UMC drops decades-old ban on ordaining LGBT clergy without debate
The United Methodist General Conference has voted to remove a decades-old ban on ordaining pastors in romantic same-sex relationships after thousands of conservative congregations left the denomination in recent years.
Bishop Karen Oliveto (in blue jacket) and her wife, Robin Ridenour (front, center), join in embracing delegates and visitors at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. after the conference voted to remove the denomination’s ban on the ordination of clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” — a prohibition that dates to 1984
At the UMC General Conference Wednesday, delegates approved without debate a measure removing the language from the Book of Discipline as part of a broader consent calendar, passing it by a final tally of 692 to 51.
Since 1984, the UMC Book of Discipline has prohibited the ordination of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals,” with many progressives in the mainline Protestant denomination openly refusing to enforce or follow the restriction.
Applause from General Conference attendees was heard after the vote, with retired Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, a longtime proponent of removing the language, offering a prayer.
“You every day are great God, and every day You are working for good in the world. Stir up in us a desire to serve You, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all creation, and devote this day to your service,” Ward said, as quoted by UM News.
Over the past several years, the UMC has experienced intense debate over whether to change various rules in its Book of Discipline regarding LGBT individuals, which included barring the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, prohibiting clergy from performing same-sex unions and barring church bodies from funding LGBT advocacy groups.
Although efforts to change the rules at the General Conference have failed in past years, many theological liberal leaders within the UMC have ignored the rules and allowed individuals who were in same-sex relationships to be ordained or even promoted to bishop.
For example, Karen Oliveto was elected bishop in 2016 by the UMC Western Jurisdiction despite being in a same-sex marriage. Although her election was deemed invalid by the United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s highest court, in 2017, she remains a bishop to the present day.
Oliveto gave a sermon at General Conference on Monday, asking those gathered if they were “willing to meet and serve Jesus in the queer clergy person who has been faithful to God’s call even when the Church has tried to deny that call?”
At a 2019 special session of the General Conference, delegates approved a temporary measure that created a disaffiliation process for congregations that wanted to leave the UMC due to the debate over sexuality, with more than 7,500 churches doing so by the end of 2023.
On Tuesday, as part of another consent calendar, delegates voted 667-54 to remove the Book of Discipline’s ban on funding LGBT advocacy groups and mandatory punishments for clergy who blessed same-sex unions.
Article by Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor, The Christian Post, Wednesday, May 01, 2024
The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth made this mission statement: “MAKING HEAVEN ON EARTH IS OUR BUSINESS”.
“When we consider that the only prayer Jesus taught us to pray includes up-front “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is done in heaven”Matthew 6:8-10, Booth got it right, and look what he achieved. Making disciples who were totally committed to praying and doing as Jesus commanded.
Sadly, now, like most institutions the Salvation Army has watered down God’s command and has compromised with the world. What is the lead statement on their website?
At the Salvos, we believe in good.
What does good mean to The Salvation Army? “Good is a unique word — a simple yet profound term that takes on different faces and meanings for all of us.
For the Salvos, it is more than a word – it’s a belief. It is helping someone at their point of need, walking alongside a community through and after a crisis, and lending a kind and caring space for someone feeling isolated. And a whole lot more.
At the Salvos, we believe in good for everyone. It is this belief that drives us to find new ways and places where we can make a difference. From times of personal crisis to moments of national grief, we are at work each day, providing support, safety, community, and opportunity.”
God does not get a mention up front and this mission statement is not Booth’s mission statement: MAKING HEAVEN ON EARTH IS OUR BUSINESS but the Mission Statement does get to God.
Why good?
“The meaning of good has been diluted over the years. But at the Salvos, we’ve always believed in the power of good. It reflects our belief in our good God and our calling to share the goodness of God with others. Through our decades of work, we know people can find themselves in hardship anywhere, at any time — be it homelessness or housing stress, drug or alcohol addiction, family and domestic violence, unemployment, financial stress, natural disaster, or another crisis.“
Sydney, Australia church spokesman Major Bruce Harmer says the Salvos offer services to all who are in need, regardless of sexual orientation. “The Salvation Army has worked for many years with gay and lesbian people through their treatment centres and welfare agencies, we have employees who are gay and members of our church who are gay,” he said. “So it’s easy to take one phrase and run with it, but in reality, the Salvation Army is not homophobic.“
In the end times, Jesus told us there would be a great falling away in the church, apostasy, and the love of many will grow cold. Christians need to be prepared for the coming tribulation and be totally committed to God’s agenda for their lives.
