Beliefs & Positions
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father.
Through Him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
He suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
The Trinity
We worship the Triune God, three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe God the Father is the Source of all existence. It was in His image He, with the Son and Holy Spirit, created humankind as male and female who He relates to as a Father to His children.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. He died on the cross to be a sacrifice for our sin and to reconcile us to God. Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father.
We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and Son and is of the same nature and glory. He is the Administrator of grace and the source of comfort, assurance, and guidance for believers.
The Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Scripture
We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testament form the Scriptures. They are the inspired word of God, entirely infallible and inerrant. We believe they contain all things necessary for salvation through Christ Jesus who is the only Mediator between God and humanity.
Sacredness of Life & Redeeming Violence
We value all human life and seek to find redemption for that which has been threatened or inflicted with violence.
We believe that all human life is sacred. Having been created in the image of God, we choose to shape our actions towards others accordingly. This sacred view of human life influences our position on the following matters:
Abortion: We believe that abortion is the taking of human life. We are aware that cases involving health of the mother or child, rape, incest, and others often are situations that initiate contemplation of abortion. But in each and every case, we the church desire to pray, discern, and walk with all women and their families who are contemplating an abortion to find a route that best honors God and preserves the life of the mother, and the life of the baby. We believe there is always hope for women and their families who are contemplating an abortion or have had one previously, for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1) and nothing that would keep you from having a place in our church family. Though you may feel/felt trapped in a corner as if there were no other option than abortion, we believe our God is the God of the impossible and His redeeming grace which is more creative than our human limits and laws. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good," (Rom. 12:21).
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Gun Use: Though our country preserves the rights of its citizens to bear arms, we believe that under no circumstances should the use of guns be exercised on another human being. We lose over 100 people a day to gun violence in the US. Gun Violence is now the number one killer of children in our country. There are more guns in America than people. Rather than increase our collection of deadly weapons, we desire to be creative advocates of nonviolence as seen in Scripture: "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword abasing nation; they will train for war no more," (Micah 4:3-4).
(Domestic) Violence: Equivalent to gun usage, we believe that under no circumstances should violence be brought to another human being, be it physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or verbal. We believe it is our Christian responsibility to avoid violent behavior in ourselves and also prevent harm done to others: "Defend the defenseless, the fatherless and the forgotten, the disenfranchised and the destitute. Your duty is to deliver the poor and the powerless; liberate them from the grasp of the wicked," (Psalm 82:3-4).
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Death Penalty: Because we live in a world with evil, we require a justice system that separates criminals from other citizens. But since we are followers of Christ, we live by a higher moral code that believes no one is beyond redemption. And while certain individuals may not return to society in their lifetime via prison, it is not our responsibility to decide when their life should be ended. Rather, it should be our responsibility to seek the salvation and restoration of the lost souls in prison. The crowds would ask, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit You?' [God] will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for Me,'" (Matt. 25:37-40).
War: Though foreign policy may seem as if its unreachable and global conflicts may not affect our day-to-day lives, we choose to be advocates of nonviolence in local, national, and global affairs. When it came time for Jesus to be arrested, a guard started to take Jesus away, and Peter retaliated against the guard's wrongdoing with violence, cutting off his ear with a sword. "Jesus answered [Peter], 'No more of this.' And He touched the man's ear and healed him," (Luke 22:51).
Human Sexuality
We believe in the traditional and biblical view of human sexuality and marriage.
God created humankind, distinctly male and female, in His image which He called very good (Gen. 1-2). Sexual relations are reserved for a faithful, monogamous marriage between a man and woman (Ex. 20:14, 1 Cor. 7, Heb. 13:4).
Scripture distinguishes sin (i.e. the consideration, decision, or action outside the will of God) from the temptation to sin, as Jesus was tempted, yet He did not sin (Matt. 4:1-11). This is a significant distinction considering there are many followers of Christ who experience same-sex attraction, but, like all sin, we are only held accountable to it if we act upon it.
Scripture makes no deliberate affirmation of same-sex practices and continues, in the New Testament, the same sexual ethic that was held in the Old Testament, that sexual relationships are reserved for monogamous marriages between husband and wife (Rom. 1:26-27, Lev. 18:22, 20:13, Matt. 19:4).
Ultimately, we all carry many identities, and God invites us to surrender all of them to Him and live through our identity in Christ rather than our own identities. Though we do not affirm same-sex relationships (i.e. active partnerships, marriages, or sexual relationships), we believe the Church has not loved those who are same-sex attracted well and desire to be a church who can love and commune with everyone, no matter their identity.
Marriage & Singleness
We believe that every person is created in the image of God and sexuality is one component of humanity that reflects His image. While sexual intercourse is reserved for a monogamous marriage between a man and woman, we seek to always honor God in our sexuality, no matter our marital status. Marriage is a gift from God through which a husband and wife may receive grace from God. But marriage is by no means inevitable, the goal of life, or superior to singleness. Because singleness is also a gift from God through which He gives us grace. We can live without sex, but we cannot live without love. We seek to honor God as a church of married couples and singles who love God and love one another as the extended family we are in Christ.
RESOURCES: on marriage, sex, sexuality, and gender
Life with God
When we invite Jesus into our lives by saying "yes" to Him, Scripture tells us our old life and habits join Christ on the cross to be crucified and we are resurrected with Jesus to live a new life (Rom. 6:6). In this, God adopts us into His family, calling us His children (2 Cor. 6:18) and establishes our eternal citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). When God created us, He wanted us to have free will so we could choose this loving relationship with Him, and though we may surrender our lives to Him, we still live in a world of sin and temptation. Where before our life with Christ we were enslaved to sinful behavior (Rom. 7), by Christ, God has made it possible to not sin (Rom. 8). It is no easy or simple task but rather than live in bondage to things we know we shouldn't do, God has made a way to freedom.
God provides grace for us when we say "yes" initially and He provides grace as we continue to say "yes" to Him the rest of our lives. One invitation of grace He has for believers is water baptism which marks our initiation into His family that is the church. Baptism is like our "pledge of allegiance" or wedding vows, a signal from God to us, that we are His and He is ours. In addition to water baptism, God graces us with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. God desires that we be unified with the entire Trinity, to be a child of God, united with Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is as simple as an invitation of prayer to the Holy Spirit and/or being anointed with oil that we receive the Holy Spirit, His power, and supernatural spiritual gifts. These gifts, in all their diversity, are also a means of grace. Some provide greater encouragement to the church, other gifts are stronger in small, intimate settings. Though these gifts cannot be "activated" by our own power, they can be strengthened and built like a muscle for the Holy Spirit to use at His will. All gifts are aided by wisdom, discernment, and discretion both personally and corporately (1 Cor. 12).
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We serve in the Great Lakes Region of The Wesleyan Church , a Protestant denomination descending from John Wesley's holiness movement. Our MC's leadership and orthodoxy is benefited by the accountability that exists within our denomination to ensure that we do not stray from the truth of Scripture, our faith's tradition, or reasonable practice.