What is the church of Christ?
Simply put, the church of Christ is the church you read about throughout the New Testament that was established following the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Bible, as the inspired Word of God, is the ultimate truth and is our only “creed” [2 Timothy 3:16]. The way that we worship, the structure of our congregation and its leadership, and our doctrines and teachings are all drawn directly from scripture.
Churches of Christ are autonomous - meaning we have no central governing body. Instead, each local group of believers (known as a “congregation”) is guided - or shepherded - by elders, so there can be some differences in practices and customs from church to church. However, although the churches of Christ have no central authority on Earth, we believe that we are all governed by Christ as the head of the church. We believe in the unity of the church worldwide, as a single body of believers with no divisions or subcategories - the spiritual kingdom of God. [Ephesians 4:4-6]
What we teach about...
We believe in the one true and living God, who is revealed to us in the majesty and intelligent design of the world around us, and who is introduced to us through scripture. We believe that He spoke the world into existence as taught in the book of Genesis. He is the creator of all things.
We believe that the one God exists in three distinct persons - God the Father, God the Son (who came to earth in the flesh as Jesus Christ), and God the Spirit, also known as the Holy Spirit.
If you wish to learn more about the one God and God in three persons, we invite you to read the following passages from the Bible:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
John 1:1-32
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
2 Corinthians 3:1-18
Colossians 2:6-15
We believe that Jesus, also known as the Messiah or the Christ, came to Earth as part of God’s divine plan to redeem us - to save us from our sins, because no one is perfect and everyone has sinned. [Romans 3:23-24]
We believe that he was born of a virgin as scripture states, that he lived a sinless life, and that he died on the cross – also known as crucifixion - as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins. We believe that he was raised from the dead on the third day, and that he lives today. In doing so, Jesus fulfilled the will of God and established a new covenant (or oath-bound relationship between God and man) for us. [Acts 2:14-41]
We know that no one can approach the Father without Jesus, and that he is the door and that his is the only Way that leads us to salvation. [John 14:6]
“What must I do to be saved?” was the cry from the crowd at Pentecost, when the very first sermon was preached by the apostle Peter - the day on which the church was established. [Acts 2:37-38]
God’s desire is that all people are saved. But God is a perfect and just being, and as a just God He cannot ignore our sin. All sin comes with a penalty, a debt that we cannot pay ourselves, and all of man has sinned - none of us are perfect. [1 John 1:5-10]
Knowing this, God developed a plan - He sent His divine Son, a part of Himself, to be born as a man, to live without sin, and to be sacrificed as the perfect payment for us, which would bring us into fellowship with Him. With this gift, God has displayed both His perfect justice as well as His perfect mercy and love for us. [Hebrews 9:11-15]
God has given us this gift freely, and we have the freedom to accept or reject it. But what does that process look like?
The first step to salvation is to hear the gospel (a word which means “good news”). The gospel is the story of Jesus’ birth and ministry, his death on the cross for our sins, and his resurrection on the third day. Jesus and his sacrifice open the door for relationship and fellowship with God. That’s good news for sure! [Hebrews 10:17]
The second step is belief. You must believe that the good news that you have heard is the truth. To believe is to couple your knowledge of the gospel and its importance with faith in the absolute truth and necessity of His Word.[Hebrews 11:1; John 20:30-31]
Repentance follows belief. When you hear of the good news of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, and you believe in its truth and necessity, you must also acknowledge that up until this point you’ve lived an unsaved life and that you have sinned (as we all have). To repent is to acknowledge your sin and choose to turn away from it from that point forward. Repentance is not simply a one-time action - it is a commitment to a new life. [1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 7:10-11]
Confession is the next step on the path to salvation. Confession is a public declaration before others that Jesus is God’s son, and that you believe in his death and resurrection. [Roman 10:9-14]
Baptism is the concluding act of the process of salvation, and we believe that it is absolutely necessary to be baptized in order to “wash away” your sins. Baptism is an immersion in water. It is an act that visually and symbolically represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Just as Jesus died and was buried and then was raised for our sin, so do we also “die” to our old way of life and are raised as a new person with a new life in his church. [Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Peter 3:21]
However, please don’t misunderstand - the journey doesn’t end with baptism. The Bible tells us that our activity, faith, and knowledge should continue to grow after we are added to the body of the church through baptism. We are to continually renew ourselves and continually deepen our relationship with God and His Word through study, worship, fellowship, and prayer.
One of the most notable features of the church of Christ is our worship. We believe that the Bible tells us everything that we need to know about how we are to worship and what God desires from our worship, and so we strive to emulate the activities and instructions for churches that we read about in scripture within our own worship services today.
Singing
The church of Christ is perhaps best known for its a cappella singing. "A cappella" refers to singing without instrumental accompaniment. Our church does not have a band, choir, or instruments. Instead, we raise our voices in song through congregational singing.
We worship in this manner because the examples that we have of Christian worship in the New Testament mention only singing, without any mention of instrumentation. [Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:18-20; James 5:13]
Communion
Communion, also known as "the Lord's Supper," is an important part of our worship each Sunday. Scripture tells us that the purpose of this act is to remember and appreciate the gift of Christ's sacrifice, and the salvation that we have through his death [Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:26]. Christians who have been saved through baptism by his grace partake of the bread and the cup in anticipation of Christ's return.
Preaching and Teaching
We believe and teach the absolute truth and supremacy of scripture in accordance with 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
In practice, this means that the messages in Bible classes and from the pulpit are drawn from God's Word, and we welcome and encourage members and guests to bring along their Bibles and read them often, as part of our calling to "teach and admonish one another" [Colossians 3:16].
If you have questions about something you have read or heard, or wish to learn more about a given topic related to the Bible, we encourage you to ask!
