Village Chapel Statement of Beliefs
The Triune God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three divine persons, in perfect communion and mutual love, equal in power and glory — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. His divine attributes — including love, holiness, mercy, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, self-existence, immutability, and sovereignty —harmonize perfectly in the unity of his being.
The Father
We believe in God the Father, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Creator, all things and all people come from Him and exist for His glory. As the Author of salvation, He adopts into His family all who are born again by grace through faith. He sovereignly upholds and providentially rules over all things to accomplish the redemption of His people and the restoration of all creation.
The Son
We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father. He is the fully divine, living Word of God who also became fully human — conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, Mary. His sinless human life, humble obedience to His Father’s will, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection made perfect atonement in order that all who profess Jesus Christ as Lord will be saved. In His bodily ascension, He returned to His Father, where He reigns as Lord, Advocate, Great High Priest, and Coming Judge.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune God, proceeding from and sent by the Father and the Son. He is the personal expression of God’s power — instrumental in all His works. He is the author and illuminator of sacred Scripture. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth, the One by Whom we are baptized into the Body of Christ. As the Spirit of Holiness, He indwells every believer and Christ’s Church, purifying and empowering His people for holy living. He guides theminto truth, comforts and encourages them, and enables them to fulfill the Great Commission. He produces His fruit in the lives of believers and gives them spiritual gifts for the good of the Church.
The Bible
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, true, reliable, and without error in all it teaches. We believe the Bible has been safeguarded by the Holy Spirit and transmitted to the present day without any doctrinal corruption. The Bible forever remains the unchanging, sufficient, and final authority for faith and living.
Humanity
We believe that God created human beings — male and female — as co-equal bearers of the image of God. Gender is divinely designed, part of the goodness of creation. Sexual intimacy is a gift, intended to be expressed exclusively in a monogamous, lifelong marital union between one man and one woman. We believe God calls people to singleness to live in undistracted devotion to Jesus and we believe God calls people to marriage to provide a human example of God’s covenant love.
We believe in the historicity of the first man, Adam, who along with his wife, Eve, was uniquely created by a direct act of God as recorded in Genesis and not by a process of evolution. Made in God’s image, they are the pinnacle of creation. Adam and Eve were created without sin for perfect fellowship with God and each other and were commanded to be fruitful and exercise benevolent dominion over the earth. Humankind was created for love of God and neighbor. That love was intended to find expression in every individual and every human institution.
Through the misuse of their wills, however, our original parents succumbed to Satan’s temptation, disobeyed God’s command, and thus brought sin and brokenness into the world and became subject to physical and spiritual death. They became corrupt in their nature and have passed on that sinful nature to all their descendants. As a result, all human beings — while still bearing God’s image — are polluted in every aspect of their being. They are estranged from God by their sin and are deserving of God’s wrath.
We believe that God desires all human beings to be restored to a right relationship with Him. Redemption — the gracious design by which God intends to rescue humanity from the disastrous consequences of sin — has its origin in the love of God and is brought to fruition by His infinite wisdom and might.
Salvation and the Spirit-Filled Life
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our salvation. He voluntarily offered Himself as our Representative and Substitute and suffered and died on the cross in our place — taking upon Himself God’s righteous wrath. We believe in His bodily resurrection on the third day, which powerfully declared Him to be the Son of God. By His death and resurrection, Jesus once for all conquered sin, death, hell, and the devil.
We believe that Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Salvation is a divine gift given to any who repent and believe. Repentance and faith are the divinely enabled human responses to the grace of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, a sinner must turn away from sin and embrace God — thus appropriating the benefits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. All who truly believe and receive Christ are fully justified, reconciled to God, born of His Spirit, adopted as His children, and united with Jesus in His death and resurrection. They will one day see Him in His glory and be glorified themselves, as God brings His redemptive work to completion.
We believe that God intends to transform His redeemed people by conforming them to the image of His Son through the infilling and sanctifying work of His Holy Spirit. This work begins with God’s gracious initiative and can only be accomplished by His life-giving power. Believers must also cooperate and fully yield themselves to the Lordship of Christ. Believers are called to decisively surrender their wills, be renewed in their minds, and have their hearts purified as they continuously offer themselves as living sacrifices to God.
