319-453-2065 hi@oakgrove.cc

What We Believe

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Our Mission

Making wholehearted followers of Christ.

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Our Values (Guiding Principles)

Christ-centered · Biblical · Prayerful · Relational

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Our Governance

We are an autonomous, non-denominational church with “baptistic” distinctives.

We are elder-led, deacon-served, and congregationally-affirmed, meaning our members are our final authority (under Christ), but delegate the day-to-day leadership to pastors/elders and deacons.

Pastors/Elders are servant leaders. Deacons are lead servants.

We Believe

(Core Beliefs)

Primary Doctrines

Scripture

We believe that the Bible in its original writings is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, eternal Word of God. The Bible is essential for training in righteousness and is the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of mankind and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life .

Matt. 24:35; John 10:35; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21

The Godhead

We believe that there is one God eternally existent in three persons, each of whom is co-eternal and coequal (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – commonly called the Trinity).

We believe in God the Father, who is sovereign over all things, creator of the universe, revealed to mankind as unchanging, all-knowing, all-powerful, all loving and always present.

Gen. 1:1; Ps. 90:2, 139:7-12, 16; Matt. 19:26; Rom. 1:20; James 1:17; 1 John 3:20; Rev. 19:6

We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, fully God and fully man, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He was totally holy by virtue of His miraculous birth and sinless life. Jesus voluntarily laid down His life, the just dying for the unjust, making it possible for man to be saved.  He rose bodily from the dead on the third day after death, providing salvation for all who believe in His atoning sacrifice and is now seated at the right hand of the Father and will one day return to establish His earthly kingdom.

Matt. 1:23; John 1:14, 18; 2:19; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 10:8-101 Cor. 15:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil 2:5-8; 2 Tim. 2:8; Heb. 4:15; 7:25; 8:1; 9:14, 28; 1 Pet. 3:18

We believe in God the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers at the moment they are regenerated (born again), guiding and teaching Biblical truth, regenerating and empowering them to live a life of godliness. He bestows spiritual gifts to all believers, and that these gifts are to be used for the edification and perfecting of the believers in the church. He convicts the world of sin and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ .

John 14:16, 17, 26, 15:26, 16:7-14; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:14; 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12-14; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 3:16; 4:7-16; Titus 3:5; Heb. 2:3-4

Mankind

We believe that God created man and woman in His likeness, free of sin and able to have intimate fellowship with God.

Gen.1:26-27; 2:7

We believe that all of humanity fell away from God when Adam first sinned, and that the fall resulted in both physical and spiritual death for man. In this fallen condition, man was left totally depraved and unable to remedy his own situation.

Gen. 3:1-13; Isa. 53:6; John 3:3; Rom. 3:23, 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22; Eph. 2

Sin

We believe that sin is anything that does not conform to the character and nature of God. It is falling short of His glory – missing the mark of His perfection – through negligence, unfaithfulness and willfully crossing boundaries set by God.

Romans 3:23; Galatians 3:10; James 4:17; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:4

We believe that all mankind sinned in Adam, the head of the human race, and that each human being has a sin nature, and also has committed personal sin.

Rom. 1:18; 3:23; 5:12; 1 John 1:8-10

Salvation

We believe that God provided the only means for reconciliation to Himself by allowing His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for our sins by His death upon the cross.

We believe that salvation is the act of God whereby man is brought into a proper relationship with God. It is that act where spiritually dead man is made spiritually alive.

Ps.3:8; John 2:9; Eph. 2:1-2

We believe that this is accomplished by the grace of God through mans’ faith in the death (shed blood), burial, and bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10

We believe Jesus fulfilled every aspect of God’s righteous requirements in the Law. He conquered death by His bodily resurrection, thus fulfilling His claim to be God’s Son. In this way, He bridged the gap closing our separation from God. His resurrection gives us the assurance that we will also be resurrected “IF” we trust that His death paid for our sins.

John 1:12-12, 3:16, 5:28-29; Rom. 5:8-10;1 Cor. 15:20-23; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Rev. 20:12-15

We believe the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ by convicting the individual of sin, the need for repentance, and a personal faith in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord.
We believe that salvation involves three things for the believer: deliverance from the penalty of sin at the moment of regeneration; victory over the power of sin during the Christian life; and deliverance from the presence of sin at glorification.

We believe that salvation positionally sanctifies the believer and is known as justification, but that the believer needs to experience growth in his daily life, which is known as progressive sanctification.

Rom. 6:14; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:20-21

We believe that the expression of salvation is exhibited by the act of a Believer’s baptism by immersion.

(Essential Beliefs)

Secondary & Tertiary Doctrines

Satan and Angels

(Aspects of this statement we consider tertiary in importance, meaning that even members within our church hold varying biblical perspectives on. We can agree to disagree, live with charity, and minister together to build the church and strengthen God’s kingdom.)

We believe in the existence of the person of Satan. He was created by God as the greatest of angels, but later rebelled against God. After he fell, he organized his own kingdom, which consists of both evil angels and unregenerate man. He is currently the ruler‑god of this age. Satan’s ultimate goal is to overthrow God. He seeks to keep the unsaved from becoming saved. He seeks to hinder and destroy the Christian’s testimony and ministry for God.

