Statement of Faith
Preamble
Biblical Pentecostals exist to proclaim Jesus Christ and encourage faithful Christian life and ministry through three foundational commitments: Biblical, Christ-centered, and Spirit-filled.
Biblical: We receive Holy Scripture as the authoritative written Word of God and the standard by which we examine every doctrine, practice, and spiritual experience.
Christ-centered: We confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, proclaim His death and resurrection, exaltation, and seek to follow His teaching and example in all things.
Spirit-filled: We encourage believers to receive the promised Holy Spirit, walk in His power, bear His fruit, and exercise His gifts in love and biblical order.
Together, these pillars guide our teaching, worship, fellowship, and witness. We seek to hold fast to Scripture, abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit—welcoming His genuine work, examining all things, and holding fast to what is good.
2 Timothy 3:16–17; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; John 15:4–5; Acts 1:8; 2:38–39; Galatians 5:22–25; 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22.
Accordingly, we affirm the following doctrines as foundational to the faith:
Article I — Holy Scripture
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and equip His people for every good work. Scripture is the final standard for doctrine, conduct, ministry, and spiritual experience.
We examine every teaching and spiritual claim by Scripture, interpreting its words faithfully in their historical, literary, and biblical context.
2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21; Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1.
Article II — The One God
We confess that the Lord our God is one Lord, and besides Him there is no God. We confess one God and Father of all, from whom all things come; one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things come; and one Holy Spirit.
The Father sends the Son, who comes from the Father into the world and returns to Him. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and is sent by the Father in the Son’s name. Exalted to the Father’s right hand and having received from Him the promised Holy Spirit, the Son pours out the Spirit upon His people.
The Word was with God, and the Word was God; the Word became flesh in Jesus Christ. Through the Son, we have access to the Father in one Spirit. We receive the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are genuinely distinguishable in Scripture and are joined in baptism, blessing, divine work, and salvation. God accomplishes His saving purpose through the Son and in the Spirit.
We affirm these scriptural distinctions and relationships while leaving later questions concerning essence, hypostasis, eternal generation, procession as an eternal relation, and coequality to further theological examination.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1–14; 14:26; 15:26; 16:28; Acts 2:33; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 12:4–6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 2:18; 4:4–6.
Article III — God the Father
We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator and sovereign Lord, from whom all things come and for whom we exist. He created all things through His Son and works all things according to the counsel of His will.
The Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world and sent Him into the world for our salvation. He raised Jesus from the dead, exalted Him at His right hand, and gives the promised Holy Spirit through Him.
Through Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to the Father. By the Spirit of His Son, we cry, “Abba, Father,” and live as His children.
John 3:16–17; 17:24; Acts 2:32–33; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:4–6; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 1:1–2.
Article IV — Jesus Christ
We believe that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us in Jesus Christ, the uniquely begotten Son of God.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His being, upholding all things by His powerful Word. In Him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily. We confess Him as our Lord and our God and honor the Son as we honor the Father.
Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, He shared our flesh and blood and was tempted as we are, yet without sin. He died for our sins, was buried, rose bodily on the third day, and ascended to the Father’s right hand.
Jesus Christ is Lord, Savior, High Priest, and King. He pours out the promised Holy Spirit and will return in glory. Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
John 1:1–18; 5:23; 20:28; Matthew 1:18–23; Acts 2:33; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Philippians 2:9–11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3, 8; 2:14; 4:15.
Article V — The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, who proceeds from the Father. The Father sends Him in the Son’s name, and the Son sends Him from the Father.
The Spirit is the eternal Spirit who searches the depths of God. To lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God. He speaks, teaches, leads, bears witness, intercedes, and distributes gifts as He wills. He may be grieved, and His people are called to hear and obey Him.
The Holy Spirit gives life, sanctifies believers, and dwells in them as God’s temple. He bears witness that we are God’s children, seals us for the day of redemption, and will give life to our mortal bodies. He glorifies Jesus Christ and leads God’s people into truth.
John 14:16–17, 26; 15:26; 16:13–14; Acts 5:3–4; 13:2; Romans 8:9–16, 26–27; 1 Corinthians 2:10–11; 3:16; 6:11; 12:11; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 9:14.
Article VI — Humanity, Ancestral Sin, and Death
We believe God created humanity in His image. Through Adam, sin and death entered the world, and humanity became subject to mortality, corruption, and sin’s dominion. We understand this inherited condition as ancestral sin, distinguishing it from personal guilt for another’s transgression. Each person is accountable to God for their own sin; all have sinned and need forgiveness, reconciliation, and life.
