thessalonians 4:16-17) Following the tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 20:6)

Hell and Eternal Retribution

The one who physically dies in his sins without Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the Lake of Fire, and therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The Lake of Fire is literal. The terms "eternal" and "everlasting" used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the Lake of Fire carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the presence of God. (Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 19:20)