Statement of Beliefs

These beliefs are reflected in the book choices you'll encounter in the WinterPromise curriculum, and are the basis from which we communicate in our materials.

1. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, truth without error, clear and powerful in its message, sufficient for all of our needs, and the final authority for faith and life.
2. We believe in the triune God --- Father, Son and Holy Spirit --- who is holy, loving, good, wise and almighty; who has created all things by his word out of nothing, who sustains, provides for and rules all things, who is our only Redeemer and who will judge all people.
3. We believe in the literal account of creation as recorded in Genesis, accomplished in seven literal days.
4. We believe that God created men and women in his image and likeness for fellowship with himself and to carry out the creation mandates; and that Adam sinned and that by his disobedience the entire race was alienated from God, depraved and totally lost.
5. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who added full humanity to his perfect deity, obeyed God perfectly, died for our sins on the cross, rose again to defeat Satan, returned to heaven to pour out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and to intercede for his people.
6. We believe that the triune God has provided a great salvation for those who repent of their sins and trust Christ and his finished work; that he calls, regenerates, justifies, forgives, adopts, sanctifies, keeps and will glorify them.
7. We believe in the Holy Spirit who has been sent to complete and perfect in us all of the works that Jesus did for us. He convicts of sin, regenerates, sanctifies us, gifts us for ministry and assures us of our salvation.
8. We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection and final judgment of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost.

While many fellow Christians affirm the above truths, as a family, we affirm them from within the Baptist tradition as developed at the end of the twentieth century and as reflected in the following beliefs. These beliefs, by virtue of their subject matter, are not routinely encountered as a part of the beliefs communicated within our curriculum; however, we are aware of their influence upon our belief system and theology. With that said, though, we recognize that these beliefs are not shared in their entirety by the whole family of God, and try to demonstrate consideration in our curriculum for our fellow Christians who are not in complete agreement with these beliefs.

1. We believe that the church is a new people of God born at Pentecost, distinct from Israel, and manifest in local congregations of baptized believers who are committed to carry out the great commission.
2. We believe that Jesus gave two ordinances to the church, baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord's Supper.
3. We believe in the autonomy of the local congregation, the priesthood of all believers and in leadership by elected pastors and deacons.
4. We believe in the continued expression of the spiritual gifts. The more demonstrative or "sign gifts" such as healing, raising the dead and speaking in tongues were essentially given for the authentication of the apostolic generation and are not normative for today.
5. We believe that Jesus Christ may return at any moment to deliver his people from the coming wrath, defeat the kingdom of Antichrist, and establish His millennial kingdom.
6. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment and that we are responsible to be good citizens. However, should civil government command us to violate God's Word, we must obey God rather than man.
7. We believe in the reality of Satan and his kingdom of darkness, and that our confrontation of Satan demands belief and trust in God and the effective use of Scripture and other resources God has made available to us.

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