Beliefs

1. The Bible is the inspired Word of God; that God, through the Holy Spirit, moved upon the authors of the Scriptures in such a way that they faithfully, accurately, and completely recorded all that God intended them to record; that the Scriptures are a reliable, accurate, and a fully trustworthy account of God’s nature and character, His actions in human history, His laws, and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. We affirm that the Scriptures are to be the standard of faith and practice by which the life of the Church and the lives of its individual members and their families are to be governed. We also affirm that the Scriptures are the standard by which all revelation and tradition is to be judged.

2. Belief In one Triune God, revealed in the Bible, as the only true, eternal, and living God. He is infinite in being and perfection; He is spiritual, immortal and invisible. He is an intelligent and personal Being. He is omniscient; omnipresent, omnipotent, and complete within Himself. He is infinite in holiness, goodness, faithfulness, mercy, righteousness, justice, and all other perfections; and is due the highest love, reverence, and obedience. He is Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Sovereign Ruler of creation. He accomplishes all things according to His righteous will for His own glory. He reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God the Father determines all things after the counsel of His own will. The Father sovereignly governs His creation and human history by His wise and holy providence.

God the Son is Jesus Christ who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He took upon Himself human nature and identified fully with humanity yet remained holy without sin. Through His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of all who would believe in Him. He was raised from the dead and appeared to His disciples. He ascended into heaven and is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father reconciling man to God and allowing believers access to the Father.

God the Holy Spirit is the dynamic Power of God Who brings these things into being. He exalts Christ, convicts the world of sin and brings righteousness and judgement. He will guide believers into truth and declare to the things that are to come. The three Persons act out of one will.

3. Man was created in the image of God as the crowning work of His creation. Man stood in a unique relationship with his Creator and was commissioned to rule the earth under God’s headship. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his unique relationship to God; thus, all his descendants inherit both a nature and an environment twisted by sin. Because of sin, man is separated from God and is without hope of reconciling himself to a just and holy God through any of his own efforts. Only the grace of God can restore man to his original calling: to live in fellowship with God and to fulfill the purposes for which he was created.

4. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is available only in and through Jesus Christ. It is offered to all people, and is appropriated and experienced by those who respond in faith to God’s call to submit to His Son as Lord and Savior. Jesus, through the shedding of His blood, obtained eternal redemption for those who through faith believe in Him. This faith is a gift from God and is preceded by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, who enables a person to repent of his sin and self-determinism. Repentance is usually followed by baptism in water and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The gift of righteousness enables the believer to live a life of obedience to God’s law, to cultivate and maintain right relationships, and to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

5. God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. Through covenant God binds Himself to His people and His people to Himself. God has extended covenant to us in Jesus Christ. This covenant encompasses both His promises which make available to us the inherited riches belonging to Christ, and His demands which are to be faithfully met. Entering into God’s covenant involves entering into covenant with God’s people. The primary demand of the covenant is that the people of the covenant love one another. This is the command of the Lord Jesus.

6. The Church is the people of God who are participants in God’s covenant in Jesus Christ. The Scripture gives us several pictures of the Church, each illustrating an aspect of the Church’s nature and function. The Church is Christ’s body, with Him as its Head. It is His family, with Him as the Firstborn. It is His workmanship, with Him as its Craftsman. It is His temple, with Him as its Cornerstone. It is His army, with Him as the Captain. It is His bride, with Him as the Bridegroom. The goal of the Church is to reflect the glory of God and to make disciples of all the nations.

7. God has provided certain Ordinances and Transactions which are to be a part of the Church’s life:

Baptism – in which a believer partakes of the death and resurrection of Christ and is transferred from the government of darkness to the government of God’s dear Son.

The Lord’s Supper – in which the participants affirm and renew their covenant with God and His people, remember and acknowledge the death of the Lord Jesus on their behalf, and share in the life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Marriage – in which a man and a women are joined as husband and wife.

Ordination – in which a believer, called by God into leadership in the Church, is confirmed in their calling and authorized for their office.

Covenant Love Community Church is an expression of the Body of Christ with a call to love God and love people.  We strive to live life together with a foundation on the Word of God as revealed in the Bible even when that is in seeming opposition to the prevailing views of the culture that surrounds us.

