The Core Beliefs of Faithpoint Church

We profess the historic Christian faith in God, incarnate in Jesus Christ for our salvation and ever at work in human history in the Holy Spirit. We share a common heritage with Christians of every age and nation. This heritage is grounded in the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, which is the source and measure of all valid Christian teaching.

Our distinctive Wesleyan heritage stems from an emphasis upon Christian life – faith and love put into practice – and has been the hallmark of those Wesleyan traditions now incorporated into Faithpoint Church. Using the language below, Faithpoint Church shall consist of members who passionately profess the same belief convictions and are comfortable ministering alongside others who may or may not share the exact same belief persuasions and opinions. We believe that if prospective members have differences in our belief convictions, we should not attempt ministering together. However, we do believe persons can have differences involving belief persuasions and opinions, as long as they can model, teach, and promote our positions without compromising their integrity.

CONVICTIONS – PERSUASIONS – OPINIONS

(a) CONVICTIONS: Core Christian beliefs we believe are the essence of Christianity:

1) Authority of Scripture – The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is the Word of God, fully true; our final authority in all matters of faith, practice, and lifestyle.

2) God – There is One true God who exists eternally in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are of one substance and equal in power and glory.

3) Deity of Christ – Jesus Christ is 100% God and yet 100% man, born of the Virgin Mary.

4) Substitutionary Atonement – Though all have sinned and deserve eternal separation from God, Jesus Christ died on the cross as our substitute – taking upon Himself the penalty of our sins.

5) Resurrection of Christ – On the third day Jesus rose from the dead in the body which had been laid in the tomb, defeating sin and death.

6) Salvation by Grace through Faith – A person can be saved from the condition of sin and spiritual death only by the grace of God, when that person experiences the free gift of new birth by placing his or her personal faith in Jesus Christ.

7) Second Coming of Christ – Jesus Christ will return someday, at a date undisclosed by Scripture, to judge the living and the dead. Those who have received the gift of salvation will spend eternity with Christ. Those who have rejected the gift of salvation will be condemned to eternal separation from God.

8) Marriage and Sexuality:

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one, legitimate meaning, and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union, as delineated by Scripture. Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility or space owned, leased, or rented by this church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as their genders were determined by anatomy at birth [and not subject to change]. Whenever there is a conflict between the church’s position and any new legal standard for marriage, the church’s statement of faith, doctrines, and biblical positions will govern (Ge. 2:24; Eph. 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Cor. 7:1-9).

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage as defined in (a) above. We believe that any other type of sexual activity, identity or expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage, including those that are becoming more accepted in the culture and the courts, are contradictory to God’s natural design and purpose for sexual activity (Gen. 2:24; Ge. 19:5; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9-10; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).

We believe that God creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, unchangeable genders together reflect the image and nature of God, and the rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person (Ge. 1:26-27).

Although our marriage and sexuality standards are firmly based on the Bible, we also believe that every individual must be treated with dignity and respect, free of threats or harassment.

(b) PERSUASIONS: Beliefs about which we have persuasions, though recognizing many biblical Christians have drawn different conclusions:

1) Predestination: All have sinned and cannot save themselves. Jesus died for all, and God is drawing all people to Himself. Before the foundation of the world, God – who stands outside our continuum of time – foreknew who would place their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. His foreknowledge, though, does not logically necessitate His predestined salvation of certain individuals. God has, indeed, predetermined that the church will be saved (corporate election), but a person becomes a part of the church through responding to His wooing, prevenient grace and choosing to place his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

2) Assurance of Salvation: Scripture makes clear that it is the privilege of all Christian believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their Savior, and thereafter. This assurance is not based upon any kind of merit but is produced by the witness of the Holy Spirit who confirms in the believer the testimony of God in His written Word (Rom. 8:15-16; 1 John 2:3-6, 3:24, 5:11-12).

3) Tongues: The supernatural spiritual gifts still exist today. Speaking in tongues is a valid gift for the church today and should operate under the boundaries of 1 Corinthians 14. One such boundary: speaking or praying in tongues confuses unbelievers attending a corporate worship service (1 Cor. 14:23-25) and should therefore be expressed in believers’ settings such as like-hearted prayer groups or personal prayer times. Speaking in tongues may accompany being filled with the Holy Spirit but is not “the sign” that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit.

4) Baptism: We believe water baptism is a sacrament to be observed by the church today, a means by which we experience God’s grace tangibly, though not a requisite to salvation. Faithpoint offers to those who have placed their faith in Christ any of three modes of water baptism practiced throughout church history: immersion, pouring, and sprinkling. Faithpoint offers either infant dedication or infant baptism, leaving that decision to the parents. Any prior baptism in a Christian church, including infant baptism, is acceptable, although we have a strong preference for celebrating believer’s baptism.

5) Communion: We believe the Lord’s Supper is a sacrament to be observed by the church today, a way we experience God’s grace tangibly, though not a requisite to salvation or church membership. We believe that Communion is an outward sign or symbol of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. While we do not believe that the bread and juice literally turn into the actual blood and body of Christ, we do believe that in Communion we experience the very real presence and grace of Jesus Christ with us.

6) Spiritual Warfare: Satan and demons exist. They were defeated through the cross but will not be destroyed until the Second Coming. Believers have authority in Jesus’ name over demonic powers. Believers may be oppressed by demons but not possessed. Prayer is essential for the church.

7) Women in Ministry: God has established authority in the home based on gender, but He has established authority in the church based on office. God does call and equip women for pastoral ministry offices.

8) Church Government: Several different church government configurations can fulfill the Bible’s description of church government. The Faithpoint Staff drives the ministry decisions at Faithpoint, with the Senior Pastor serving as presiding elder. The Senior Leadership Team serves in an advisory and accountability role, primarily to the Senior Pastor.

9) Church Membership & Leadership: All persons who commit to uphold these beliefs and pledge to live according to the Membership Covenant are welcome to be an active part of the vibrant community and body of Christ at Faithpoint. Potential leaders must be known for a period of time sufficient for two or more other leaders to affirm they are living by their membership commitment (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Eph. 4)

(c) OPINIONS: Topics about which we welcome opinions about but would not argue for, such as:

1) What songs or instruments should be used in public worship services.

2) Which Bible translation is best for sermons or devotions.

3) Various biblical end-times scenarios and timeline interpretations.