We believe that both Satan and his evil angels will be consigned to the eternal Lake of Fire after the Millennium.

Isa. 14:12–17; Ezek. 28:11–19; Mt. 25:41; Jn. 8:44; Rev. 20:7–10

We believe that there is an innumerable host of angels who remained faithful and true to God. They are servants to the Most High God and are ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation.

Ps. 91:11–12; Mt. 4:6; Acts 12:7–10; Rev. 7:11

The Church

We believe that the true church is a universal, invisible, living organism and that it is the “body of Christ” who is Himself the head of this body. The Universal Church is made up of regenerate, redeemed believers only.

1 Cor. 12:13; Eph 1:22-23; 5:23; Col. 1:18

We believe the church began on the day of Pentecost; that every believer is indwelt/baptized by the Holy Spirit into the one body of Christ, which is the Universal Church.

John 14:16-17; Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 12:13

We believe there are many local churches which are made up of those regenerate, redeemed believers who desire the fellowship that Christ is building, based upon the foundation of faith in His nature and His saving work.

We believe the local churches are called to be distinct from the world while in it, called to grow in Christ-likeness, called to edify fellow believers to maturity, called to acclaim to the world God’s offer of everlasting life and to be the visible representation of the body of Christ in the local community.

Matt. 16:16-18, 28:19-20; John 17:6,9,11; Acts 2:46-47; Rom. 8:29-30; 1 Cor. 1:2, 12:13, 27; 14; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-16; Col. 1:18

The Ordinances: Baptism and Communion

 

(Secondary distinctives: these doctrines help clarify how we believe the Bible instructs us to practice the two ordinances given to the church. And while Bible-believing, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ may disagree and lovingly sharpen one another through ongoing discussion on these topics, this statement is a distinctive for Oak Grove Church. )

We believe in the command of Christ, confirmed by His example, to be baptized in water by immersion, for those who have received faith in Him, in order that they might be fully identified with Christ. Baptism then is an example of obedience and a testimony of the change which the Spirit has accomplished in their hearts.

Matt. 3:12-15; 28:19-20; Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Pet. 3:21; Col. 2:12

We believe in the command of Christ to remember His sacrifice and eternal communion with Him by regular observance of His last supper, and by partaking of His chosen symbols, the bread and the cup, which represent His broken body and shed blood.

Luke 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-34

Spiritual Gifts

(Secondary distinctives: these doctrines help clarify how we believe the Bible instructs us to practice the two ordinances given to the church. And while Bible-believing, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ may disagree and lovingly sharpen one another through ongoing discussion on these topics, this statement is a distinctive for Oak Grove Church. )

We believe that the Holy Spirit, in His wisdom and according to His good pleasure, has bestowed “gift(s) of grace” on all believers in Christ, for the purpose of equipping them for ministry and bringing about maturity of faith and unity in Christ’s church. These gifts are to be used in accordance with God’s expressed will as revealed in His Word.

However, we believe that some of these gifts mentioned in Scripture–popularly known as “sign gifts”, tongues, prophecy, miracles, healing, etc.–were primarily manifested in the age of the apostles and were for the purpose of confirming apostleship and giving authority of their writings, i.e., Scripture. Since, the age of the apostles has passed and the Scriptures are complete, we believe the sign gifts as manifested in the first century are extremely rare and should be evaluated within their original intent of confirming God’s message and messenger, for the sole purpose of advancing the Gospel in areas where the name “Jesus” has not been heard.

Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 4:7, 11-12; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4; 2 Tim. 3:16-17

The Return of Christ

 

(Aspects of Christ’s return in this statement we consider tertiary in importance, meaning that even members within our church hold varying biblical perspectives on. We can agree to disagree, live with charity, and minister together to build the church and strengthen God’s kingdom.)

We believe in Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven, His present work as intercessor, the pre-tribulation rapture of His Church, and His personal, bodily, pre-millennial, imminent return.

Matt. 24:36; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Rom. 8:34; 1 Th. 4:13-17; 5:6; Titus 2:13; 1 John 2:28

We believe that, following the Rapture of the Church, the seven-year Tribulation Period (Daniel’s 70th week, or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble) will take place.

Daniel 9:24-27; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

We believe that following the Tribulation, the Millennium will begin. It will be brought about by the literal, physical, visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth to rule and to reign for one thousand years. After the Millennium, those who refused the grace of God in accepting the penalty of their sin being paid by Jesus Christ on the cross, will be judged and eternally punished, while those who placed their faith in His person and His work will share in His eternal joy.

Zech. 14:1-4; John 3:16; Rev. 19-20

Israel

(Aspects of this statement we consider tertiary in importance, meaning that even members within our church hold varying biblical perspectives on. We can agree to disagree, live with charity, and minister together to build the church and strengthen God’s kingdom.)

We believe that Israel is God’s chosen national people. In His sovereign will, Israel serves as a channel of His blessing to the entire world for His glory, and His witness to the nations. God’s election of Israel for this unique relationship is unchangeable. Israel is distinct from the church and central to God’s plan for all ages (past, present and future). The unfulfilled prophecies given to Israel in the Old Testament will find their final literal fulfillment in Israel at a future time.

Gen. 12:1-3; 28:13; Ps. 105:6-10; Isa. 43:7, 10; Rom. 9-11