We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21, Matthew 5:18, John 16:12-13.)
We believe in One, Living, Triune God, eternally existing in three personages: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4, II Corinthians 13:14, I John 5:7.)
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin, the race fell, and inherited a sinful nature and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 3:22-23, 5:12, Ephesians 2:1-3, 12.)
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Ephesians 2:8-10, John 1:12-13, 14:6, Ephesians 1:7, I Peter 1:18-19, I John 5:11-12, Romans 10:9-13.)
A. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30, Romans 8:1, 38-39, I Corinthians 1:4-8, I Peter 1:5, I John 5:13.)
A. We believe that God is sovereign in bestowing of all His gifts; and the gifts of evangelist, pastor and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today, and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scripture were completed and their authority became established. (I Corinthians 12:4-11, II Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians 4:7-12, Romans 12:6-8.)
B. We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7, I John 5:14-15, 3:20-22.)
A. We believe that the Church, which is the Body and the engaged bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age. (Ephesians 1:22-23, I Corinthians 12:12-14, II Corinthians 11:2.)
B. We believe that the establishment and continuance and local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:28-32, I Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-11.)
We believe in the Dispensational view of Bible interpretation, but reject the extreme teaching known as “Hyper-Dispensational,” such as that teaching which opposes either the Lord’s Table or water baptism by immersion as a Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42, I Corinthians 11:23-26, Romans 6:4-5.)
We believe in the Blessed Hope, the personal, imminent, pretribulation and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, (I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9,
I Corinthians 15:51-53, Revelation 3:10,) And His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom, (Zechariah 14:4-11, Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6.)
A. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46, John 5:28-29, 11:25-26, Revelation 20:5-6, 12-15.)
B. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where, in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43, Revelation 20:4-5, II Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, 3:21, I Thessalonians 4:16-17.)
C. We believe that the souls of the unsaved remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when, with soul and body reunited, they all appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19-26, Matthew 25:41-46, II Thessalonians 1:7-9, Jude 6-7, Mark 9:43-48, Revelation 20:11-15.
We teach that baptism is an ordinance that Jesus established for His church. Its purpose is two-fold, signifying a person’s initiation into the church in membership, and more importantly his declaration of faith and submission to the church’s builder and head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Baptism is not a part of God’s regenerating work in bringing the sinner from spiritual deadness to new life; rather, baptism is a public declaration of the reality of regeneration. As Paul writes in Colossians 2:12, the believer is “buried with [Christ] in baptism” and “raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Baptism is a demonstration of this amazing truth. As one pastor has put it, it is “a physical sign of a spiritual reality.”
Baptism means God has already cleansed and atoned for all of your sins; that you have united yourself to Christ in his person and the entire scope of his redemptive work; and that you are now initiated into the new covenant family and committed to a life in the local body—gradually becoming more and more like its head, Jesus Christ.
If you have not yet been baptized and desire to be, or have any questions about baptism, feel free to contact us or talk to Pastor.
Our Church highly values Church Membership and its Members.
Formal membership is the way that you say to the church,
“I want to be a part of this church – I believe her doctrine, I love her people, I want to serve in her ministries and I want to have a say in her direction.” Likewise the church says to you, “We love you and will help hold you accountable in your walk with Christ.” It is a mutual commitment.
Although people are free to minister in small ways at JCC without membership, several key ministry positions require membership. In order to become a member you must attend our membership class.
Our Membership Class is presented by the church leadership several times each year, directly after Sunday Worship. Completing the class does not automatically make you a member but the class is a prerequisite for those who wish to become members. The goal is that you will have a clear understanding of the direction and structure of our church as well as knowledge of the benefits and expectations of membership.
In the Membership Class you will be given a copy of our policies, doctrines and missions statement. If you want to move forward with membership, you will give your testimony to the Pastor and leadership, and upon their approval, your name will be put on the ballot to be voted into membership at the next members meeting.
Biblical context: We see in Acts 2:37-47 that there is a numerical record of those who have professed Christ and been filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 41) and an acknowledgement that the church was tracking the growth (v. 47).
In Acts 6:1-6, we see elections take place in order to address a specific problem and accusation.
In Romans 16:1-16, we see what appears to be an awareness of who is a church member.
In
1 Timothy 5:3-16, we see a clear teaching on how to handle widows in the church and in verses 9-13 we read this:In order for our church to become a strong and effective, we recognize the need for commitment and accountability that only formal membership brings. (From www.9marks.org)