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (The Day of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:3
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:9-12
Biblical prophecy gives us a picture of the church which God raptures to heaven before pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.
To the Church in Philadelphia (Philadelphus the “love for a brother” What remains of the faithful Church will be bound in brotherly love by the persecution of earth-shaking proportions.
“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Revelation 3:8,10-11
Biblical prophecy also gives us a picture of the church that will be left behind to face the coming judgement.
To the Church in Laodicea(Laodicea is a combination of two Greek words (LAO, meaning “God’s people”; and DIKE, meaning “justice or judgment”)Judgement of God’s people
“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:15-19
As China’s Christian Persecution Rages, Is Biblical Faith in Decline or Thriving in the Shadows?
David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief, an organization that helps Christians under duress around the globe, believes the church in China based on our methodology, is somewhere around 120 million,” Curry said, though definitive numbers are difficult to determine. If true, this would mean some estimates are off by almost 100 million people. One of the challenges, Curry said, is using self-identifying religious data inside a country that openly punishes Christianity and those who choose to publicly align with the faith. “They have self-identifying as one of the factors which make the number incredibly low,” he said. “Historically, the Chinese church has been underground.” While the church came above ground in recent decades, the rise of Chinese President Xi Jinping has created roadblocks and problems, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) increasingly cracking down on the faithful. The government looks down upon those who attend church regularly, and children cannot be legally aligned with any faith tradition. “[President Xi has] become more like a dictator,” he said. “It’s gone back underground, because of the increased restrictions. So, to be self-identified as a Christian means to put yourself in the crosshairs of a lot of government surveillance and other things, because Christian behaviour is punished in their social score system, and they have a very sophisticated way of monitoring this.”
In this photo taken Sunday, June 3, 2018, the demolished house church is seen in the city of Zhengzhou in central China’s Henan province. Under President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival. Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
As CBN News has reported, the CCP is reportedly also attempting to rewrite the Bible in its own image, with officials in one area also testing out a new app demanding citizens pre-register before attending religious services. “When you ask people if they’re Christian, they’re not likely to just raise their hand, wave, and jump up and down, and say, ‘Yeah, count me in your survey,’ because they know what it means,” Curry said. Despite these challenges, Curry believes Christianity is, in all reality, increasing in China, with a healthy underground church continuing to grow. “It’s under pressure … but the church of China is growing,” he said. “I think it’s healthy, despite a lot of the headwinds it’s facing right now.”
Curry said Chinese Christians could help believers in the West who are “in a mode of retreat” amid the cultural changes that have suddenly made those heralding biblical values persona non grata. “We’re in a defensive position,” he said. “And I think we need to look at the Chinese church and the church that’s under persecution in general as perhaps a model of how a church can grow in difficult times.”
We are fast approaching the Biblical prophesied last seven years before Jesus returns to Earth, to rescue the Saints and to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world. Persecution/Tribulation of Christians is prophesied to increase during the time the Antichrist will rule the world. Jesus has told us in advance so we will be prepared for the suffering knowing our redemption is close at hand.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14
“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28
Father Ramon Guidetti, 48, of the Diocese of Livorno in Tuscany, marked the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s death by claiming that his successor is “a Jesuit Freemason,” which prompted applause from his congregation at his Church of San Ranieri in Guasticce, according to The Pillar.
During his homily, Guidetti referenced reports of lightning striking a statue of St. Peter on Dec. 17 at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of St. Nicolás in the pope’s home province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Earlier this week, a local journalist confirmed the unusual lightning strike to CatholicVote.org, noting that the bolt obliterated both the statue’s halo and the keys in its hand, despite the shrine’s many lightning rods.
The outlet said it “confirmed that the lightning episode has sparked concern and speculation in San Nicolás and Buenos Aires, especially since the shrine was turning 40 years old and many thought of 2023 as an emblematic year.”
Dec. 17 was Pope Francis’ 87th birthday and one day before the Vatican released “Fiducia supplicans,” which has caused an eruption of controversy among Catholic prelates worldwide for allowing “spontaneous pastoral blessing” for “same-sex couples” and other couples in “irregular situations.” The guidance noted that the blessing is not akin to marriage and that such relationships are still sinful.
“And what did [the lightning] go on to incinerate?” Guidetti asked during his homily. “The halo and the keys. The halo because Peter is no longer holy because there is a Jesuit Freemason linked to world powers, an antipope usurper. And the keys because the good Benedict kept those.”