Jesus Christ, the last Adam, brings righteousness, freedom from sin’s dominion, and resurrection life to those who belong to Him. In Him, we await the resurrection, when the perishable will put on the imperishable and the mortal will put on immortality.
Genesis 1:26–27; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 3:23; 5:12–21; 6:6–14; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22, 45–54.
Article VII — The Saving Work of Jesus Christ
We believe Christ died for our sins and rose for our justification. Through Him, God forgives, reconciles, redeems, delivers from the powers of darkness, and brings new life.
Scripture describes His work through sacrifice, bearing our sins, redemption, reconciliation, victory, and covenant. Together, these witnesses proclaim the fullness of His salvation.
Romans 4:25; 5:6–11; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Colossians 1:13–14; 2:13–15; Hebrews 2:14–15; 1 Peter 2:24.
Article VIII — Salvation, Repentance, Faith, and Regeneration
We believe salvation is God’s gracious deliverance from sin and death into the new covenant realm of life in Christ. We receive it by grace through faith, not by works. God forgives, justifies, reconciles, and gives new birth.
Faith, repentance, confession of Jesus as Lord, water baptism, and receiving the promised Holy Spirit belong together as a response to the gospel. They are not competing ways of salvation or acts that operate independently of faith.
Salvation has a beginning, a continuing life, and a future completion. Believers are called to abide in Christ, continue in faith, walk in the Spirit, and receive His forgiveness when they repent. Salvation reaches its fullness in resurrection and glorification.
John 3:3–8; 15:4–6; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9–10; 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Ephesians 2:8–10; Colossians 1:13–14, 23; 1 John 1:9.
Article IX — The Three Primary Means of Grace
We affirm Water Baptism, Sealing with the Holy Spirit, and the Lord’s Supper as the three Primary Means of Grace within the new covenant life.
In Water Baptism, believers are baptized into Christ and clothed with Him. As a means of grace, baptism marks and enacts their incorporation into the fellowship of His body, the church, where they share in His death, resurrection, and new covenant life through faith.
In Sealing, God gives believers the promised Holy Spirit Himself, sealing them as His own and granting them the pledge of their inheritance until the day of redemption. Speaking in tongues, as the Spirit gives utterance, is the accompanying evidence of receiving this gift.
In the Lord’s Supper, believers receive by faith a true participation in the body and blood of Christ. Through the bread and cup, we share in the benefits of His sacrifice and the fellowship of His body, the church. This means of grace nourishes our life in Christ as we proclaim His death until He comes.
By Means of Grace we mean God-given ways of receiving and participating in the life made available through Jesus Christ. Their power rests in God’s action and promise. They neither earn salvation nor operate mechanically apart from faith.
Acts 2:4, 38-42; 10:44-46; Romans 6:3–4; Colossians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 1:13–14; 4:30; 1 Corinthians 10:16–17; 11:23–26; Galatains 3:26-28.
Article X — Water Baptism
We believe those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ are commanded to be baptized in water. In baptism, believers are baptized into Christ and clothed with Him. As a means of grace, baptism marks and enacts their incorporation into the fellowship of His body, the church, where they share in His death, resurrection, and new covenant life through faith.
Baptism belongs to the gospel response of repentance, faith, and entrance into the fellowship of Christ’s people. Its significance rests upon Christ’s saving work and God’s promise, not upon the physical water itself.
Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38–41; Romans 6:3–4; Colossians 2:12.
Article XI — The Promise, Sealing, and Gift of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Father’s promise is the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. Scripture describes this as receiving the Spirit, being baptized with the Spirit, and the Spirit coming upon, filling, and being poured out upon believers. God seals His people with the promised Spirit, who is the pledge of their inheritance.
We distinguish conversion and regeneration from receiving this promised gift. Acts records believers receiving the Spirit after believing or being baptized, with differing intervals. We therefore do not automatically equate every reference to faith or water baptism with reception of the promised Spirit.
Prayer and the laying on of hands accompany reception in some accounts, while in others God pours out the Spirit without the laying on of hands. God is the giver; the gift is the Spirit Himself, not merely additional power or an emotional experience.
Acts 1:4–8; 2:33, 38; 8:12–17; 10:43–47; 19:1–6; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 1:13–14.
Article XII — Speaking in Tongues
We believe speaking in tongues is a Spirit-enabled language and a continuing, biblically normal manifestation associated with receiving and experiencing the Holy Spirit.
Scripture describes speaking in tongues as both human and spiritual languages, spoken in cooperation with the Holy Spirit as prayer, praise, and thanksgiving directed toward God, both corporately and individually. When used individually before a congregation, it should be accompanied by the gift of interpretation. The context governs our understanding of each occurrence.
