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What we believe...
Elvis is Dead.
The Tooth Fairy is Fake.
Some bands should NEVER tour again.

Or perhaps...everyone, every church, every group of people have beliefs that guide them. Many people in Mercy Church come from varying spiritual backgrounds. But at our core we are Christian, orthodox, protestant, evangelical, freewill, and welcome the Holy Spirit's ministry.

"..We are the only non-'Pentecostal' denomination that holds to all the gifts of the Spirit. People often say, “Where has the C&MA been all of my life? I didn’t know I could have that type of position.”
-Gary Bennedict, Newly elected Alliance President in an Alife interview, July 2005

We affirm the ancient creeds of the church. These creeds do not carry the same weight as scripture but are summaries accepted by orthodox Christians everywhere. Last on this page is the Nicene Creed from the council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)

CHRISTIAN: We follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and worship Him as part of the triune God.

ORTHODOX: We affirm the ancient creeds of Christendom. We affirm the full humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. We follow and worship Christ as equal, eternal and united with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. We worship the All Holy trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

PROTESTANT: We affirm that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God the Father and humanity. All have equal access to salvation through Jesus Christ by faith. We are saved through a growing and real relationship with Him.

EVANGELICAL: We affirm the responsibility of sharing Christ with unchurched people both locally and world wide. We affirm the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. We affirm the authority of Holy Scriptures of Christianity as established through church history. Scripture is our rule for faith and life. tradition, reason and experience are under the authority of Scripture.

FREEWILL: We affirm that God created spiritual beings, including humanity, with true free will. We reject various views that deny this fundamental part of the creative project of God. He created out of love and desires for humanity to return His love in relationship. Any theology that undermines love relationship's central place in the character and nature of God we reject.

WELCOMING THE SPIRIT: We affirm that God still speaks and moves supernaturally and naturally through people. Signs and wonders are for today and did not cease after the cannon was established by the early church. We affirm that there is unique empowering/in filling of the Holy Spirit available to all Christians subsequent to salvation.

IN ESSENTIAL THINGS: UNITY
IN NON-ESSENTIALS: LIBERTY
IN ALL THINGS: LOVE

As a congregation of the C&MA and the Mennonite church we affirm these core beliefs.

LINK TO THE MENNONITE CONFESSION OF FAITH (Rev. 1995)

THE CHRISTIAN & MISSIONARY ALLIANCE DOCTRINAL STATEMENT You can visit the national C&MA website for more details.

The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. This Statement of Core Beliefs is intended simply as a basis of fellowship among us (i.e., that we all speak the same thing, 1 Corinthians 1:10 [NIV]; Acts 2:42 [NIV]). The phraseology employed in this Statement is not inspired nor contended for, but the truth set forth is held to be essential to a full-gospel MINISTRY. No claim is made that it covers all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these core beliefs.

1. There is one God,(1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3) ([1] Deuteronomy 6:4, [2] Matthew 5:48, [3] Matthew 28:19)

2. Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6) as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7) and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.(8) He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9) He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10) He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.(11) ([4] Philippians 2:6-11, [5] Luke 1:34, [6] I Peter 3:18, [7] Hebrews 2:9, [8] Romans 5:9, [9] Acts 2:23–24, [10] Hebrews 8:1, [11] Matthew 26:64)

3. The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12) sent to dwell, guide, teach, empower the believer,(13) and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14) ([12] John 14:15–18, [13] John 16:13, Acts 1:8, [14] John 16:7–11)

4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and women. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15) ([15] 2 Peter 1:20–21, 2 Timothy 3:15–16)

5. Humanity was originally created in the image and likeness of God:(16) fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All people are born with a sinful nature,(17) are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18) The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19) and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.(20) ([16] Genesis 1:27, [17] Romans 3:23, [18] 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, [19] Revelation 21:8, [20] Revelation 21:1–4)

6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.(21) ([21] Titus 3:4–7)

7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly,(22) being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23) This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion. (24) ([22] 1 Thessalonians 5:23, [23] Acts 1:8, [24] Romans 6:1–14)

8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body.(25) Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26) ([25] Matthew 8:16–17, [26] James 5:13–16)

9. The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, (27) which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28) The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.(29) ([27] Ephesians 1:22–23, [28] Matthew 28:19–20, [29] Acts 2:41–47)

10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(30) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31) ([30] 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, [31] John 5:28–29)

11. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32) and will be personal, visible, and premillennial.(33) This is the believer's blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34) ([32] Hebrews 10:37, [33] Luke 21:27, [34] Titus 2:11–14)

THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead,and the life of the world to come.

Amen.