We hold to the historic Christian faith as summarized below. Our doctrinal statement is organized into two categories: Essentials and Distinctives. Essentials are the non-negotiable convictions shared by all orthodox Christians and required for membership and leadership at Resurrection Church. Distinctives are the theological and ecclesiological convictions that define how we understand and practice the faith as a church. We believe in unity in essential closed handed matters and liberty in secondary open handed matters.

Essentials

The non-negotiable convictions of orthodox Christian faith. Required for membership and leadership at Resurrection Church.

01 The Triune God

We believe there is one true God, the eternally self-existing “I AM,” who has revealed himself to us in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The persons of the Trinity are co-eternal, co-equal, and yet each holds a unique role in creation, redemption, and salvation. God is holy, sovereign, and good, and everything he does flows from his love and glory.

Ex. 3:14; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10–11; Matt. 28:19; Jn. 8:58; 2 Cor. 13:14

02 God the Father

God the Father is the architect of creation, redemption, and new creation. He sustains and rules over all things, bringing about his purposes for people’s good and his glory. As the giver of every good and perfect gift, he exercises his care and compassion by providing loving guidance and kind correction for his adopted children.

Prov. 3:11–12; Psa. 103:13; Isa. 63:16–17; 64:8–9; Matt. 6:9; 28:18–20; Eph. 3:14–15; Heb. 12:3–11; James 1:17

03 Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who took on human flesh and was born of a virgin. He lived a perfect, sinless life, was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is fully God and fully human — two natures in one person. He is our Great High Priest, who ministers, mediates, intercedes, and advocates for us before the Father. One day, he will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Matt. 1:20; Mk. 16:19; Jn. 1:1, 14; 3:16; 20:1–2; 1 Cor. 15:3–5; Heb. 2:17; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:8; 1 Pet. 3:22

04 The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is received at salvation and indwells all who believe in Jesus. Through the Spirit, believers are born again, baptized into union with Christ, adopted into the family of God, empowered to do God’s will, sanctified, and sealed for the day of redemption. In all he does, the Spirit glorifies Jesus.

Jn. 14:16–26; Rom. 8:9, 26; Gal. 4:6–7; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:7–11; Heb. 10:29

05 The Bible

The Bible is the authoritative and inspired Word of God, breathed out by his Spirit and given through human messengers in human words. It is complete in its revelation of God’s will for salvation, sufficient for all that he requires us to believe and do, and ultimate in its authority over every area of life. The Bible is completely relevant today for every area of the human experience because it is living and active. The Bible is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises. As God’s people hear, believe, and do the Word, they are equipped as passionate followers of Jesus.

1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:21

06 Sin and the Fall

Humankind was created in the image of God but voluntarily sinned when tempted by Satan and fell short of God’s righteousness. Sin is the condition and action of resisting, transgressing, or disregarding God’s will in our behavior, motivations, and intentions. All sin separates us from God, and the natural and just consequence of sin is death - both physical and spiritual. All human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God and subject to his righteous wrath. As fallen people, no matter our character or accomplishments, we are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.

Gen. 1:26–27; 2:17; 3:6; Rom. 5:12–19

07 Salvation and the Work of Christ

Fallen humankind’s only hope of redemption is the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and his victorious resurrection from the dead. Salvation must be received by repentance toward God and faith in Jesus. Those who receive God’s offer of grace are born again, justified, regenerated, adopted into the family of God, made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, and given eternal life. This salvation is a free gift of God — not earned, but given by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

Jn. 3:3; Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:10; 8:14–17; 10:9–10; Titus 3:5–6

08 The Church

The Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, who is its Head. It is comprised of all those who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. The universal Church is expressed in local churches: communities of believers devoted to the teaching of God’s Word, fellowship with one another, the sacraments, prayer, and mission. Participation in a local church is not optional for followers of Jesus. Every believer is called to be a committed, contributing member of a local body. The Church is being built up as the Bride of Christ, fully matured and presented to him at his return.

Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:42–47; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 5:1; Eph. 1:22–23; 4:11–17; 5:27; Rev. 2–3

09 Christ’s Return & New Creation

We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. At his coming, the timing of which is known to God alone, the dead will be raised, the living transformed, and all will stand before him in judgment. Those who trust Jesus will receive glorified bodies and reign with him in the New Heavens and New Earth forever. Those who reject God’s offer of grace will face eternal conscious punishment in hell. The imminent return of Christ is not a passive hope, it is an impending reality. Therefore, it should ignite godly living and urgent commitment to the mission of the Gospel.