We believe that a living faith must express itself in a life of loving obedience to God and in loving service to others. Genuine faith will inevitably produce good works, which are born out of gratitude for salvation, graciously empowered by the Holy Spirt, and ultimately done for God’s glory. Christians are called to live by the power of the Holy Spirit as citizens of the kingdom of God, serving as God’s agents of transformation for humanity, culture, and the created world.
The Church
We believe that the invisible and universal Church is a spiritual body comprised of all believers, both living and dead — over which Christ Himself is Head and Lord.
We believe that the local church is to be a loving community of Christ’s followers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction in the Word, mutual encouragement, and discipline. We believe Jesus sends the members of the Body of Christ into all the world to make disciples of all peoples in the power of the Holy Spirit. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church is to display His holiness, bear His fruit, and be adorned by His gracious gifts. As a people called out of darkness, the Church will embody the pervasive, life-transforming power of God by equipping the saints for the work of ministry — bearing witness to the truth and exerting influence in every realm of the broader culture.
We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted by the Lord Jesus Himself — not as a means of salvation, but as outward signs of the salvation we have by grace through faith. They are the divinely mandated means by which believers publicly affirm their faith in Christ. Water baptism symbolizes the spiritual union that every believer has with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, we believe that the biblical pattern is baptism upon profession of faith in Christ, and furthermore, that it should be administered by immersion whenever possible.
The Lord’s Supper serves not only as a vivid memorial of Jesus’ bodily sacrifice and shed blood, but also as a proclamation of His death until He returns. It symbolizes the believer’s union with Christ and the spiritual unity shared by every believer. It provides a powerful inducement to self-examination, should be celebrated joyfully and regularly, and is open to all who are followers of Christ.
The Last Things
We believe in the glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come again in power and majesty to judge the living and the dead. At His coming, all will be resurrected: those who have died in Christ will be raised to eternal life, and those who have rejected Him to eternal judgment. Christ's return will consummate His kingdom, bringing an end to all sin, suffering, and death. He will establish a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells, and He will reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
As His plan is realized the world will experience moral corruption, global persecution, and divine judgment. In anticipation of these events, we live in hopeful expectation, seeking to be found faithful as we await the fulfillment of His redemptive plan.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three divine persons, in perfect communion and mutual love, equal in power and glory — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. His divine attributes — including love, holiness, mercy, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, self-existence, immutability, and sovereignty —harmonize perfectly in the unity of his being.
The Father
We believe in God the Father, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Creator, all things and all people come from Him and exist for His glory. As the Author of salvation, He adopts into His family all who are born again by grace through faith. He sovereignly upholds and providentially rules over all things to accomplish the redemption of His people and the restoration of all creation.
The Son
We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father. He is the fully divine, living Word of God who also became fully human — conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, Mary. His sinless human life, humble obedience to His Father’s will, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection made perfect atonement in order that all who profess Jesus Christ as Lord will be saved. In His bodily ascension, He returned to His Father, where He reigns as Lord, Advocate, Great High Priest, and Coming Judge.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune God, proceeding from and sent by the Father and the Son. He is the personal expression of God’s power — instrumental in all His works. He is the author and illuminator of sacred Scripture. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth, the One by Whom we are baptized into the Body of Christ. As the Spirit of Holiness, He indwells every believer and Christ’s Church, purifying and empowering His people for holy living. He guides theminto truth, comforts and encourages them, and enables them to fulfill the Great Commission. He produces His fruit in the lives of believers and gives them spiritual gifts for the good of the Church.
The Bible
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, true, reliable, and without error in all it teaches. We believe the Bible has been safeguarded by the Holy Spirit and transmitted to the present day without any doctrinal corruption. The Bible forever remains the unchanging, sufficient, and final authority for faith and living.
Humanity
We believe that God created human beings — male and female — as co-equal bearers of the image of God. Gender is divinely designed, part of the goodness of creation. Sexual intimacy is a gift, intended to be expressed exclusively in a monogamous, lifelong marital union between one man and one woman. We believe God calls people to singleness to live in undistracted devotion to Jesus and we believe God calls people to marriage to provide a human example of God’s covenant love.
