What We Believe


The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, God’s infallible written Word, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that it was uniquely, verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that it was written without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.

We accept those areas of doctrinal teaching on which, historically, there has been general agreement among all true Christians. Because of the specialized calling of our movement, we desire to allow for freedom of conviction on other doctrinal matters, provided that any interpretation is based upon the Bible alone, and that no such interpretation shall become an issue which hinders the ministry to which God has called us.

The Gospel Message

Below is a brief summary of what the Bible has to say about how to become a Christian. It is the core of what we believe. You can also watch this short film about life, death, and the love of a Savior.

God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He has a plan for your life.

God’s Love

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3.16, NIV)

God’s Plan

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17.3)

What prevents us from knowing God personally?

People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love and plan.

People are Sinful

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3.23)

Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 10.47.26 PMPeople were created to have fellowship with God; but, because of our stubborn self-will, we chose to go our own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of the Bible calls sin.

People are Separated

“For the wages of sin is death [spiritual separation from God].” (Romans 6.23)

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and people are sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that people are continually trying to reach God and establish a personal relationship with Him through our own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion, but we inevitably fail.

The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf…

Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin.Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God’s love and plan.

He Died in Our Place

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5.8)

He Rose from the Dead

“…Christ died for our sins … He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures … He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred…” (1 Corinthians 15.3-6)

He is the Only Way to God

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ” (John 14.6)

Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 10.47.34 PMThis diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

It is not enough just to know these truths…

We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love and plan.

We Must Receive Christ

“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1.12)

We Receive Christ Through Faith

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2.8-9)

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth

(Read John 3.1-8)

Receive Christ by Personal Invitation

[Christ speaking] “Here I am! I stand at the door knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3.20)

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

These two circles represent two kinds of lives

Which circle best describes your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 10.47.47 PM

 A life without Jesus Christ

Self is in the center and on the throne; Christ is outside.

A life entrusted to Christ

Christ is in the center and on the throne, and self yeilds to Christ.

By Faith Through Prayer (Prayer is talking to God)

God knows your heart and is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

How to Know That Christ is in Your Life

Did you receive Christ into your life?

According to His promise as recorded in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life and be your Savior and friend so you can know Him personally. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)

The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5.11-13)

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13.5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in.

Not Just Feelings.

Do Not Depend on Feelings Alone.

The promise of God’s Word, the Bible – not our feelings – is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. Flying in a jet can illustrate the relationship among fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of out faith and obedience) (John 14.21).

To be transported by a jet, we must place out faith in the trustworthiness of the aircraft and the pilot who flies it. Our feelings of confidence or fear do not affect the ability of the jet to transport us, though they do affect how much we enjoy the trip. In the same way, we as Christians do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word.

Now That You Have Entered Into a Personal Relationship With Christ

The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.

Statement of Faith

1

There is one true God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of Deity and the characteristics of personality.

2

Jesus Christ is God, the living Word, who became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. Hence, He is perfect Deity and true humanity united in one person forever.

3

He lived a sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sins of men by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust in Him alone.

4

He rose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He lived and died.

5

He ascended bodily into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for His own.

6

Man was originally created in the image of God. He sinned by disobeying God; thus, he was alienated from his Creator. That historic fall brought all mankind under divine condemnation.

7

Man’s nature is corrupted, and he is thus totally unable to please God. Every man is in need of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

8

The salvation of man is wholly a work of God’s free grace and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness or religious ceremony. God imputes His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justified them in His sight.

9

It is the privilege of all who are born again of the Spirit to be assured of their salvation from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their Savior. This assurance is not based upon any kind of human merit, but is produced by the witness of the Holy Spirit, who confirms in the believer the testimony of God in His written word.

10

The Holy Spirit has come into the world to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to men. He convicts and draws sinners to Christ, imparts new life to them, continually indwells them from the moment of spiritual birth and seals them until the day of redemption. His fullness, power and control are appropriated in the believer’s life by faith.

11

Every believer is called to live so in the power of the indwelling Spirit that he will not fulfill the lust of the flesh but will bear fruit to the glory of God.

12

Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, His Body, which is composed of all men, living and dead, who have been joined to Him through saving faith.

13

God admonishes His people to assemble together regularly for worship, for participation in ordinances, for edification through the Scriptures and for mutual encouragement.

14

At physical death the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting glory and blessing.

15

At physical death the unbeliever enters immediately into eternal, conscious separation from the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting judgment and condemnation.

16

Jesus Christ will come again to the earth – personally, visibly and bodily – to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

17

The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to disciple men of every nation. The fulfillment of that Great Commission requires that all worldly and personal ambitions be subordinated to a total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.”


SUGGESTIONS FOR GROWTH

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. “…The righteous will live by faith” (Galatians 3.11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:


Remember

Your walk with God depends on what you allow Him to do in and through you empowered by the Holy Spirit, not what you do for Him through self effort.


Fellowship in a Good Church

God’s Word admonishes us, “Let us not give up meeting together…” (Hebrews 10.25). Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not belong to a chuRch, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

Local Churches


How to Contact Us

If you would life to learn more about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ please contact a member of our Staff Team.

As well as getting involved with a local church we invite you to come hang out with the students of cru. There are many opportunities for you to get involved and grow in your walk with God, such as a Bible study and the Main Meeting.