Beliefs

We believe there is one true God who exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and from everlasting to everlasting lives in perfect relationship and love with one another. We believe God is eternal. We believe God is the creator of the world and everything in it. We believe God is all present, all knowledgeable, all powerful, full of compassion and mercy, unchangeable and righteous. God is relational and full of love, always choosing the highest good for all.

In other religions deity has different names, but the revelation of God as Father belongs uniquely to Christianity. Jesus was who brought the revelation of God as Father. This is first manifested when Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God came like a dove and a voice could be heard from heaven saying: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Afterwards Jesus himself stated the revelation of God as Father in Matthew 6:5-15 saying: "… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven …." Repeatedly in John’s gospel, Jesus addresses God as Father. Jesus begins his prayer in John 17, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you."

We believe that Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God—completely God and completely man. He was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. We believe Jesus is Lord and that he is the pure manifestation of God’s grace for all who will receive him. We believe he also resides in the heart of the believer (John 14:23 and Ephesians 3:17) and we are called to live our lives in him (John 15:9 and Colossians 2:6). God has exalted him and one day every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God with us. We believe the Holy Spirit awakens us to God’s will and empowers us to live obediently. We believe that the Holy Spirit guides us when we are in need and convicts us when we stray from God. The Holy Spirit bears fruit in us (Galatians 5:22-23) and gives spiritual gifts to equip the church for service. The Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8:26) and empowers us to be Christ’s witnesses (Acts 1:8)

We believe that God created human beings in his image. We believe that all human beings are valuable, no matter their skin color, socio-economic status or ability. We believe all human beings, because of their value, are important. We believe all human beings were created for the purpose of relationship with God the creator. We believe all human beings have gifts with different expressions that glorify God.

We believe a person is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that salvation is a gift of grace available to every human being. We believe that the heart of our heavenly Father is that no one would be lost but all would come to the full knowledge of who he is. With Apostle Paul, we affirm the proclamation found in Romans 10:9, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Grace is the manifestation of God’s love toward a fallen creation, to be freely received and freely given. This undeserved gift works to liberate humanity from both the guilt and power of sin, that they might live as children of God, freed for joyful obedience.

Prevenient or preventing grace refers to "the first dawning of grace in the soul," mitigating the effects of original sin, even before we are aware of our need for God. It prevents the full consequences of humanity’s alienation from God and awakens conscience, giving an initial sense of God and the first inclinations toward life. Received prior to our ability to respond, preventing grace enables genuine response to the continuing work of God’s grace. This grace places us on the front porch of God’s household of faith.

Convincing grace leads us to what the Bible terms "repentance," awakening in us a desire to "flee the wrath to come" and enabling us to begin to "fear God and work righteousness."

God’s justifying grace works by faith to bring reconciliation to God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ; it is what God does for us. It is pardon for sin and ordinarily results in assurance of "God’s spirit witnessing with our spirit that we are children of God." When we accept the gift of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for our sins, we cross the threshold through faith and enter into God’s household.

Sanctifying grace begins with God’s work of regeneration, sometimes referred to as being “born again.” It is God’s work in us as we continually turn to him and seek to be perfected in his love. Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit works to replace sin with the fruits of the Spirit. With John Wesley, we believe that a life of holiness and ultimately entire sanctification should be the goal of each individual’s journey with God. Our ultimate hope and promise in Christ is glorification, where our souls and bodies are perfectly restored through this grace. Sanctification occurs as the believer lives in the household of faith, seeks greater obedience to God’s teachings and most importantly becomes more loving under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

We believe the Christian church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. We believe in the one, holy, apostolic and catholic (universal) church. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the word of God is preached by those divinely called, and where sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the church exists for the purpose of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.

We believe that God has called us to live together in a faithful covenant that expresses our commitments both to God and to each other. As a church, we are committed to one another through sharing and mutual accountability. We celebrate our unity with one another at the table of the Lord and recognize all Christian baptisms.

We believe the Bible (Holy Scripture) is the word of God. We believe that the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the primary rule and authority for faith, morality and service, against which all other authorities must be measured. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said, “I want to know one thing, the way to heaven …. God himself has condescended to teach me the way … he has written it down in a book! At any price, give me the book of God! Let me be a man of one book.” Marvin Church values the study and application of God’s word to every believer’s walk with God.

We believe that Christian life is the journey that reveals a life of someone who professes Jesus Christ as Savior. We believe that when a person starts a journey with Jesus, results of this life can be expressed through the fruit of the spirit. We believe the Christian life is a journey to holiness.

We believe that sin is what separates us from God. Sin is the selfish way to respond to life. It comes from living a life independent of God and choosing selfishly to fulfill our own emptiness of heart in our own effort, not believing that Jesus is enough. Sin, by definition, is any way that we miss the mark in loving God or others. It is best identified and defined through the Holy Scriptures and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

We believe prayer represents our conversation with God, serving as the invocation or action where we seek to actively engage in an intimate relationship with God. Jesus instructs his followers to pray and exemplifies a life of prayer in Scripture. Believers are to have both a private and public prayer life.

John 17:3 says that eternal life is knowing the only true God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. We believe eternal life begins the moment the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. It is a gift that comes only through Jesus Christ.