We believe in the historicity of the first man, Adam, who along with his wife, Eve, was uniquely created by a direct act of God as recorded in Genesis and not by a process of evolution. Made in God’s image, they are the pinnacle of creation. Adam and Eve were created without sin for perfect fellowship with God and each other and were commanded to be fruitful and exercise benevolent dominion over the earth. Humankind was created for love of God and neighbor. That love was intended to find expression in every individual and every human institution.
Through the misuse of their wills, however, our original parents succumbed to Satan’s temptation, disobeyed God’s command, and thus brought sin and brokenness into the world and became subject to physical and spiritual death. They became corrupt in their nature and have passed on that sinful nature to all their descendants. As a result, all human beings — while still bearing God’s image — are polluted in every aspect of their being. They are estranged from God by their sin and are deserving of God’s wrath.
We believe that God desires all human beings to be restored to a right relationship with Him. Redemption — the gracious design by which God intends to rescue humanity from the disastrous consequences of sin — has its origin in the love of God and is brought to fruition by His infinite wisdom and might.
Salvation and the Spirit-Filled Life
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our salvation. He voluntarily offered Himself as our Representative and Substitute and suffered and died on the cross in our place — taking upon Himself God’s righteous wrath. We believe in His bodily resurrection on the third day, which powerfully declared Him to be the Son of God. By His death and resurrection, Jesus once for all conquered sin, death, hell, and the devil.
We believe that Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Salvation is a divine gift given to any who repent and believe. Repentance and faith are the divinely enabled human responses to the grace of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, a sinner must turn away from sin and embrace God — thus appropriating the benefits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. All who truly believe and receive Christ are fully justified, reconciled to God, born of His Spirit, adopted as His children, and united with Jesus in His death and resurrection. They will one day see Him in His glory and be glorified themselves, as God brings His redemptive work to completion.
We believe that God intends to transform His redeemed people by conforming them to the image of His Son through the infilling and sanctifying work of His Holy Spirit. This work begins with God’s gracious initiative and can only be accomplished by His life-giving power. Believers must also cooperate and fully yield themselves to the Lordship of Christ. Believers are called to decisively surrender their wills, be renewed in their minds, and have their hearts purified as they continuously offer themselves as living sacrifices to God.
We believe that a living faith must express itself in a life of loving obedience to God and in loving service to others. Genuine faith will inevitably produce good works, which are born out of gratitude for salvation, graciously empowered by the Holy Spirt, and ultimately done for God’s glory. Christians are called to live by the power of the Holy Spirit as citizens of the kingdom of God, serving as God’s agents of transformation for humanity, culture, and the created world.
The Church
We believe that the invisible and universal Church is a spiritual body comprised of all believers, both living and dead — over which Christ Himself is Head and Lord.
We believe that the local church is to be a loving community of Christ’s followers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction in the Word, mutual encouragement, and discipline. We believe Jesus sends the members of the Body of Christ into all the world to make disciples of all peoples in the power of the Holy Spirit. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church is to display His holiness, bear His fruit, and be adorned by His gracious gifts. As a people called out of darkness, the Church will embody the pervasive, life-transforming power of God by equipping the saints for the work of ministry — bearing witness to the truth and exerting influence in every realm of the broader culture.
We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted by the Lord Jesus Himself — not as a means of salvation, but as outward signs of the salvation we have by grace through faith. They are the divinely mandated means by which believers publicly affirm their faith in Christ. Water baptism symbolizes the spiritual union that every believer has with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, we believe that the biblical pattern is baptism upon profession of faith in Christ, and furthermore, that it should be administered by immersion whenever possible.
The Lord’s Supper serves not only as a vivid memorial of Jesus’ bodily sacrifice and shed blood, but also as a proclamation of His death until He returns. It symbolizes the believer’s union with Christ and the spiritual unity shared by every believer. It provides a powerful inducement to self-examination, should be celebrated joyfully and regularly, and is open to all who are followers of Christ.
The Last Things
We believe in the glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come again in power and majesty to judge the living and the dead. At His coming, all will be resurrected: those who have died in Christ will be raised to eternal life, and those who have rejected Him to eternal judgment. Christ's return will consummate His kingdom, bringing an end to all sin, suffering, and death. He will establish a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells, and He will reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
As His plan is realized the world will experience moral corruption, global persecution, and divine judgment. In anticipation of these events, we live in hopeful expectation, seeking to be found faithful as we await the fulfillment of His redemptive plan.