Who We Are
Family Church is a body of believers committed to serving Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
In serving him, we seek to spread the Gospel to all those around us.
Simply put, the Gospel is the good news about Jesus. This goods news is that Jesus is both Lord over all creation and savior of those who repent and have faith in him. This good news is that Jesus has saved us from the wrath due our sins and defeated the power of sin, death, and hell for those who trust in him as Lord and Savior. His victory restores us to live the life God intended.
Who We Are
Our Purpose
is to love God, love people, and make disciples.
Our Strategy
is to equip every follower for ministry.
Our Values
guide us in all that we do.
What We Believe
The Bible is God’s Word
We believe the Bible is the Word of God contained in the Old and New Testament scriptures. The entire Bible is given to humanity as a gracious gift of God’s special and authoritative self–revelation. All the Bible’s original manuscripts were divinely inspired, having been written by individuals as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Because God is the ultimate author of the Bible, its contents are free from error and are totally true and trustworthy. The central theme of the Bible is to reveal God’s saving purposes in Jesus Christ. God’s Word has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The Bible alone is the infallible rule of faith for the church. For a local church to stray from the Bible in faith or practice is to be disloyal to Jesus to whom the Church belongs. We believe the entire Bible should be taught in the local church so that its members will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
(Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:105–106; Matthew 4:4; Mark 13:31; John 8:31–32; John 17:17; Acts 20:32; Romans 10:16–17; 2 Timothy 3:14–17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20–21; 3:18)
There is One, Triune God
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons contain the very nature of God and are equal in every divine perfection. They each execute distinct but harmonious roles in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. The Triune God is self–existent and self–sufficient, perfect and immutable, infinite and all–knowing, purposeful and all–powerful, sovereign and steadfast in love. God is worthy of our praise, loyalty, and love. Our church will worship the Triune God when we gather and will model our lives according to God’s grace and goodness.
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit who is good, righteous, and just. He is perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He is jealous for worship, opposed to idolatry, and wrathful in response to sin and rebellion. He reigns with providential care over his creation and foreknows all that shall come to pass according to his sovereign will. He deals mercifully in the affairs of people. He hears and answers the prayers of his children. He saves from sin and death all who come to him through faith in Jesus Christ.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who exists having two natures: fully human and fully divine—which are without confusion, change, division, or separation. The Son of God took on flesh when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died as a substitutionary atoning sacrifice for our sins, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven where he intercedes for his people as an eternal high priest and from where he will return bodily and visibly in all glory to judge the earth and establish his eternal kingdom. He is the head of the church, having purchased it with his own shed blood. All who claim allegiance to Christ are to obey his commands, imitate his life, and promote his gospel.
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He graciously works to call, regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who profess saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and serves as an abiding helper, teacher, and guide. He gave us the Scriptures and illuminates them for those who desire to know the truth and to be transformed through the renewing of the mind. The Spirit of God helps believers to fight the spiritual battle and gives his fruit to those who live in submission to him. He constitutes the Church as God’s family and promotes its unity and maturity. He gives spiritual gifts to each believer, empowering them to serve the local church and promote the gospel. Providing endurance for all believers, he seals them for the final day of redemption.
(Genesis 1:1, 26; Exodus 34:6–7; Deuteronomy 32:3–4; Psalm 48:10; Isaiah 43:10–13; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1–3; John 4:24; Romans 1:19–20; Ephesians 4:5–6)
Jesus is Truly God and Man
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who exists having two natures: fully human and fully divine—which are without confusion, change, division, or separation. The Son of God took on flesh when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died as a substitutionary atoning sacrifice for our sins, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven where he intercedes for his people as an eternal high priest and from where he will return bodily and visibly in all glory to judge the earth and establish his eternal kingdom. He is the head of the church, having purchased it with his own shed blood. All who claim allegiance to Christ are to obey his commands, imitate his life, and promote his gospel.
(Matthew 1:18–25; 28:18–20; Luke 1:26–38; John 1:1; 13:15–16; 20:28–31; Acts 1:11; 20:28; Romans 3:21–26; 5:6–8; 6:9–10; 9:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:15–20; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 7:25; 9:28; 12:2; 1 Peter 2:21–23)
The Nature and Need of Humanity
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
(Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11)
Jesus is the Only Way
We believe salvation is offered to all people and comes as a gift of God’s grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It entails justification through divine election, calling, regeneration, and spiritual adoption. Salvation continues in sanctification and will culminate in the perseverance and glorification of all saints when Christ returns. Since human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice, they naturally face the condemnation of God. Salvation comes only to those who repent of their sin and place faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation cannot be gained in any other way. According to the Scriptures, salvation comes by faith alone, in Christ alone, by God’s grace alone, according to the Holy Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone. There is no mixture of faith and works in reference to the receiving of salvation. Those God has accepted in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
(Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Ecclesiastes. 2:11; John 1:12,13; 5:30; 8:12; Ephesians 2:4–10; Romans 3:23–24; Romans 8:28–39; 2 Corinthians 5:17–20; 1 John 3:2)
Salvation for God’s Glory and Our Good
Salvation is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and makes new repentant sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. The salvation of these sinners serves as the chief end of glorifying the graciousness of God and the goodness of creation as His redeemed are set apart for good works to their joy, God’s glory, and the good of all.
(Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2, Ephesians 2:4-10)
The Church is God’s People
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all born–again persons are members. We believe local churches are the visible expression of the universal church on earth. The local church is an autonomous congregation of baptized believers, who covenant themselves together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The congregation is to gather regularly for God–centered worship, be committed to the teachings of the Bible, exercise gifts for the work of service, and enjoy common fellowship and unity in the Holy Spirit. Every church member has the responsibility to give faithfully of his or her time, talents, and material possessions to support the mission and ministries of the church. The church is to obey the Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples from all nations and to multiply churches all over the earth and to obey the Lord’s Great Commandment of loving Him and loving one another.
(Matthew 18:15–17; 28:16–20; John 20:21–23; 2 Corinthians 8–9; Galatians 6:1–2; Philippians 4:10–19; 1 Timothy 3:1–12; Matthew 28:18-20, 22:37-40)
There are two ordinances instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ for the local church to regularly celebrate—Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of a confessing believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, signifying a believer’s death to sin and resurrection to new life in Christ. Water baptism is an act of obedience to Christ’s command and a commitment to live in light of his Lordship. It also serves as an entry into the local church.
The Lord’s Supper is a regular, congregational act of worship, instituted by Jesus Christ to take a portion of bread and receive the cup as symbols of the Lord’s sacrificial death for his people on the cross. The Lord’s Supper allows the local church to confess sin, seek purity, display unity, center itself upon the cross of Christ, and anticipate the Lord’s glorious return. Self–discipline is encouraged during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Church discipline may be enacted during the Lord’s Supper. If so, it will be conducted according to scriptural principles under the oversight of the elders.
(Matthew 4:16,17; 18:15–20; Mark 14:22–25; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:8–10; 1 Corinthians 11:23–34)
There are two scriptural offices in the local church: Elder and Deacon. The elders are charged with overall spiritual responsibility, managing oversight, and leadership of the local church before God. The elders are responsible for teaching the scriptures, and to interpret and enforce the church’s statement of faith. Elders serve as pastors or under–shepherds of Christ. Deacons are chosen from the congregation and are to function as servants to the church, assisting the elders in caring for church members and church ministries. Both of which are to be men who meet the Biblical qualifications as expressed in Scripture.
(Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; 1 Peter 5:1–3)
The Return of Christ
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous, who have not been redeemed in Christ, will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in Christ in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
(Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13)