Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of The Connection 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.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and
personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is
infinite in holiness and all other perfections. 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,
personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is
infinite in holiness and all other perfections. 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,
A. God The Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the
flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all
powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who
become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude
toward all men.
B. God The Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed
and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and
necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He
honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death
on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised
from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who
was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at
the right hand of God where 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.
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write
the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts
Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to
the Saviour, 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.
the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts
Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to
the Saviour, 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.
Mankind
Man is the special 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 goodness 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 transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence
whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors
and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy
fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of
human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that
Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and
is worthy of respect and Christian love.
and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of
the goodness 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 transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence
whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors
and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy
fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of
human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that
Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and
is worthy of respect and Christian love.
The Fall
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.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who
accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained 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 Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. 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 wrought by the Holy
Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable
experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of
Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His
righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the
believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer
is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual
maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in
grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding
state of the redeemed.
accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained 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 Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. 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 wrought by the Holy
Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable
experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of
Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His
righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the
believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer
is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual
maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in
grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding
state of the redeemed.
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates,
justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man,
and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display
of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It
excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and
sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall
persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation,
whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach
on the cause of Christ and temporal discipline on themselves; yet they shall be kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man,
and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display
of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It
excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and
sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall
persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation,
whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach
on the cause of Christ and temporal discipline on themselves; yet they shall be kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith
in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, 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 his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance,
it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church,
through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the
Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith
in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, 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 his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance,
it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church,
through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the
Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ 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, governed by His
laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and
seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates
under the Lordship of Christ. In such a congregation each member is responsible
and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are Elders and deacons.
While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of Elder Pastor is
limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes
all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and
people, and nation
FAMILY
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal 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.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. 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 managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
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congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and
fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His
laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and
seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates
under the Lordship of Christ. In such a congregation each member is responsible
and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are Elders and deacons.
While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of Elder Pastor is
limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes
all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and
people, and nation
FAMILY
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal 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.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. 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 managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
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