OUR BELIEFS​
This is what we believe and why we believe it.
Our Mission
It is our mission to Connect everyone
with the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treatise of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture, in the original autographs, is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union. The scriptures are the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
​
The method of interpreting the scriptures, hermeneutics, used for the teaching ministry of Connect Church is that of a literal, historic and grammatical approach. The Scriptures, as given, were meant to be understood by the recipients in their own language. While we believe in the preservation of the Word of God, there are no perfectly inspired English translations of the Hebrew/Christian Scriptures.
Scripture References:
Deuteronomy 17:19; Psalms 119:105; Isaiah 34:16; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; 2 Timothy 3:15- 17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 2 Peter 1:16-21
Scripture References:
Deuteronomy 17:19; Psalms 119:105; Isaiah 34:16; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; 2 Timothy 3:15- 17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 2 Peter 1:16-21
God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and timeless personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other attributes and character traits. God is all powerful and all knowing, and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 6:3; 43:15; Jeremiah 10:10; John 4:24; Romans 8:14-15; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-18; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 8:1; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 1 John 1:7-9; Revelation 19:16; Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 61:1-2; Matthew 1:18; John 4:24; 14:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Peter 1:21
God the Father
God the Father is a spirit being who reigns with providential care over the universe He created, His living creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His desires. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. His attributes are infinite. He does all things for His own Glory.
​
God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through trust in the atonement of Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all. This attitude includes corrective and disciplinary measures.
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 6:3; 43:15; Jeremiah 10:10; John 4:24; Romans 8:14-15
God the Son
Jesus is the eternal Son of God and the Word of God. He enacted the creation of the physical universe. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself a human nature with its physical demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin or compromise to His nature. He honored His Father by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He satisfied His Father’s legal punishment for all sin thus making possible the redemption of all people from their sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and presented Himself to His disciples as the same person who was with them before His crucifixion. He subsequently ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God in His glorified body. He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord as affected by the Holy Spirit.
Scripture References:
Isaiah 7:14; 53; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-18; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 8:1; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 1 John 1:7-9; Revelation 19:16
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. He enables people to comprehend the Word of truth. He exalts the Son, Jesus Christ. He convicts people of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls people to the Savior and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. Since He possesses personal characteristics, He can be grieved or offended.
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 61:1-2; Matthew 1:18; John 4:24; 14:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Peter 1:21
Mankind
Humans are the unique creation of God made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the purpose of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man disobeyed the command of God and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherited a sinful nature and a natural propensity to sin. Only the grace of God can bring people into His holy fellowship and enable them to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of humans is evident in that God created them in His own image and that Jesus Christ died for mankind. Therefore, every person is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:18-22; 3; Romans 3:23; 5:6,12; Ephesians 2:1-22
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who trust only in the atoning work of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. By His own blood He provides eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. All human efforts to achieve this salvation are excluded.
​
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart, mind and purpose wrought by the Holy Spirit resulting in repentance, accepting the moral will of God as a personal standard, and an understanding of the salvation process.
​
Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal from the conviction and penalty for sin, of all sinners who personally trust in the complete atonement provided through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Justification brings the believer into a familial relationship with God.
Sanctification is the process, beginning with regeneration, by which the believer is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity, as defined in the Hebrew/Christian Scriptures, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit Who, subsequent to regeneration, is permanently dwelling in him. The process of sanctification is expected to continue throughout the justified/regenerate person's life. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
​
Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final, blessed and eternal abiding state of the redeemed in the presence of God.
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:18-22; 3; Romans 3:23; 5:6,12; Ephesians 2:1-22
God's Purpose of Grace
The gracious purpose of God is that, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners so they may enjoy fellowship with Him forever. It comprehends all the means in connection with that purpose. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and He is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. All true believers remain so to the end of the present age. Those whom God has accepted in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from their state of grace. Believers may succumb to various sins through neglect and/or temptation, whereby they grieve the Holy Spirit and bring reproach on the cause of Christ. Nevertheless God’s promise of eternal salvation for them remains valid and secure.
Scripture References:
Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 21:28-45; Luke 1:68-79; John 1:12-14; 6:44-45; Acts 20:32; Romans 8:28-39; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Ephesians 2:1-10; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5
The Church
Connect Church is a New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, baptism and communion, governed by Scriptural principles; exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. This congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through proper Biblical processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. God alone is Lord of the conscience of the believer, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained therein.
