FAITH strengthened/relationships FORMED
meeting times
Sunday Morning Bible Classes @ 9:00/Sunday Morning Worship @ 10:00
Wednesday Night - Children, Youth, Adult and Women’s Classes @ 7:00
Deeply Held Beliefs of the Summerville Church of Christ
GOD
We believe in one eternal God, consisting of three persons, the Father, Jesus the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. God the Father created all things, loves His children, and sent His
Son to die for our sins. God the Son became human to be the perfect revelation of
God’s nature. God the Spirit was sent into the world to guide believers into all truth and
bring about our adoption into God’s family. (Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Romans 8; 2
Corinthians 13:14; John 1:1-5; Hebrews 4:14-15; John 16:7-13)
Jesus
We believe Jesus is God and yet emptied himself of his glory and put on flesh, being
conceived by the Spirit and born of a virgin. He was both God and man and lived a
sinless life. Jesus willingly died a sacrificial death on the cross to make salvation
available to all who would call on His name and be baptized. He was buried and then
raised from death to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus ascended into heaven
and now sits at the right hand of God. (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 22:66-71; Galatians
4:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Father and the Son pour out the Holy Spirit to dwell in those who put
their faith in the saving work of Jesus. The Holy Spirit transforms the believer inwardly
and outwardly into the image of Jesus. He indwells each believer after baptism in
accordance with the Holy Scripture and becomes their source of assurance, strength,
wisdom, and gifting for the building up of the church. (Acts 2:38; Ephesians 1:13;
Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 2:12; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18)
Humanity
We believe God created humans, male and female, in His own image and without sin.
However, human beings fell away from God through a free will choice to act in rebellion
and unrighteousness. Humans were in a helpless state because of sin, completely
unable to save themselves or reconcile with God. In his great mercy, God acted to
bring redemption and reconciliation to all who believe in Christ. (Acts 17:24-28; Isaiah
59:1-2)
We believe salvation is a free gift of God given through grace alone. The death of Christ
on the cross is the only sufficient sacrifice for our sins. Obedience to God’s commands
and laws could never earn salvation, rather, it is offered by God to everyone who puts
their faith in Christ as Savior. The bible teaches that this faith is expressed through
confession, repentance, baptism, and obedience to God’s will. (Romans 1:16-17,
3:23-24, 5:1, 6:3-8, 23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26-27; Acts
2:37-41; Matthew 28:19-20)
Salvation
We believe that when God reconciles people to Himself through Jesus, He adds them
to His church, those called out to live for Him. In this family of faith, of which Christ is
the head, believers are commanded to love, encourage, and protect one another, to
share in physical needs, and to share faith with each other and the world. God gifts
believers with talents and abilities to do the good works He has prepared for them and
to build up the body of Christ. This faith community gathers together on a regular basis
for corporate praise and worship to God, at which time the body communes together
by sharing the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:41-47; Ephesians 2:8-10, 4:1-16, 5:29-30)
CHURCH
We believe that when the time set by the Father has come, Jesus will return by
descending in the same way he ascended. He will judge all people for their sins. Those
who are his own, whom He has redeemed from sin, He will take to be with him for
eternity in the place He has prepared for them. Those condemned by their own sin and
lack of faith will be sent into the eternal fire prepared for the enemy, Satan. (Matthew
25:31-46; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 John 3:2; Acts 1:11)
Heaven & Hell
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is the final authority in our
understanding of God and life. It is our supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs
and living. It is a compilation of books and letters written by human authors under the
supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
Bible
We believe that God created the covenant of marriage in the garden with the first man
and first woman and ordained it forever to be a lifelong union between one biological
man and one biological woman. Marriage is a symbol of Christ’s love for His church,
and as such, is ideally a relationship of mutual love and respect. Marriage was also
created to be the only relationship in which sexual desires and needs are to be
satisfied. (Genesis 2:20-24; Leviticus 18; Matthew 13:3-9; Romans 1:16-17; 1
Corinthians 7)