Isa. 65:17; Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:50–54; 1 Thess. 4:16–17; Rev. 19:11–22:21

10 Imago Dei

At the culmination of creation, God made humankind in his image and likeness, setting humanity apart from the rest of the created order. As image-bearers, every human being — all children (in the womb and out), all men and women, all ethnicities and people groups, all able and disabled, all incarcerated and free, all wealthy and impoverished — possesses inherent and equal dignity, value, and worth.

God loves all human beings equally and without partiality. Therefore, we oppose every form of dehumanization or discrimination against fellow image-bearers. Because Scripture is our ultimate authority, we reject any system of thought that claims to be the final word on justice or human dignity including ideologies like Critical Theory and its derivatives. When those systems place themselves above or in contradiction to the Word of God we actively oppose them. Likewise, we strongly oppose and denounce the taking of innocent human life in any form, including abortion, euthanasia, and suicide.

Gen. 1:26–27; Psa. 139:13–16; Jer. 1:5; Acts 17:25–26

Distinctives

Theological and ecclesiological convictions that define how Resurrection Church understands and practices the faith.

01 Gifts of the Holy Spirit

We believe in the continuation of both the miraculous and ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit and that those charismata did not cease after the apostolic age. These gifts exist to equip the Church to carry out its mission until Christ returns and to give us a foretaste of the life of the age to come. Believers should seek God in prayer for various manifestations of the Spirit to operate in, not just agreeing to them theoretically, but being empowered to do them outwardly.

Rom. 1:11; 1 Cor. 12:1, 31; 14:12; 2 Tim. 1:6–7; Heb. 6:5

02 Election

God lovingly desires that all people would come to him for life and that none experience eternal separation from him. But humanity chooses death by rejecting God and his love. From all eternity, God determined in grace to save a great multitude of guilty sinners from every tribe, language, people, and nation — foreknowing and choosing them. He justifies and sanctifies those who, by grace, have faith in Jesus, and will one day glorify them — all to the praise of his glorious grace. Without this divine initiative, humanity is incapable of salvation. In love, God has set his saving grace on those he has chosen and ordained Jesus to be our Redeemer.

Jn. 6:37–40; Rom. 8:29–30; Eph. 1:4–5; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rev. 7:9

03 Church Leadership

Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of his church. He calls gifted and qualified individuals to lead and care for his people. Elders — also called overseers or pastors — are gifted, qualified, and called men who lovingly lead and care for the local church under the authority of Jesus. Deacons are gifted, qualified, and called men and women who lovingly serve the church by helping elders carry out ministry.

While we affirm that Scripture reserves the office of elder for men, we also affirm that women are co-equal in dignity, value, and worth, and are equally empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit. A woman’s giftedness and role in the church is in no way diminished by male eldership. The church is at its best when men and women are both honored and invited to use their giftings to serve, love, and lead together. For this reason, Resurrection Church is governed by a team of elders responsible for doctrine, teaching, and oversight, while women and men lead and serve in various ways throughout the body of the church.

1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Pet. 5:1–4; Phil. 1:1

04 The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is the reign of King Jesus over all things — already inaugurated at his first coming, not yet fully realized until his return. As citizens of this Kingdom, we are called to neither withdraw from the world nor be absorbed by it, but to engage it as salt and light — doing good, pursuing justice, and making disciples in every sphere of life.

The Kingdom advances wherever the Gospel is preached, lives are transformed, and communities are renewed. This means that work, business, art, education, family, and civic life are all legitimate arenas for Kingdom impact. These are not lesser callings than ministry, but expressions of it. Every follower of Jesus is called to steward their place in the world as an ambassador of King Jesus, shaping the culture of every environment they inhabit for his glory.

Matt. 6:10; 28:18–20; Lk. 17:20–21; 1 Cor. 15:24–28; Col. 1:13; Rev. 11:15

05 Stewardship

God is the source of all blessings. Everything we have (our time, talent, treasure and testimony) belongs to him and is entrusted to us to manage for his glory. Jesus is the model of stewardship: he laid aside the riches of heaven and gave himself fully for our redemption. Because of his generosity to us, we can be generous in return.

