What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Bethany Christian Church - based on the foundational truths taught in the bible.   All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.   He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.  God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy.   He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the eternal Word, the one and only Savior, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, both fully human and fully divine; who lived a sinless life; who suffered and was crucified as an atonement for sin; who rose again bodily from the dead on the third day; who ascended into Heaven; and who will return in victory to rule forever.

We believe in the Holy Spirit.  Who convicts of sin; who indwells every Christian; who helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us in prayer; and who empowers us to fruitful Christian life.

God has revealed himself to us through his son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God, the holy scriptures, and through all of creation itself.   We believe God inspired the original writings of the Scripture and those original writings were consequently without error.  
We believe the Bible is the final authority for all matters of faith, truth, morality, and Christian living.

Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory.   The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations.

When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God.   This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God and fractured all of creation ever since that time.   Man, who was created by God, willfully sinned against God and is consequently lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions.   God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior.   That is why salvation can be found in Christ alone.

We believe that salvation - the forgiveness of sins - is only by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.   We believe that one receives salvation by putting faith in Christ, repenting of sin, and confessing Christ, and that the Bible commands every believer in Christ to be baptized by immersion.  

We believe that those who have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ are sent into the world to proclaim the gospel and to love and serve the world just as Jesus Himself did.

The Church is meant to be the visible body of Christ, sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.   We believe that the Elders of the church are the overseers of its affairs and the shepherds of its members; that they are the final interpretive authority of the Bible's meaning and applications for the church; and that they are responsible for the oversight, instruction, edification, discipline, and restoration of church members.

We believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, and buried, and that He rose again on the third day.  Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom.   We believe that those who are in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air, and those who are in Christ and have passed will be resurrected to be with Jesus forever in Heaven.