OUR BELIEFS
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the church is to glorify God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, by the power, direction and presence of His Holy Spirit in bringing God’s Kingdom to this earth. This is to be accomplished through the following five goals. These goals are for our whole church family as well as for each individual and each family in our church:
- To grow closer to Christ by His Spirit through praise, prayer and His Word so that we can have intimate fellowship with Him and hear His voice (Rev. 3:20; Philip. 3:10).
- To become more like Jesus by obeying His voice and letting Him live His life through us by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:18).
- To fulfill God’s purpose for our lives as we each receive, discover and exercise the gifts and ministries which the Holy Spirit has for each of us (I Peter 4:10-11; Rom. 12:4-8; I Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:11)
- To function in our individual gifts and ministries in coordination with the other members of the body of Christ in our church so that we can fulfill God’s corporate call on this body and be salt and light for Christ to the whole community (Eph. 4:15-16). This will require that we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, forgive one another, be patient with one another and breakdown all walls between us so that we can have one mind and one spirit and work together for the faith of the Gospel. (Eph. 4:31-32; I Cor. 1:10; Philip. 1:27)
- To expand God’s Kingdom by becoming better disciples of Jesus through obeying His Word and Spirit in all areas of our lives (personal, family, business, school, and community) and by making other disciples of Jesus who will also hear and obey Him in all areas of their lives (Matt. 28:18-20). This goal can only be reached as we die to our own desires and ambitions and let the risen Christ be truly Lord of all areas of our lives (Luke 9:23-24; 14:25-27, 33; 2 Cor. 5:15; Philip. 2:1-11).
These are high goals for our church, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can reach them. Let all of us at My Father’s House of Prayer have the same attitude as the Apostle Paul who said, “one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13b-14).
A good example for our church which embodies the above goals is the first church in Jerusalem as seen in Acts 1-6. Let us all read these chapters, especially chapter two, verses 42-47, and ask God to make us such a church.
Statement of Faith
We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures are the inspired, infallible, authoritative written Word of God and are the final written authority for all matters of faith and conduct. (Mark 7:1-13; John 10:35b; II Timothy 3:16-17)
We believe there is one eternal God, revealed in Scriptures as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; Mark 12:29; I Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 3:20; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14)
We believe God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them out of nothing by His Word. (Genesis 1; Hebrews 11:3)
We believe God created man and woman in His image but because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, we all became sinful and separated from God and in need of a Savior to save us from our sins and restore us to fellowship with God. (Genesis 3; Romans 3:10-23; 5:12-19)
We believe our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is the only begotten Son of God and is the only mediator between God and man. He is the living Word of God, who is the perfect image of the invisible God, and who is both true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to God the Father and performed many miracles of healing and deliverance. He was crucified on a cross and died for our sins to reconcile us to God. We believe through the cross Christ accomplished full salvation of spirit, soul and body for those who believe. After Jesus was crucified and buried, He arose bodily from the dead on the third day and appeared to His disciples. On the fortieth day after His resurrection He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father. From there He presently rules as King and Lord over heaven and earth until all the enemies of God are submitted to Him. (John 3:16; I Timothy 2:5; Isaiah 9:6; Colossians 1:15; John 1:1; Luke 1:26-38; Hebrews 4:15; John 5:19; Acts 2:22; 10:38; John 19:16-42; Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 8:16-17; I Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 1:3,9; I Peter 3:22; Matthew 28:18; Revelation 17:14; Hebrews 10:12-13; Philippians 2:9-11)
We believe in the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of the Father and Son. After the Lord Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the Holy Spirit was sent by God to reveal the Father and Son to every believer and to bring their presence into our lives. We believe the Holy Spirit is the One who teaches us all things about God and who gives us the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. He is also the One who empowers us to live a life of loving obedience to God. (John 4:24; I Corinthians 15:45; II Corinthians 3:17-18; John 14:16-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-14; Acts 2:32-33; Romans 8:1-16, 26-27; I Corinthians 2:4, 9-16; 6:17,19; 12:3-13; Galatians 5:22-23)
We believe we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Savior and through faith in His blood as the only means of forgiveness for our sins. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; Hebrews 9:22; Romans 3:21-26) We believe we will continue to be saved as long as we continue to trust in Christ as our righteousness and in His blood for our forgiveness. (I Corinthians 1:30; II Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 1: 21-23; Hebrews 3:6; Romans 11:22-23; Galatians 5:4)
We believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the believer as an identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that through faith in the working of God at baptism our old sinful self is cut away and buried, and we are raised to live in the new self created by Christ. (Acts 2:38; 8:16, 36-38; 10:47-48; 19:5; Romans 6:3-11; Colossians 2:11-12)
We believe in the Lord’s Supper which was instituted by Jesus Christ to be shared by all believers in Him. We believe that through faith in Christ at the Lord’s Supper we share spiritually in the body and blood of Christ through which we are healed and forgiven. Also through the Lord’s Supper we proclaim Christ’s finished work on the cross for our salvation. (Luke 22:14-20; I Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:13-26)
We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit by which a believer is empowered to live a victorious, Christ-like life and to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ to others. (Luke 3:16; 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; 2:1-4; 19:5-6) We believe a believer needs to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) We believe in all the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit which are listed in the New Testament. (Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11; 28; Ephesians 4:11) We believe each believer has received at least one spiritual gift and ministry from the Holy Spirit to be used by Christ in evangelism or in building up His body, the Church. (I Peter 4:10-11; I Corinthians 14:24-26) We believe the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are to equip the saints for all the work of their ministry in the Body of Christ and that each member of the Body is to work in coordination and harmony with the other members of Christ’s Body in the establishing of Christ’s kingdom on the earth. (Ephesians 4:15-16; I Corinthians 12:12-27; Matthew 6:10)
We believe in the present reality of Christ’s Kingdom on this earth by the rule and reign of His Holy Spirit. (Luke 17:20-21; Romans 14:17; Colossians 1:13) We believe this Kingdom extends to all areas of life—personal, family, business, school, and community. (John 3:35, 17:2;Acts 10:36b) We believe this Kingdom is expanded as we hear and obey Christ’s Spirit and Word and make other disciples of Christ who will also hear and obey Him. (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 8:21; John 8:31; Revelation 3:22)
We believe that at a time fixed by God the Father’s authority, Jesus Christ will visibly and physically return to earth to judge the world and to bring an end to this age and begin a new one. We believe at that time the dead will be physically resurrected—those who are saved unto eternal life with Christ in heaven and those who are lost unto eternal punishment and separation from God in hell. (Matthew 24:35-36; Acts 1:6-11; 10:42; 17:31; II Timothy 4:1; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:50-55; John 5:28-29; II Thessalonians 1:6-10; Revalation 20:11-15; 21:1-8; 22:1-5)