In loving God, under the authority of Scripture, and in keeping with orthodox Christian doctrine, we believe that God “made man in His image, male and female, He created them” (Genesis 1:27).  We further believe God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman, as genetically determined, in a lifelong covenant (Genesis 2:18-25).  All intimate sexual activity is to be within the bounds of that covenant (I Corinthians 6:18, 7:2-5 and Hebrews 13:4).

In loving people, we welcome all to our services and small group meetings.  Each person bears God’s image (Genesis 1:27).  We welcome all with the goal of helping each one wherever they are on their journey in the Lord.

Members of Covenant Love Community Church will affirm the above as part of the membership procedure.  Volunteers in teaching and leadership roles, staff and Elders will also affirm the above as a prerequisite to their service.

We recognize that there are differing views on these issues within the Body of Christ.  We will treat those with whom we differ with respect and civility.  Our goal will be to encourage unity in the Body of Christ and work together for common purposes even with those who disagree with this statement.

The grace of God having come to me, I joyfully confess Jesus Christ; the Son of God, the firstborn of many sons, the Savior of the world, the door to the Kingdom of God, the rightful heir of the universe, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, apprehended by His love, I have surrendered my life to Him, Having the revelation of His consummate reign, I have submitted the rule of my will and destiny to His lordship. This I have sealed in water baptism.

He has loosed me from the kingdom of darkness and the oppressive rule of sin. He has opened the doors of God’s eternal life by His own sacrifice and has caused me to be born again into the family of God. Having designed for there to be a people of His own on this earth who would declare His praise, He has not withheld this wonder from me, but has included me and has designed a place for me to participate in His glory. In all of this there is much cause for rejoicing!

I take my place among His people. His chosen race, His royal priesthood. His holy nation, as within my covenant with Him, I have committed myself to the expression of His church in Covenant Love Community Church. Here it is that I commit myself to walk together with the people of God and not alone. Here it is that I make myself accountable for spiritual life, growth, and health. Here it is that I willingly and actively participate in the victorious designs of God in Christ Jesus for His created world. May His Kingdom come, may His will be done on earth as it is In Heaven!

To God in the person of the Holy Spirit who is my comforter and my guide, who dwells within me and imbues me with power from on high, and to the Body of Christ at Covenant Love community Church I make this declaration of intent and purpose:

1. I have committed myself to an unconditional acceptance to God as Father and Lord. Into this relationship He will lead me more deeply as time and eternity progress and I shall continue to follow”. I will seek Him with all my heart in order that I may fully know Him, I will learn of God by studying the Bible and will meditate on His nature and His ways. I shall walk in the light with Him and have fellowship with Him. I shall unburden myself of my cares and confess my sins in prayer and listen, as well, that it might be said that I am a hearer of my God I shall not be satisfied nor shall I abandon this journey until I have been conformed to the image of Christ; in whom is the fullness of life.
2. I shall love the Lord my God with all my heart; soul, mind, and strength. I shall view worship as my primary activity and the end of my vocation. I desire to live life filled with the Holy Spirit; speaking psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in my heart with thanksgiving to God and showing forth the Fruit of the Holy Spirit as it grows within me.
3. I recognize that I am now a citizen of the Kingdom of God – no longer of the kingdom of darkness – no longer of this world’s system. I shall be in this world but not of it. My place in humanity as a whole and my citizenship in one of the nations of this earth shall be lived according to the mind of Christ; for I am of His Kingdom first I desire that His Kingdom shall always have preference in my decisions, behavior, lifestyle and loyalty.
4. I recognize that God is the rightful owner of all I possess. Therefore I will use all my material possessions for His glory. I shall return to Him on a regular basis a tithe of my income as homage to His Lordship and I shall follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit so as to become an unselfish giver, as is my Heavenly Father.
5. As one who has been wonderfully created by the Lord Himself, who once again has bought me with His blood and has subsequently placed me into His body, I embrace the truth that every good gift I have has come from the Father of Lights and is purposed for His use for the edification of His body, the accomplishment of His designs in this world and ultimately the expression of His glory. I will finely share my gifts and talents with Christ’s body. With joy I have taken my place in this body and I accept the responsibility to participate in Covenant Love Community Church by making available my material resources, my home, my job, my skills, my knowledge, my reputation, my friendships, my family and my time. I will allow the Holy Spirit to inhabit my gifts so that I may be full of creativity and accomplishment for the greater good of the whole, l will seek God’s definition for my gifts and calling and with the elders’ blessing I will give myself to that task.
6. l will faithfully assemble with the believers, entering into corporate worship with rejoicing-. I will commit myself to a small group where I may receive and give one-another ministry. I will build up the Body of Christ by being jointed in manifold relationships in which love and strength can flow. I will separate myself from this body only as the Lord directs and with the blessing of the elders,
7. I will walk in a spirit of forgiveness toward my brothers and sisters. I refuse to harbor malice, anger, resentment; or bitterness toward others. I will not let a day end before l have permitted God to correct any wrong attitude toward another. When I feel I have been wronged, I will take the initiative and seek restoration.
8. I have forsaken sin as a way of life. I am committed to receive gracefully the observations and corrections of my brothers and sisters in the Lord and will confess my sins, for they are no joy to me and I will not again enslave myself to them_– As I am a sinner who is forgiven, so I will forgive others.
9. I will submit myself to the spiritual authority of the elders, I will embrace the word of the Lord as it comes through the leaders and the expression of spiritual gifts in this body.
10. I will do all in my power to make my home Christian in nature and in example. May my home well represent Christ and this church, and may His love be learned and known in my home.
11. I will worship, love and obey Christ through my behavior, my influence, my example and my decisions in every relationship I have in the world: personal, social, business, political, academic and cultural I will declare the Gospel with my life and with my mouth I will be a witness of the life, death, resurrection, glory and present reign of Jesus Christ I will refrain from that which would mar the witness of my life and Bps.
12. I will seek more to love than to be loved, more to give than to receive, more to help than be helped, more to serve than to be served.