Acts 2:4–11; 10:46; 19:6; 1 Corinthians 14:2, 13–17.
Article XIII — Spiritual Gifts
We believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit remain available according to His will. These include prophecy, tongues, interpretation, healings, miracles, faith, discernment of spirits, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and others.
Gifts are given for the common good and to build up Christ’s body. They must be exercised in love, with humility and accountability.
Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 13:1–13; 14:1–5; 1 Peter 4:10–11.
Article XIV — Biblical Order in Spiritual Manifestations
We believe spiritual gifts must be exercised for edification and in accordance with apostolic instruction. When individuals are praying in tongues before an assembly of gathered believers, they are to be limited, sequential, and interpreted. Without interpretation, the speaker is to remain silent in the congregation and speak to himself and to God.
We distinguish when individuals speak in tongues from corporate prayer and praise directed toward God, while affirming that all worship must be conducted with consideration for others and in good order.
1 Corinthians 14:26–33, 39–40.
Article XV — Spiritual Experience and Discernment
We believe encounters with God may produce profound HUMAN responses. We must examine such responses and not automatically treat them as proof of the Spirit’s direct action or a person’s spiritual maturity.
Human manifestations in an assembly of believers do not establish God’s approval of every teaching, leader, or practice. We welcome His genuine work, test spiritual claims, and hold fast to what is good.
Matthew 7:15–23; 1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22; 1 John 4:1.
Article XVI — Sanctification and Holy Living
We believe those who belong to Christ are called to holiness through grace, truth, and the Spirit’s work. Holiness embraces both the heart and conduct, producing love, purity, humility, honesty, mercy, faithfulness, and self-control.
Grace does not permit continuing in sin, nor can outward observances replace a heart and life being transformed into Christ’s likeness.
Romans 6:1–14; 8:12–14; Galatians 5:16–25; 1 Peter 1:14–16.
Article XVII — Divine Healing
We believe God heals and calls believers to pray for the sick in Jesus’ name. Gifts of healing continue according to the Spirit’s will.
Although we do believe that healing is in the atonement, we do not teach that every believer is guaranteed healing in this age or that illness necessarily reveals deficient faith. The resurrection is our final hope for bodily redemption.
1 Corinthians 12:9–11; James 5:14–16; Romans 8:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15:42–57.
Article XIII — The Church
We believe the church is God’s people gathered in Jesus Christ, its Head and Lord. The church is called to worship, fellowship, prayer, teaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, mutual care, and witness.
Its members are to build one another up in love and serve their neighbors. Its leaders are shepherds and servants accountable to Christ.
Acts 2:41–47; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:11–16; 1 Peter 5:1–4.
Article XIX — The Lord’s Supper
We believe Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him. By faith, believers receive true participation in the body and blood of Christ. Through the bread and cup, we share in the benefits of His sacrifice and the fellowship of His body, the church. This means of grace nourishes our life in Christ as we proclaim His death until He comes.
As a Means of Grace, the Supper is a meaningful participation in Christ’s saving life and the fellowship of His body. Receive it in faith and practice it reverently, with love and consideration for one another.
Luke 22:14–20; 1 Corinthians 10:16–17; 11:23–29.
Article XX — Christian Ministry and Authority
We believe Christian authority is subject to Jesus Christ and Holy Scripture. Ministers are called to serve, equip, and shepherd God’s people.
No claim to anointing, prophetic revelation, apostolic office, or spiritual covering places anyone beyond examination. Authority must never be used to manipulate, exploit, silence legitimate concerns, or demand unquestioning loyalty.
Mark 10:42–45; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 4:11–16; 1 Peter 5:1–4.
Article XXI — The Return of Christ, Resurrection, and Final Judgment
We believe Jesus Christ will personally return in glory. The dead will be raised, and God will judge through Jesus Christ. Those who belong to Him will receive the fullness of eternal life.
God will finally defeat sin, Satan, and death. Our hope is resurrection, new creation, and everlasting life with God.
John 5:28–29; Acts 17:31; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, 51–57; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation 20:10–15; 21:1–5.
Article XXII — The Mission of the Church
We believe Jesus commissioned His church to make disciples of all nations and empowered His people by the Holy Spirit to bear witness to Him.
We proclaim His death, resurrection, exaltation, lordship, promised Spirit, and return. We call people to repentance and faith, baptize believers, teach obedience to Christ, pray for reception of the Spirit, care for the suffering, and demonstrate His love.
Matthew 28:18–20; Luke 24:46–49; Acts 1:8; 2:38–39.