Guidetti went on to claim that Pope Francis has not been the legitimate pope for the past decade, according to Catholic News Agency.
Jesus warned us that before His second coming one of the significant signs would be apostasy and a great falling away in the church. This Pope along with most of the Denominational churches have compromised with the world on gay marriage and acceptance of homosexual pastors and church leaders.
Pope Francis chose Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernández, the archbishop of La Plata, Argentina, as the prefect, or chief, of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in July 2023. He is an old friend Of Pope Francis and is responsible for the recent statement by the Pope on the blessing of same-sex couples. It has now been revealed that in 1998 he wrote the book Mystical Passion – Spirituality and Sensuality which is almost pornographic. He conflates sexual pleasure with mysticism. As the following video reveals Catholics are now horrified by the doctrinal changes he is now making through Pope Francis.
A seismic and prophetic event just happened in our culture that confirms we are in the Biblical end times. Jonathan Cahn exposes it and what it means for the end times and your future.
This is just another statement by Pope Francis that departs from Biblical truth and blesses SIN. Our civilisation is descending headlong into apostasy and rebellion against God exactly as Jesus prophesied in the Olivet discourse in all three Gospels: Matthew 24 and 25, Luke 21, and Mark 13. We cannot say that Jesus did not warn us about what Christians will face in the end times before His return including persecution/tribulation.
Pope Francis caused widespread controversy and confusion on Monday by appearing to allow priests to bless individuals and couples involved in unchaste same-sex marriages and unrecognized civil marriages, a decision faithful Catholics have said will “produce chaos” in people’s lives “and hurt souls.”
Pope Francis (front 3rd R) poses with religious leaders during a meeting at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano
The pope gave priests in the Roman Catholic Church, the world’s largest Christian denomination, “the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples,” as long as this is done “without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.” The decision came through a statement titled “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings” (Fiducia Supplicans) signed by the 87-year-old pontiff and issued by the Vatican’s chief doctrinal guardian, the Dicastery (formerly the Congregation) for the Doctrine of the Faith, now led by close Francis ally and fellow Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández. The blessing is not to be a wedding Mass, nor a “liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion” that implies the Church has celebrated a wedding or nuptial service.
Yet when a couple in a same-sex relationship approach their church pastor, the priest now has papal authority to offer a blessing on them collectively which “unites intercessory prayer with the invocation of God’s help by those who humbly turn to him,” says the document, “a blessing that descends from God upon those who — recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of his help — do not claim a legitimation of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
Earlier this year, the Catholic bishops of Germany overwhelmingly approved a document — in direct defiance of Vatican directives — promoting the blessing of same-sex unions. The proposal classified homosexuality as “a norm variant of human sexuality” and urged bishops to “officially allow blessing ceremonies in their dioceses for couples who love each other but to whom sacramental marriage is not accessible or who do not see themselves at a point of entering into a sacramental marriage.”
One German prelate, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, tried to discipline a priest in his diocese for blessing same-sex unions. Woelki was promptly reprimanded by the Central Committee of German Catholics. Inspired by this, other priests in Woelki’s diocese disobeyed their bishop and the Vatican to host a rainbow-flag-studded gay blessing ceremony outside the Cologne cathedral. In a letter last month, Pope Francis admitted that Germany’s pro-LGBT bishops were trying to “steer” the Catholic Church in Germany “increasingly away from the universal Church’s common path.”
Meanwhile, bishops who boldly uphold a biblical understanding of sex and marriage, such as Texan Bishop Joseph Strickland or former Vatican official Cardinal Raymond Burke, are ostracized and penalized. However, the norms promulgated by the Vatican on Monday are abused, it is increasingly unlikely that the abusers will be reprimanded, but priests and bishops faithful to Scripture and the doctrines of the Catholic Church will still risk running afoul of the reigning pontificate, which the late Australian Cardinal George Pell described as a “catastrophe.”
This is surely another of the prophesied end times signs being fulfilled in our day. Paving the way for the false prophet and the Antichrist.
A spiritual and moral change is taking place in the world largely brought on by rejecting the existence of God, our Creator, and His commandments on how we should live. It is most noticeable in the U.S.A. which was established on a Judaeo-Christian heritage as evidenced by “In God we trust” on their currency.