Our scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the offices of pastors and deacons is limited to men as qualified by the New Testament Scriptures.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed believers worldwide. The church is not the recipient of God’s covenantal promises to Israel, nor the replacement of the nation of Israel in these latter days.
Scripture References:
Matthew 16:13-19; Acts 2:40-47; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; 12; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Revelation 21:1- 5
Baptism
Christian baptism is the complete immersion of a believer, if they are physically capable, in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to the believer’s assurance in the resurrection of the dead. Connect Church requires that all members ascribe to and give evidence of having been so baptized.
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of remembrance whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of their Redeemer Jesus Christ and anticipate His second coming. This memorial is not limited to members of Connect Church, but is restricted to those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We partake communion the first Sunday of each month.
Scripture References:
Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; Acts 8:34-39; Romans 6:3-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; Acts 8:34-39; Romans 6:3-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
Scripture References:
Family
God ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It was the first institution so engendered, even preceding the Church. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, conception, or adoption.
​
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant commitment for their individual lifetime. It is God's unique object lesson that demonstrates the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
​
Since both are created in God’s image, the husband and wife are of equal worth before God. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to sacrificially love his wife as Christ so loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family with all respect. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in all family matters.
​
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord and should be respected as such. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage and the family. Parents should teach their children Christian moral values and lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on Biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Scripture References:
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalms 78:1-8; 127:3- 5; Proverbs 5:21-23; 22:6,15; 24:3; 29: 15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 19-3-9; 1Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; 1Timothy 5:8; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4
The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is considered the Lord's Day. It is the accepted day for our congregational worship. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Personal activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience as prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Scripture References:
John 20:19; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
The Kingdom
The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the present Kingdom is the spiritual realm into which redeemed men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. There is also a millennial kingdom during which Jesus Christ will physically reign on earth for one thousand years. The full consummation of the Kingdom will be realized in the eternal, heavenly state.
Scripture References:
Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 3:2; 13:11-52; 25:31-46; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:42-44; 8:1; 17:20-21; John 3:3-5; 18:36-37; Acts 17:22-31; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 11:15
Evangelism and Missions
It is duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every member of Connect Church to endeavor and/or aid in making disciples of all nations. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit should result in the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the scriptural gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to constantly seek to win the lost to Christ through the declaration of God's Word, by personal witness, undergirded by a Christian lifestyle and by other methods in harmony with the Gospel of Christ. You will hear at the end of service at Connect Church, "You are sent!"
Scripture References:
Matthew 9:37-38; 28:18-20; John 14:11-12; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; 1 Peter 2:9
Education
Christianity is the embodiment of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound, rational learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth should create a thirst for knowledge. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary for edification of the local church.
In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always experienced within limits. The freedom of a Christian teacher is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, and by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures.
Scripture References:
Nehemiah 8:8; Proverbs 4; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:14-15
Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians are to be good stewards of their material and financial possessions. They should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should, as God enables, generously and cheerfully contribute of their means for the advancement of their Redeemer's cause on earth. This generosity is for the Glory of God not for praise to the contributor.
Scripture References:
Matthew 6:1-4; Luke 12:15-31; Acts 20:35; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; 9:6- 8; Philippians 4:10-19
Christian and Social Order
Members of Connect Church should strive to make the moral will of Christ the standard for their own lives and so be a positive influence in all society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among people can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose and not condone any and all social mores or activities that violate the moral absolutes of the Holy God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to death. Every Christian should seek to bring their personal sphere of influence under the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all like-minded persons, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.
​
In as much as there has arisen conflict between Biblical principles and legal social order in regard to homosexuality and same sex marriage, Connect Church affirms the following:
God has uniquely created two and only two varieties of persons. These are male and female. There are no intermediate or amalgamated sexual forms. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image of God and demonstrate His relationship with His created beings. Rejection of this position demeans the image of God and His created purposes. We, therefore, reject any and all forms of sexual behavior that stand contrary to God’s original design for sex between husband and wife such as, but not limited to, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest.
​
We believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman in a lifetime bond. Only within the parameters of this bond, may sexual intimacy occur. Since we recognize marriage as a divine institution, we do not recognize any man-made contradictions to this definition.
Scripture References:
Gen 2:18-25; Exodus 20:17; Leviticus 18:22-30; 20:13; Deuteronomy 27:20-23; Zechariah 8:16-17; Matthew 5: 43-48; 19:4-6; 25:37-40; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 6:9-11; 10:31; Galatians 6:7-8; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; James 1:27