Statement of Belief

We believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic (universal) church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds;
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men (and women) for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered and was buried;
and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;
and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father;
and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life;
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic (universal) and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, living, eternally-reliable Word of God. We believe it is without error in its original manuscript, absolutely infallible and our source of supreme revelation from God, superior to conscience and reason, though not contrary to reason. It is therefore our infallible rule of faith and practice and necessary to our daily lives. (II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12)

We believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the only hope for humanity.  The message of the Gospel is that Christ has done what is necessary to bring us back into relationship with God and into His unshakable kingdom. The Gospel speaks to everyone and has the power to heal, save, and deliver anyone in any circumstance.

The Gospel is simply expressed through Jesus' words, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This is the good news! And it is a clear call to follow the Way of Jesus--the teachings of Jesus on how to live in light of the Kingdom of God. As the Amplified translation of the Bible says it, "Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). The kingdom of heaven is at hand because God himself, the Creator of all things, has come. He is the one that reconciles and renews us and all of creation back to the Father. Through the work of Jesus Christ, His Kingdom is expressed through His people by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture also summarizes the Gospel in Colossians 1:15-23: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven."

We believe the Church is the body of Christ and is essential for living in the Kingdom of God. We all need encouragement and correction from a community that is also choosing to practicing the Way of Jesus. We cannot experience the fullness of all God has for us without one another.

We believe that the church is an outpost for the Kingdom of God. As we live in the kingdom that is here and not yet fully realized, the church gives us a representation of what the kingdom looks like. The way that we generously love one another, encouraging and spurring each other on, demonstrates the culture of God's Kingdom. The church is not a meeting place or building. It is the people of God choosing to follow the Way of Jesus together as His disciples. (Ephesians 4, 2 Corinthians 5:20,  Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27)

Salvation is the word we use to describe experiencing the transformative power of the Gospel. In the Greek, the word is sozo, and it means "to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction." This is the amazing gift that Jesus offers us. The Bible describes salvation as a past, present, and future reality. Through the work of Jesus's death, resurrection, and reconciliation, salvation is something that happened, is happening, and will happen for those who believe.

Salvation Past Tense
Salvation is something that has already been accomplished for those who believe by Jesus' sacrificial work on the cross. It is a finished work and the gift of God. Our salvation is assured the moment we enter into a genuine relationship with God through faith in Christ. (Romans 8:24, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 2:8, Titus 3:4-5)

Salvation Present Tense
The Scriptures also reveal a salvation that is continually happening. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, we work out the salvation we now have. It is the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us into all truth and righteousness. Through this day-by-day relationship, we continue to be healed, delivered, and renewed so that we might look more like Jesus. (1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:2, 2 Corinthians 2:15)

Salvation Future Tense
We also look forward to the day when all of Creation will be restored and sin will be no more. There will be a day when death and sin have no hold over us, a day when we realize the fullness of the salvation of Jesus. The work that Jesus finished on the cross will be an actualized reality. (Matthew 24:13, 1 Peter 1:5, 1 John 3:2-3, Revelations 21:1-4)

Salvation is a great mystery that the Father reveals to us more and more as we grow in relationship with Him and with those who have also chosen the Way of Jesus. (Colossians 1:25-26, Colossians 2:2-3, 1 Corinthians 2:7)

The most frequent theological questions asked of our church tend to revolve around a few topics that are also prevalent in culture. Therefore, we are sharing four position papers (along with a summary of each) to provide clarity about Antioch's beliefs. 

The question of women in ministry ultimately is a question of gender, gender roles, and what Scripture lays out for each. Ultimately,  in Scripture, we see that men and women are both created in the image of God. Together they are blessed by God and given authority on the earth, and together they express the image of God.