SICK: Ohio Issue 1, Ads Present a False, ‘Pro-Abortion’ Jesus
The election over Ohio’s Issue 1 which is “Establish a Constitutional right to Abortion”, where ads proclaim that followers of Jesus should be “pro-abortion,” is one such election. For decades, politicians tried to cloak their abortion-expanding policies beneath protests that they were “personally opposed” and believed abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” The authors of Issue 1 insist Jesus would amend Ohio’s constitution to give people of all ages the “right” to make “reproductive decisions” ranging from unlimited abortion to transgender surgeries, to potentially allowing prostitution. Watch their ads and read their literature. Issue 1’s sponsors have quietly turned the political initiative into a public bout of spiritual warfare.
Perhaps the most offensive “Yes on 1” ad features a man dressed in clerical robes, overt religious symbolism in nearly every shot, and enough crosses to make the most staid MSNBC host shout “Christian nationalism!” if it supported life. “My faith tells me that people have a right to make decisions over their own bodies. That fundamental idea, that God gives us freedom, that’s at the heart of what it means to be in relationship with God,” says Terry Williams of the Orchard Hill United Church of Christ in Chillicothe, in rural southern Ohio. His parish “affirms the full inclusion and participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons in the life and leadership of our church,” states its website.
Like most satanic falsehoods, it contains a kernel of truth. Women seeking abortion need “my concern, my compassion, my solidarity, and my help. There is no division for Jesus in how you treat your neighbor and how you treat your god. And you show your religion by how you care for one another.” Allowing a fully distinct human being to be killed, possibly torn limb-from-limb without anesthesia seems a peculiar way to look out for “the least of these.” But Williams plants the seed of concern to reap the harvest of heresy.
“I am pro-abortion, not in spite of my faith, but because of my faith,” concludes Williams. “As people of faith, vote Yes for your neighbors to have the right to make their own decisions.”
Biblical prophecy tells us that there would be apostasy in the last days before Jesus returns to rescue His Saints, pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world, and rescue His nation, Israel from the armies of the world at the battle of Armageddon. Jesus will then set up His Millennial reign with the glorified Saints. This world still has 1000 years before it is finally destroyed. The second resurrection then takes place followed by Jesus’ White Throne judgement. The unrepentants are cast into the Lake of Fire for punishment and the second death. The righteous enjoy the new Heaven and new Earth.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”Revelation 21:1-4
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” 1 Timothy 4:1
In this verse, where Paul refers to those who “shall depart from the faith,” he is not talking about ungodly individuals who stick their middle finger in God’s face, spit on the Bible, and hate the church. He is talking about believers who will depart from the church, from the truth of the Bible, from the preaching, from prayer, from fasting, and from deliverance and miracles. And the reason they will depart is shocking. They will give heed to seducing spirits. These are evil spirits, and these dark seducing spirits will eventually woo them into accepting “doctrines of devils.”
Doctrines of devils are false religions and other false teachings that dismiss the Bible: idol worship, the worship of man, the worship of objects, the worship of charms and amulets and crystals and horoscopes, etc.; and they will eventually defend every sort of perversion that goes against the Word of God. Church people will literally side with demons, occultism, and witchcraft. If you haven’t seen that come full circle in our time, then you’ve not been paying attention. In short, Paul says there will be demonic activity in the church during the last days that will destroy the church. The influence of demonic activity in the life of the American church is an absolute fact. Demons work to destroy the conscience of their host and have no conscience of their own. A demonic spirit is void of that emotional connection to God, so it causes people to live numb and dry and lukewarm and barren, and in this context, we begin to understand that a demon is nothing more than a person without a body who has taken hold of a human body.
As we see more and more demonic influence in our culture, we need to heed Paul’s warnings. The devil is going hard after the people of God, and no one is an exception. We must buckle up with the armour of God, stick close to His Word, and keep our eyes focused on Christ.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12
I believe the end times church will be as described in the Book of Acts: it will be a House Church Movement largely due to the persecution of Christians that will be prevalent at that time. Very similar to the underground churches in China during the time of Chairman Mao and the house churches in most Muslim countries today.
Our beliefs are the framework in which faith and values exist. God is holy and He created humanity for relationship with Him. His ways are higher and His principles are flawless.
Because of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience, the Holy Spirit departed their spirits so all of their descendants lack the Holy Spirit to enable them to live a holy life pleasing to God. The penalty for Adam and Eve’s disobedience was death, first spiritual death when they lost the Holy Spirit and then physical death. The good news is that God through His son Jesus was prepared to become a man, live a sinless life, and by His death pay the price for mankind’s rebellion/sin. When we repent of our sin and are prepared to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour then God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our spirit enabling us once again to be in fellowship with Him and live a holy life. We are a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Notice that all of us have been given the ministry of reconciliation to bring others to Jesus Christ.
