What we believe matters, because it guides what we say and what we do. This should be true in each of our lives, and this is certainly true in discipleship. The Family Disciple Me “Statement of Faith” as a ministry reflects the “Statement of Faith” my husband Kelly studied and wrote for Vanguard Church when we founded it in 1997. Vanguard’s Statement of Faith remains true even today because the Word of God does not change. I owe Kelly a debt of gratitude for allowing me to incorporate Vanguard’s statement of faith we are using here.
What We Believe About God
There is one God, creator and ruler of the universe, who is an infinitely perfect Spirit, co-equal and co-existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1, 26, 27 and 3:22; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2)
What We Believe About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, tempted as we are, yet without sin. He freely died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. He then resurrected Himself after three days in the tomb to overcome the power of sin and spiritual death. Afterwards, He returned to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to the Church. He is now our High Priest, petitioning God the Father on our behalf, giving spiritual gifts to all believers as the Head of His Body, the Church. He will rapture the believers of the Church Age, will judge all people, and will rule this world forever. (Matthew 1:22,23; John 1:1-5, 5:22, 27-29; Acts 1:9; John 8:46, 14:16-18, 26, 15:26, 16:7; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 15:3,4; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 1:20-23, 4:7-13; 1 Thessalonians 4;13-18; 1 Timothy 6:15-18; Titus 2: 13-14; Hebrews 4:14, 15, 6:19-20, 7:25; Revelation 19:15, 16, 20:11-15)
What We Believe About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, sent by Jesus, to restrain evil; to convict people of sin, righteousness, and judgment; to baptize believers in Christ into the Body of Christ; to regenerate, indwell, and seal believers, and to continually fill us with the power of God, in order that we may live lives under the Holy Spirit’s daily control. The Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts for the sake of ministry. (Matthew 28:19,20; John 3:5, 16:9-11; Acts 1:8, 16:7; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:11, 12:1-11, 13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
What We Believe About the Holy Bible
The Holy Bible is the everlasting, unchanging, inspired Word of God: it does not lie, but tells the Truth. It was written by people under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as the complete revelation of God, holding all truth necessary for faith and life. (Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 12:6, 19:7-10, 119:1-5,160; Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
What We Believe About Humanity
All people are created in the image of God, but through the disobedience of Adam, sin entered the world. In this way, death came to all people, because all sinned. This state of total depravity eternally separates every person from a relationship with God and can only be remedied by placing one’s personal faith in a REAL relationship with Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:27, 3:1-19; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18-32, 3:9-18, 23, 5:12,6:23, 10:9, 10, 13)
What We Believe About Salvation
Eternal salvation is exclusively based on believing that Jesus is God in the flesh, that He was crucified, buried, and resurrected on our behalf to take away the penalty of sin for the world. Having accepted this salvation, people are justified by faith, through grace. Therefore, through justification, believers may have peace with God, begin the process of sanctification, and have the promise and hope of eternal life. (John 3:3-21; Romans 5:1, 6:23, 10:9, 10, 13; Galatians 2:20, 3:26; Acts 4:10-12; Ephesians 2:8, 9; 1 John 2:2)
What We Believe About Eternal Security
It is God’s sovereign choice to both save the individual and keep that person for eternity. Thus, salvation is by the grace of God and not by the self-effort of the individual. (Romans 8:29-30, 33-39, 9:10-24; Ephesians 1:3-14,4:30; Hebrews 6:1-8; John 6:39-40, 10:28-29)
What We Believe About Ordinances
Following justification, water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are the ordinances Christ gave the Church. These are practiced as personal acts of obedience, and as expressions of the person’s faith in the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. These acts express one’s thankfulness for salvation and intent to live a life of personal holiness, but not the means by which one receives salvation. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29; Matthew 28:19, 20; John 6:25-59; Mark 1:4-8; Acts 8:26-38)
What We Believe About The Church
The Church is the Body of Christ, made up of people who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and look to Him as their Head. The Church assembles for corporate worship, for equipping, for the work of the ministry, and for accountability. The primary responsibility of the Church body is to fulfill the Commission of Christ. The Church is governed by overseers who are qualified to guide the affairs of the Church with regard to doctrinal position and church discipline. (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 2:19-22, 4:11-13; Colossians 1:18; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 5:17; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
What We Believe About Marriage
We believe that marriage is defined in the Bible as a union between one originally born male and one originally born female. (Genesis 2:20-25; Ephesians 5:22-23)
What We Believe About Angelic Beings
Angels are spirit beings, never having been human, created by God as divine messengers sometime before the existence of the world. Angels cannot reproduce and do not possess the infinite qualities of God. Their purpose is to worship God, serve believers, announce impending judgment, and inflict judgment. Demons, however, are angelic spirit beings in rebellion to God but still subject to God’s control. These beings, which are all under the archangel Satan, have the capacity to influence people in their thoughts and actions, but demons’ destiny is Hell. (Matthew 10:1, 12:24-26, 25:41; Judges 9:23; 2 Peter 2:4; Luke 4:33-35, 8:28-32; 1 Timothy 4:1 , Ezekiel 28:18-19; Jude 1:6-7; Revelation 12:9, 20:2, 7-10; Colossians 1:16; Luke 24:39; Hebrews 1:14, 13:2; Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Genesis 3; Matthew 22:30; Luke 20:36; Job 38:4-8)
What We Believe About End Times
The Rapture of the Church is the next dispensation following the Church age in the Bible, when people who are alive and have placed their faith in Christ will be immediately raptured to Heaven. Following the Rapture, the seven years of Tribulation will begin and believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Restrainer (Holy Spirit) will then be removed from the world, and the Anti-Christ will be identified. He will make a covenant with Israel and rebuild the temple so that sacrifices can be reinstituted. God will then send two witnesses to the earth to proclaim the truth of His Kingdom. At the middle of the Tribulation, Satan will be cast down from Heaven and will energize the Anti-Christ to fight the nation of Israel. The Anti-Christ will break his covenant with Israel, the ten Kings under his rule will destroy the world church, while the symbolic 144,000 will be saved and slain by the Anti-Christ but resurrected. God will pour out trumpet judgments and bowl judgments on the Anti-Christ’s empire. The great world empire will fall, signs will appear in the earth and sky, and Christ will return with the armies of Heaven. The armies of the Anti-Christ will unite at Armageddon against the armies of Christ. Christ will destroy the armies of the Anti-Christ. The Beast (the Anti-Christ) and the false prophet will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. The Old Testament dead will be resurrected and judged, and those who have not faith in God will be judged. Then God will create a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth have passed away. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, will come down out of Heaven from God, and those names, which are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, will reign with Him for Eternity. (John 14:1-3; Romans 11 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, 15:51, 52; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 3:10, 4:1; 7:1-8, 12:1-6, 13:16-18, 17:14-18, 19:11-16, 20:1-6, chapters 8, 9, 11, 16, 18, 21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 5:8-10; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-17; Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:10, 30, 31, 3:9-11, 15; Daniel 9; 26-27, 12:2; Matthew 24:27-31)