As redeemed stewards, we are called to invest willingly, sacrificially, and cheerfully what God has entrusted to us for the expansion of his Kingdom. This includes our finances, and we believe that generous, proportionate giving as a tithe is an act of worship and an expression of trust in God’s provision. Stewardship is not a burden; it is the privilege of partnership with God in his mission.

Gen. 1:28; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 25:14–30; Lk. 12:48; 2 Cor. 9:6–8; 1 Tim. 6:17–19

06 Gender & Marriage

From the beginning, God created two distinct biological sexes: male and female. We believe Scripture does not permit any separation between biological sex and gender identity. Any attempt to redefine or override one’s biological sex is a result of sin and the fall, and not a path toward flourishing. We also acknowledge that there are rare instances where individuals are born with indeterminate biological sex characteristics; these cases do not represent the same category of issue because they do not involve an attempt to self-create, nor deny the dignity of how they were born.

God has ordained marriage as a covenant relationship between one man, one woman, and himself. We recognize and celebrate only marriage between a biological man and a biological woman. Sexual intimacy is a gift designed by God exclusively for that covenant relationship. We hold these convictions not as grounds for contempt or exclusion, but because we believe God’s design for sex, gender, and marriage leads to human flourishing, and we are committed to walking with all people with grace and truth.

Gen. 1:27; 2:24; Matt. 19:4–6; Rom. 1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–11; Eph. 5:25–33; 1 Pet. 3:7

07 Church Unity

We believe in unity in essentials and liberty in non-essentials. The church demonstrates the unity of the Spirit and the love of Christ when we build bridges around secondary and peripheral doctrinal matters — such as eschatological interpretations, views on election, or worship style — rather than drawing lines of division. We desire to be humbly curious toward one another in areas of secondary disagreement, while eagerly maintaining the unity we share in Christ.

This does not mean all doctrinal questions are equally important. The Essentials of this statement define the boundaries of Christian orthodoxy and are not negotiable. But within those boundaries, Resurrection Church is a place where Christians of various theological traditions can worship, serve, and grow together.

Ps. 133:1; Acts 15:1–21; Rom. 14–15; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 2:2; 2 Cor. 13:11

08 Political Engagement

As the people of God, our ultimate citizenship is in heaven and our allegiance belongs to King Jesus above all earthly authorities. We are called to live as his ambassadors, stewarding whatever political privilege and power we have for the glory of God and the good of the world.

We encourage everyone at Resurrection Church to participate in local, state, and national political processes as their Spirit-led conscience allows. We firmly resist any temptation to align or divide ourselves on the basis of political partisanship. Our unity in Christ runs deeper than political preference. We welcome people across the entire political spectrum and call all of them to put their political engagement in service of Jesus and his Kingdom, not any party, cause or ideology.

1 Pet. 1:1; 2:9–17; Phil. 3:20; Rom. 13:1–7; 2 Cor. 5:20

09 Religious Liberty

We believe that religious liberty has a firm theological foundation: human beings are created in the image of God and endowed with the inalienable right to have dominion and worship freely. The freedom to gather, worship, and practice our faith according to Scripture is not granted by the state, but by God. The state exists, in part, to protect this right, not to override it.

Resurrection Church will not submit to any government authority, mandate, or legal action that infringes upon our right to gather and worship as a church; or - more importantly - our God given call to gather, sing, pray, preach and encourage one another. We will always obey God rather than men when the two come into conflict (Acts 5:29), and we will defend the right of every church (not just our own) to worship freely.

Gen. 1:27; Acts 5:29; Jn. 8:36; 2 Cor. 3:17; Gal. 5:1

10 Right to Life

We believe that all human life is sacred and that full personhood begins at conception and continues until natural death. Because every human being is made in the image of God, we are endowed with the responsibility to protect the dignity and worth of human life from the moment of conception until the moment of death. We therefore strongly oppose the taking of innocent human life in any form, including abortion and euthanasia. We do not hold this position out of political expediency or partisan preference, but out of Biblical fidelity and Kingdom ethics.

Gen. 1:26–27; Job 31:15; Ps. 22:10; 127:3–5; 139:13–16; Jer. 1:5; Acts 17:25

This doctrinal statement was adopted by the Full Council of Elders of Resurrection Church. Date of Adoption: June 14, 2026

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