Statement Of Faith
God is a person who has revealed Himself as a Trinity in unity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – three persons yet one God. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19, 1Cor. 8:6)
The Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments, is a divine revelation, the original autographs of which were verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit. (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, which is to say, He is Himself, God. He took upon Himself our nature, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross as a substitutional sacrifice for the sin of the world; He arose from the dead in the body in which He was crucified; He ascended into heaven in that body glorified, where He is now, our interceding High Priest. He will come again personally and visibly to set up His Kingdom and to judge the quick and the dead. (See Col. 1:15; Phil. 2:5-8; Matt. 1:18-25; Matt. 25:31-46.)
Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the working of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life. (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Rom. 10:13-15; Eph. 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:3-7)
The Church is an elect company of believers, baptized by the Holy Spirit into one body. Its mission is to witness concerning its Head, Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel among all nations. It will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before He appears to set up His millennial Kingdom. The local church is a body of immersed believers associated together for work, worship, and fellowship. It is independent and autonomous and is free from all ecclesiastical or political interference. (See Acts 2:41; 15:13-17; Eph. 1:3-6; I Cor. 12:12-13; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:6-8; I Thess. 4:16-18.)
The only Scriptural mode of Baptism is immersion, and only those who profess personal faith in Christ are proper subjects for this ordinance. (Acts 8:36-38)
The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements bread, and the fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of His suffering and death, prophecy of His second coming, and is enjoined on all believers "until He comes." (John 6:48-57; Luke 22:19-20; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 11:26)
Christ being the Head of the church, the local fellowship does not recognize the subordination of one church to another, the subordination of local churches to any common human authority, nor the territorial union of churches except for fellowship in common faith and interests, and for united effort in common work. Each local fellowship is an independent spiritual democracy, having no power or authority except for its own maintenance and preservation. (1 Thess. 2:4-14; Acts 15:6; 1 Thess. 2:4-14; Acts 15:6-11; Acts 19:31; Acts 23:36; 2 Cor. 8-9; Eph. 1:20-23)
Organic union of church and state is unscriptural. We believe that civil government is divinely appointed for the interest and good order of human society; magistrates are to be prayed for, honored and obeyed, except in those things opposed to the revealed will of Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience. (Rom. 13:1-7; Matt. 22:21; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-17; 1 Tim. 2:1-3; Acts 5:29; Matt. 10:28)
Believing that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and that His purpose and will for the church has not changed since the Great Commission; a personal Pentecostal experience is the promise for every believer. The manifestations of the Spirit are given to the church for the confirmation of the preached Word, and for the growth and development of the church. (Hebrews 13:8; Acts 5:12, 32; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:8-16)
The Scriptures teach a life of holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command, "Be ye holy, for I Am holy." Holiness is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to God's Word. (Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 1 John 2:6; Rom. 8:3-4)
Caribbean Fellowship Ministries