• We believe gender is assigned by God at conception, is realized at birth and is a critical aspect of God’s design for humanity, that we might bear His image and fulfill His purposes. (Genesis 1:27, 28; Galatians 3:28)
• We believe women can demonstrate every spiritual gift found in Scripture and can hold leadership roles in the church, including those of teacher, pastor, international team leader and elder. (Acts 2:17, 18; Acts 21:9; Ephesians 4:7, 8, 11, 12; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
• We believe every leader—male and female—must serve under authority and model the leadership example of Jesus, which seeks to serve, love, and empower those they lead. (Philippians 2:2-8; 1 Peter 5:1-11)
• We believe the church is responsible to intentionally develop women leaders, both married and single, into the fullness of their gifting so that God might be glorified and the church built up. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

The Antioch Movement stands in agreement with the clear teaching of Scripture, which we hold as the final authority, as well as the nearly unanimous teaching of the Church since the New Testament era and the majority of Christians around the world today in affirming the following: 

• God-ordained marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. Sexual activity is a gift to be enjoyed solely within the context of marriage.
• Extra-marital sexual activity, homosexuality, pornography and other forms of sexually explicit media fall outside of the boundaries God placed on sexual behavior.  
• Temptation is not sin and is common to all humanity. We believe the Church should be a safe place to share all of our temptations and support one another in our desire to live in freedom from all kinds of sinful behavior because Jesus alone provides the grace to overcome temptation.
• The Church is a welcoming place for everyone. We wholeheartedly believe the best way to love people is to introduce them to Jesus and then encourage them to live as His disciple, in accordance with what is taught in Scripture.
• We believe gender is an integral part of our humanity and is determined by our biological sex at conception.

Revelation 7 presents a glorious picture of eternity declaring that every people group on the planet will worship God together, forever. For now, humanity longs for the beauty of unity as people struggle with one another in almost every human endeavor. The racial tensions have become so great that the cause of unity may seem hopeless to some. However, the reality is that the current strife that exists in the world represents an invitation from the Lord to shine the light of Jesus more brightly than ever into the darkness of cultural divisions.  

Here is a non-exhaustive list of just four practices of Jesus  which would actively work to produce racial harmony and remove division. 

• Jesus prayed for us to be one. Jesus expresses a very clear desire for His followers to not be divided at all. To imitate the prayer of Jesus, believers would actively pray to be one in Christ. (John 17:20-23)
• Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. This is no light command. Followers of Jesus are commanded to intentionally care for those whom society would lead us to overlook or ignore. (Matthew 5:47, Luke 10:25-37)
• Jesus rejects social walls. Jesus openly rejected social walls by asking the Samaritan woman at the well for a drink and taking the time to talk to her with dignity and respect. (John 4)
• Make disciples of all nations. Obedience to this command would cause churches to reach more than just their own ethnic group. In the same way that we seek to learn other cultures and build effective teams for world missions, we must also consider equal effort and wisdom for the communities in our home nations. In the book of Acts, the Antioch community, where the term Christian was coined, was made up of three of the major racial groups—Jews, Greeks and Africans. It is important to understand that every time we call ourselves “Christians,” we are referring to a term first applied to disciples of Jesus who originated from a multiethnic community, working to live in unity. (Matthew 24:14)

We believe that mankind was made in God’s image, and therefore our purpose and value are derived from the intention of His will, not our own.

• Made in God’s image – God made every single person in His image, which endows every person with intrinsic value (Genesis 1:26, 27). The good news for everyone is that each person’s value is not dependent on how others value them. Their value is determined by God, and every life is precious to God. 
• Life begins in the womb – David writes in Psalm 139:13, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” We firmly believe that life begins at the moment of conception (Job 31:15; Psalm 22:9, 10; Isaiah 44:2; Psalm 119:73).
  • It might also be noted that while a fetus is connected to the woman’s body, it is comprised of a completely different set of DNA, having inherited only 50% of the blueprint for life from the mother. The baby is its own unique entity.
• Personhood is established by God – A human is not a person simply because he or she is fully functional, but because he or she possesses fundamental value—whether or not they are able to survive on their own—within or without the womb.
• There is forgiveness and healing for anyone who has personally had or has contributed in any way to an abortion who chooses to ask God for forgiveness. Our belief is that no one has disqualified themself from the grace of God. The only unforgiveable sin is to reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit over the course of a lifetime. It is never too late to acknowledge the evil of our deeds, ask for forgiveness and receive the saving grace of God and the healing power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 10:9; Titus 3:5; John 14:6).
• Amazingly, for followers of Jesus, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). No condemnation. Period.