What We Believe

Our Faith

We affirm the central teachings of the historic Christian church. Among these, we believe:

  • The Bible is the inspired Word of God without error and our only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.
  • The one true Creator God eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead and buried. He rose again on the third day and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
  • All people have sinned. Our sin alienates us from God and leads to eternal death.
  • Through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, God offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who receive this gracious gift by faith.
  • Angels and demons are real spirit beings. Satan is a fallen angel and the greatest enemy of both God and people.
  • The Church is composed of all who have put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
  • Jesus is coming again – visibly and physically.
  • There will be a future day of reward for all true believers.
  • There will be a future day of judgment for all unbelievers.

Centered in Christ

Our faith, life, and ministry are centered in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to experience an eternal life-giving relationship with God (John 14:6). With the Apostle Paul, we affirm that “to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). Jesus’ Great Commandment calls us, his followers, to love one another as he has loved us (Mark 12:30-31) and his Great Commission sends us to make disciples (learners/followers) of Jesus among all people groups (Matthew 28:18-20).

Our Denomination

We are part of The Evangelical Covenant Church, a rapidly growing multi-ethnic denomination in the United States and Canada with ministries on five continents of the world. Our denomination seeks to form and nurture communities that are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and passionately engaged in Christ’s mission in the world. 

Organized in 1885, the Evangelical Covenant Church is rooted in historical Christianity, the Protestant Reformation, the biblical instruction of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, and the great spiritual awakenings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These influences (apostolic, catholic, Reformation, and Evangelical), together with more recent North American renewal movements, continue to shape its development and distinctive spirit.

For Covenant people, our essential beliefs are summed up in what we call Covenant Affirmations:

  • We affirm the centrality of the word of God.

We believe the Bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. We want our church and our lives to be shaped and guided by God’s inspired and powerful word.

  • We affirm the necessity of the new birth.

Experiencing new life in Jesus depends on making a conscious decision to abandon the sins of our past, to receive forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life from God. New birth is only the beginning of a lifelong process of growing to spiritual maturity in Christ.

  • We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.

We are people of shared faith and shared mission, guided by Jesus’ two central calls. The Great Commission sends us into all the world to make disciples of Jesus. The Great Commandment calls us to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves. And so, our mission includes evangelism, Christian formation, and ministries of compassion, mercy, and justice.

  • We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.

The Church consists of all who believe in and follow Christ by faith. Likewise, membership in a Covenant Church is by confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ. We share life and ministry in relationship with each other. We observe baptism and Holy Communion as sacraments commanded by Jesus.

  • We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.

We recognize one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who uplifts and restores even the most broken of us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers our obedience to our Lord, our conformity into his image, and our participation in Christ’s mission in the world.

  • We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.

Christ came to set us free! This freedom is not to be used selfishly but rather to serve one another and the world. Our freedom means being set free from sin, selfishness, and influences that tend to divide people. United in Christ, we offer freedom to one another to differ on issues of belief or practice where the biblical or historical record reveals a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God.

For more information about our denomination

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Church Membership

When new members join a Covenant church, they are asked two questions about belief:

  1. “Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and promise to follow him as Lord?” 
  2. “Do you accept the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as the word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct?” 

They are then asked if they intend to live as faithful followers of Christ and supportive members of the church and denomination.