Statement of Belief

God exists and has revealed Himself to mankind. He has rescued and redeemed a people for Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. This good news is to be preached to all nations for God's glory and our joy.

From its inception, the Church has always found it helpful to summarize its core convictions in rather short and succinct statements such as hymns, creeds and confessions, to impart truth, clarify and prevent confusion, protect from false teaching, and otherwise hold fast to the historic landmarks of our heritage.

The Christian confession is merely a response to God's revelation. Thus, the confessions of a church and its individuals should correspond to the boundaries and contours of biblical truth that God has revealed to us. All Christians everywhere say they believe in God; but creeds, confessions and statements help to clarify what it is that we believe about God and life.

We seek to uphold and live out the tenets of the statement of faith that follows.

We believe in what is expressed by the Apostles Creed, and confess it along with our brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world for the last two millennia:

We believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic [worldwide] church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting.

We believe in the triune nature of God, that He eternally exists as Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Peter 1:1-20)

We believe all humanity, Christ excluded, is sinful by both birth and action (Genesis 6:5, Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:23, 5:8 , 12-21, 7:18, Ephesians 2:1-3)

We believe that only through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and repentance from sin can one be reconciled to God and experience true life now and forevermore. (John 3:18, 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:21-26, 1 Timothy 2:5-6)

We believe the Scriptures are true, authoritative and inspired by God and seek to apply them to life with the help of the Holy Spirit, historical church teachings, and reason. (Psalm 19:7-11, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)

We believe every member of the church should express his or her obedience to Christ through water baptism. (Matthew 3:13-17)

We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to believers as a gift from God to empower them to be a witness for Jesus. (Acts 1:8)

We believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are as accessible to Christians today as they have been in any other time frame. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

We practice communion according to the teachings of the New Testament. (John 6:53-58, 1 Corinthians 11:24-34 , Luke 22:19-20)

We recognize the Scriptural teaching that a board of elders should have authority to establish governance over those who participate in the activities and services of the church. (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5-9)

We express and seek opportunities to show our unity with all Christians who love and serve Jesus as their Lord. (John 13:35, Ephesians 4:5)

We believe that God will restore all things to its original design on the day He chooses according to His infinite wisdom. The Restoration of All Things includes the future, physical, visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. (Acts 3:21, Revelation 21:1-5a)

We expect the commitment of those who make Living Streams their church to include giving of their time and talents, prayers, financial support in tithes and offerings, and love for fellow Christians.