What Kind of Church are We?

Christian - We believe that salvation is solely a gift of God’s grace, received through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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Trinitarian - We believe God exists co-equally and co-eternally as God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
[Gen 1:26; Jn 1:1-4, 14:16: Acts 5:1-4: 2 Cor 3:16-18, 13:14: Heb 1:3].Christian -We believe that salvation is solely a gift of God’s grace, received through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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Evangelical - We are serious about taking the Bible at its Word and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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‍Charismatic - All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available today [1 Cor 12:7, 27-31, 13:8-12] and should be stewarded wisely to build up the Church and advance God’s Kingdom. Biblical guidelines must be followed when using the gifts and consideration should be given to non-Believers [1 Cor 12-14].
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Non-denominational - We are not a part of a church denomination (i.e. Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God, etc.), though we are not against denominations. We are a member of a global network of churches called "The Fellowship Network" which gives us legal covering and encouragement.

Statement of Faith

The Bible

The Bible is God’s Living Word written by men who were prompted to do so by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the primary way to know God and is the way of life.

God

There is only One God Who exists co-equally and co-eternally as God The Father, God The Son Jesus Christ, and God The Holy Spirit. All things exist by and for Him.

Jesus

God The Son Jesus Christ took on flesh by being born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, offered Himself up as the perfect sacrifice for our sins by dying on a cross, and rose again. He ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God The Father, awaiting His physical return to the earth where He will judge the living and the dead, and reign as King forever.

The Holy Spirit

God the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and shows us our need for a Savior. He dwells within every Believer from the moment of salvation, and sanctifies us to be more like Jesus. The Spirit empowers us for Christian service and living, and give to all Believers Spiritual Gifts to accomplish His work.

Mankind and Sin

Mankind has been made in the image of God, but through our sin deserve eternal separation from Him through death and Hell. As a result, all are born with a sin nature, continue in sin, and are completely incapable of saving ourselves from our sin and its consequences.

Salvation and Christian Living

God alone can sovereignly save man as a gift of His grace received through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This salvation forgives us of sin, restores us to a right standing with God, and gives us eternal life. Salvation is received and maintained by God’s power and grace, not through works- though those who receive will be known by their works and their love for one another, and will not take advantage of God’s grace and the freedom it gives to indulge in sinful activity.

The Church

God the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and shows us our need for a Savior. He dwells within every Believer from the moment of salvation, and sanctifies us to be more like The Church is the Body and Bride of Christ composed of all those He has saved on the earth. The Church is made up of many local bodies. It is God’s will for Christians to be a part of His Church, as the Church is His hope for this world until He returns. The Spirit empowers us for Christian service and living, and give to all Believers Spiritual Gifts to accomplish His work.

Spiritual Gifts, Fruit, and Miracles

All of the Spiritual Gifts listed in the New Testament are available to the Church today as God sees fit. The Spirit gives every Believer Gifts to accomplish His work. Those who live by the Spirit will produce Spiritual Fruit. God hears and answers are prayers of faith according to His will, and has the unlimited ability to heal the sick and perform miracles today.

Where does FREE CHURCH stand?

We believe that in order to preserve the function, integrity, and witness of FREE CHURCH, it’s imperative that our members support, respect, and uphold our stances on the following theological and moral issues. We want to respect your stances on these issues as well, and as such, want to make sure you can support our stances for your own integrity. While none of these stances are required for attendance (unless you cause division over them) and/or certain levels of involvement or serving, they are for anyone seeking membership within FREE CHURCH. Supporting, respecting, and upholding these stances does not mean that members will not be tempted by or struggle with these things, but that with the help of the Holy Spirit and church community, authority, and accountability, will seek to abstain from these things and put their sin to death.

Biblical Authority - The Bible is our authority and the source of the following statements as well as the basis of belief for FREE CHURCH and its leadership.
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2 Timothy 3:16
[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Theological Stances

Salvation -

Salvation is a gift of God’s grace, received through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ [Eph. 2:4-10]. Free Church takes no hard stance on the hotly debated issues of Reformed or Arminian theology. We do, however, teach that one who is truly saved cannot lose their salvation [John 3:16; John 10:27-29], though can walk away from close relationship with God, and the blessings and protection He gives to those who walk with Him by the Spirit [Luke 15:11-32].