Our beliefs must be based on the following scriptures.
“We believe in one holy, perfect, and eternal God, self-existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; distinguishable but indivisible.” Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14
“We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God – accurate and applicable to our lives.” 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 Corinthians 2:13
“We believe that God created the world and everything in it just 6000 years ago. He created it in six days and rested on the seventh solely as a pattern for how we are to live: we will work six days and the seventh day will be a sabbath rest. We believe that humanity was created in the image of God to know him and to enjoy him, that God gave every human being free will, and humanity’s choice to sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives whereby we are completely unable to attain right-standing with God on our own merit.” Romans 5:12, 18-19
We believe God judged the earth with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day just ten generations after Adam. Only eight people survived, Noah’s family, to repopulate the earth. The flood resulted in billions of dead things being buried quickly all over the earth and created the fossil fuels that we use today. Evolutionists deny there was a worldwide flood and try to justify evolution by adding billions of years to Earth’s history.
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch...” Genesis 6:11-14
Less than two hundred years following the worldwide flood God had to step in and confuse the languages and create the nations so that once again a disobedient people would do as He instructed them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.“
“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower (Tower of Babel) with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4
“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” Genesis 11:7-8
God established His nation, Israel from one man Abraham to represent Him on Earth. One of the greatest miracles that proves God’s existence is the Exodus and God establishing Israel in the land God gave them. It is amazing that even before they entered the promised land God told them through Moses that they would be driven out by God into other nations but He would regather them at His prearranged time. In 1948 the miracle of Israel’s restoration began which is the most significant prophesied end times event signaling Jesus’s soon coming return.
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.“Deuteronomy 30:1-3
“We believe that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ changed history BC and AD. He is the only one who can reconcile us to God; who, though fully God, became both God and man through conception by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. His sinless life made possible His death as perfect atonement for all humanity. This is entirely by means of God’s grace offered to us.” Romans 5:12, 18-19
“We believe that Jesus Christ gave up His life on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He defeated death by resurrection power, appeared to many including His disciples, ascended to heaven, and will come again to establish His Millennial Kingdom with the resurrected Saints, prior to the White Throne judgement and creating a new Heaven and new Earth where only the righteous will dwell. We believe this is the Biblical way of seeing the whole world which empowers us to live every day as Jesus did in subjection to the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:1; Romans 4:25; John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Ephesians 5:18
“We believe that water baptism by immersion is an outward act of obedience, and a public demonstration of faith and discipleship, by everyone who chooses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.” Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:34-36, 19:1-6
“We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a distinct experience given by God. Speaking in unknown languages is significant evidence of this experience and is available to every believer. The key to this event is not simply the gift of tongues, but rather empowerment to operate in every gift the Spirit gives us including miracles, deliverance, healing, freedom, and all manner of excessive generosity as a part of bringing the reality of God to our world.” Acts 2:1-4, 4:30, 8:14-17, 10:44-45; Galatians 3:14; Jude 1:20; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 12:9; James 5:14; Mark 16:17; Ephesians 4
“We believe in the reality of the spiritual realm – angels and demons, heaven and hell, the existence of the devil, and God’s ultimate judgment upon him and his fallen angels. We believe in the eternal life of believers and eternal separation from God for unbelievers with a second death.” Matthew 25:41; John 3:16, 3:36, 5:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 2:11, Rev. 29:6, Rev. 20:14, Rev. 21:8, Rev. 20:10–15
“We believe all human life is a gift from God and that life is sacred from the moment of conception. Each person has a divinely ordained purpose, irrespective of the circumstances and we uphold the sanctity of human life from conception. We believe God’s intention for marriage is one man and one woman and that all sex is reserved for marriage, as God intended it.” Genesis 1:27-28, 2:24; Psalms 139:13-16; Proverbs 5:15-19; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:1-9; Luke 1:15; Ephesians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 7:1-4; Galatians 5:16
“We believe that because of our sinful nature and the brokenness in our world, we all struggle with varying issues, but the heart of God is to bring forgiveness and restoration to those who seek it. Through grace and truth, personal healing and reconciliation to God are available to all.” Psalm 23:3; Jeremiah 29:11-14; Luke 4:18; John 1:14,17, 8:31-32; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 6–8; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 