WHAT WE BELIEVE

 

   We believe we have become a part of God’s family through the atoning death of His Son, Jesus; that he took our sins, and in exchange we received his righteousness. He was bodily raised from the dead according to the scriptures, and after forty days, ascended to the right hand of God where he makes intercession for us. We believe He will return (just as he left) to be exalted in his saints, and we will rule and reign with him.

 

 

 We are informal and relaxed, yet desirous and determined to enter into the presence of God. We worship with a blend of traditional and contemporary praise. The sermons are clear, uplifting, and easy to understand. We are strong believers in the power of prayer, and are eager to take all concerns to God each time we worship. 

 

 

 We observe Communion of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. Everyone who has invited Jesus to be their savior is encouraged to participate. We understand the wafer and the cup of juice to be symbolic of Jesus’ body and blood. In his body he took our sin, and his blood was shed for our redemption. While the head (Jesus) is in Heaven, his body (the church) is on earth, continuing to minister in his name.

 

 

 

 We baptize by immersion, but recognize baptism is a symbolic act of a saving grace that has come to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The key to baptism is not the amount of water, but faith and trust in Jesus Christ as savior. If you were baptized in another church, or by another method than we practice, we do not require re-baptism.

 

 

The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, not ours, and is appropriated by faith, not works. The key to salvation is a personal faith response to God’s offer. Although we are justified by his death, we are saved by his life (Romans 5:10), the life he imparts by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the Kingdom of God.

Paul put it this way, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—not of yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works that anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is both done, and in progress. You are saved by Jesus death on the cross, but that salvation is worked out on earth in redeemed relationships with other believers. Spiritual growth begins immediately following the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but the process goes on the rest of our lives.

 

 

   The Scriptures portray the Christian life to be one of balance between what is imputed to us as Christians, and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. Growth is a process, and change should be taking place throughout the Christian’s life. 

Our failures and shortcomings signal the fact that we are far from fully developed and mature. 

That is why we need the Holy Spirit’s help every step of the way, along with the support of a pastor and church family. We believe in encouraging one another to overcome dysfunction and destructive habits. This happens through committed relationships and honest accountability. We do this as friends, not self-appointed moral critics. 

    

 

 

A.        The goal of the Church is to make disciples of all nations and to present the saints complete in Christ.

 

B.                 The fivefold ministry listed in Ephesians 4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers) are still in operation today, and exist for the benefit of the church to bring it to maturity and accomplish the work of the ministry.

 

C.        The local church has a singular head (the pastor), but a plural leadership team (the elders). The church is congregational in that it votes to accept its leaders, approves the budget, and major expenditures. Heartsong Fellowship practices servant leadership, submitting itself in accountability to the church.

 

                D.            It is essential to the life of the Church that scriptural patterns of discipline be practiced and that oversight for          

                            Church discipline, individual and corporate, be exercised by the leadership of the Church.

 

 

We affirm the direct and personal second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the Saints, the Millennium (where the saints rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years), 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 believe in the “new Heaven, the new Earth, and the new Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:1-3), where we shall dwell forever.