‍Women In Ministry -

Men and women are created equal in both value and worth in the image of God [Gen 1:26-27; Gal 3:28], though differ in many ways, and as such, they possess different roles within the family [Eph 5:22-33] and the Church [Eph 2:12; Tit 2:2-9]. Fellowship Church values both men and women in church leadership, ordains women into ministry, and has women participate in preaching and teaching [Matt 28:1-10, 16-20, Mk 16:9-11; Lk 24:1-12; Jn 20:11-18; Acts 18:2-28; Rom 16:1-5; 1 Cor 16:19]. We do not, however, have women serve as Senior Pastors or Elders as we believe those specific roles have been given to men by God [Eph 2:12].

‍Prosperity -

Illness and poverty are usually not a result of someone’s lack of faith. Christians get sick and may be poor by the world’s standards, while being mature in their faith. Blessing [1 Chron 4:10] and healing [Jm 5:14-15] can and should be persistently prayed for [Phil 4:5-6] in faith [Jm 1:5-6], and the responses and timings of those prayers be entrusted to God [1 Jn 5:14-15].Likewise, physical health and worldly wealth or success are not a sure sign of one’s faith or God’s favor and blessing upon them. Though these good things come from God [Jm 1:17], unbelievers can experience these good things in their lives as well. We though, live for the better things beyond this life as we know it.True health and wealth are ultimately restored to the believer in a New Heaven and New Earth. There are, however, blessings and protections granted to and promised to the believer- The Fruit of The Spirit; the Holy Spirit and His gifts; protection from and authority over spiritual forces of evil; the ability and access to petition God for blessing and healing [Heb 4:16]; everlasting life; and the promise of the blessings that ultimately come with it.

Moral Stances

Racism -

FREE CHURCH is committed to racial equality. We understand that individuals of all ethnicities are capable of engaging in demeaning behavior toward others. As such, we condemn the sins of racism and partiality, and call on The Body of Christ to defend members of all ethnicities against race- based mistreatment.[Jn 7:24, Acts 10:34-35, Acts 17:26, Gal 3:28, James 2:9, Rev 7:9]

Abortion -

We believe in the dignity of human life, created in the image of God [Gen 1:26- 27] from the moment of conception [Ps 139:13-24] to the moment of natural death. Though we are to show great love and grace toward women who have found themselves in the tragic position of aborting their unborn child, abortion is murder [Gen 9:5, Ex 20:13] and a sin before God, who is knitting human beings together in their mother’s womb. One of the strongest ways we can express this stance is through ministry to women, expectant mothers, current mothers and their children, and advocating for and being involved with foster care and adoption.

Sexuality -

God created us male and female [Gen 1:26-27] and intended sexual relationships to be expressed between one biological man and one biological woman united through the covenant relationship of marriage [Gen 2:23-25]. This covenant was created and instituted by God and any sexual act or identity outside of God’s created standard for gender and sexual relationship is sin [1 Cor 6:18; Eph 5:5]; including but not limited to premarital sex [1 Cor 7:2; Heb 13:4], pornography [Matt 5:28], pedophilia [Lk 17:2], homosexuality/bisexuality [Lev 18:22; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-11], transgenderism [Gen 1:27; Deut 22:5; Is 29:16; 1 Cor 11:14-15], adultery [Ex 20:14; Matt 19:9], and polygamy [Gen 2:23-25; 1 Cor 7:2; 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Tit 1:6].*Due to Fellowship Church’s stances on sexuality, we ask that any member or individual in a leadership position abstain from living with someone they are romantically involved with, but not married to [1 Cor 7:9], as to avoid temptation [Matt 6:13] and the appearance of sexual sin [1 Thess 5:22].

Substance Abuse -

FREE CHURCH teaches against illegal drug use, prescription drug abuse, drunkenness [Eph 5:18], and addiction to such substances [1 Cor 6:12]. When walking in the freedom of God’s grace in regard to personal use of such legal substances, Christians should use their conscience, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and consideration for those who struggle with such things [Rom 14:13-23; 1 Cor 8:9].

What to Expect

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