Realizing my own inadequacy, I will earnestly seek the help of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of this church in the accomplishment of these purposes, to the glory of God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ

As believers who are committed to walking together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ at Covenant Church, we hold Jesus’ words of the two greatest commandments as vital to our walk together: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Mt.22:37-39)

Our purpose statement reflects our corporate desire to walk out our love for God and for one another in the reality of being and making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mt.28:18-20)

In biblical terms, covenantal love is rooted in content with definition and in actions and behaviors which demonstrate our love for God and one another. It is important for us to agree together on the common elements of our life together at Covenant Church.

With a motivation of love for God, one another, and the world God has placed us in, we express the basic commitments for our common walk together as follows:

1. A Personal and corporate commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

• Pursuit of a life of worship, prayer, and Bible study.
• Seeing ourselves first as sons and daughters of the Father and out of that relationship we find our passion and placement.
• Development of character and self-government as the basis for ministry and release of gifts.
• Being an active disciple-maker by reaching out to lost persons.

1. A commitment to be an active participant in the life of the body of Covenant Church to which God has joined us.

• A participant to fulfilling the purpose and vision.
• A commitment to the head pastor and elders and other delegated authority in their leadership of the church.
• A commitment to sharing with the leaders perspectives and enhancements to advance the purpose and vision of the church through process and hearing the Lord in one another.
• A solid commitment to tithing and offering.
• A participant in the life and the Body through development of relationships, being part of a home group, and attending regularly the Sunday gatherings and other corporate meetings.
• A commitment to giving and receiving through the “one-anothers” of the Scriptures.
• A willingness to be self-disclosing and accountable for a life of godliness.
• A commitment to handle all offenses and/or disagreements in the Body by following Biblical principles.
• A mutual commitment to process the resignation of membership through active discussion, prayer, and hearing the mind of God together with the elders and other leaders who have a role to play in the member’s lives.
• Sharing in the work of stewarding the facilities and properties God has given us.

1. A commitment to hear and respond to the particular words of the Lord for our generation as brought to us by our leaders/eiders, by apostolic and prophetic ministries, and the local body as we submit to one another,

• A resolve to have a uniting of the generations and generational transfer for God’s work to continue.
• Budding with “sonship” as the model of God’s way.
• Building relationally, through spiritual family.
• Seeing the Kingdom of God in different jurisdictions such as personal life, family, church, voluntary assoc., civil, etc,
• Acknowledging and recognizing our leaders’ jointedness to other leaders in the Body of Christ, especially Fellowship of Christian Leaders, and our corporate affiliation to this larger group for the purpose of “demonstrating the gospel of the Kingdom of God throughout the nations and making disciples of those who believe ”

These elements of our common ground to stand on together in the Lord are open for review by the Holy Spirit as we continue our journey with the Lord. May He grant us His mercy and grace to walk in obedience to His Word and to support one another in demonstrating our love for Him in the evidence of doing these things for His glory!!

Love “One Anothers”