We
Are a Christian People
As members
of the Church Universal, we join with all true believers in proclaming
the Lordship of Jesus Christ and embracing the historic Trinitarian creedal
statements of Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage
and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture,
reason, tradition, and experience.
We
Are a Holiness People
God, who is
holy, calls us to a life of holiness. We believe that the Holy Spirit seeks
to do in us a second work of grace, called by various terms "entire sanctification",
"baptism with the Holy Spirit"-cleansing us from all sin; renewing us in
the image of God; empowering us to love God with our whole heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves; and producing in us
the character of Christ. Holiness in the life of believers is understood
as Christlikness.
We
Are a Missional People
We are a "sent
people" responding to the call of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit
to go into all the world, witnessing to the Lordship of Christ and participating
with God in the building of the church and the extension of His kingdom.
Our mission begins in worship, ministers to the world in evangelism and
compassion, encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship,
and prepares all for Christian service through Christian higher education.