What We Believe

The Trinity

The Father

​We believe in one God. We believe in God who is eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit— each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity.

The Son

​We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal second person of the trinity, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and is fully God, but became fully man to save a lost world. We believe that he was crucified and three days later rose from the grave. He ascended into heaven, and will one day return again.

The Holy Spirit 

​We believe that the Holy Spirit is the eternal third person of the Trinity, who permanently indwells every believer upon his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

The Bible

​We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the very words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the Bible is without error, and is the final authority of faith and practice.

Humanity

​We believe that mankind was created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but became alienated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, man is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his own efforts.

Salvation

​We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, salvation occurs when people place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin.

Eternity

​We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, to the eternal communion with God for the believer, and the eternal separation from God for the unbeliever.

The Christian Life

​We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself. By obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Holy Spirit, every believer should mature and pursue spiritual transformation to the image of Christ.

The Church

​We believe the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith the finished work of Christ. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving Him and making Him known to a lost world.

Ordinances

Baptism

​A person who receives Jesus Christ as Savior by personal faith, who professes him publicly at any worship service, and who indicates a commitment to follow Christ as Lord, shall be received for baptism. Baptism shall be by immersion in water. 

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
(Romans 6:3-5 NIV)

Communion

The Lord’s Supper is symbolic whereby as an act of obedience Christians who have welcomed Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, through partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine, commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and anticipate His second coming.

​We celebrate Communion every Sunday during worship. 

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
(Luke 22:19-20 NIV)
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
(Acts 2:42 NIV)

Worship

​The church shall meet each Sunday morning for worship.

On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
(Numbers 28:25 NIV)
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
(Hebrews 12:28 NIV)
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV)

Multifaceted Leadership

An imperfect system filled with men and women of integrity will function far better than a perfect system filled with men and women who lack integrity.  The people we choose are as important as the system we use.  Furthermore, the imperfections in any system will stand out larger than life when the system is put to the test.

On a human level, three groups of people direct the ministries of Christ Fellowship Church. Those bodies are the Elders, the Deacons, and the staff.

All church officers must be members of the church.   The officers of CFC shall be as follows:

Staff

The staff directs the day-to-day affairs of the ministries of the church. 
 
The Senior Pastor is responsible for leading the church to function as a New Testament Church. The Pastor will lead the congregation, the organizations, and is part of the church staff. The Senior Pastor meets with the Elder Board on a monthly basis.

The Church Treasurer shall have the duty of receiving, preserving, and pay out upon receipt of vouchers approved and signed by authorized personnel. Keep an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements and render to the church an itemized report at the business meeting

Elder

An Elder will be an overseer of the church. He must have the moral and personal character as given in Titus 1:6-9. The Elders are members of the body who provide general watch, care, and oversight. They continually evaluate the teaching ministry of the church and review major ministry decisions. They use their wisdom, discernment and shepherding gifts to ensure the church remains on a true course Biblically.  Scripture indicates that the ultimate decision-making authority in the church rests with the Elders.

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
(Titus 1:6-9 NIV)

Deacon

A Deacon shall seek to determine the spirit of this office as found in Acts 6. He must have the moral and personal character as found in 1 Timothy 3:6-12.
The Deacons are members of the church empowered by the Elders to oversee the hands-on expertise which they use to serve the church.

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
(Acts 6:1-15 NIV)

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.
(1 Timothy 3:6-12 NIV)