The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men who were called of God and divinely inspired. It is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. The Bible is a perfect and awesome treasure given by God. It is absolutely true and flawless in divine instruction. God is the Author, without error. All Scripture is absolutely true and trustworthy. It is God’s revelation to mankind for the principles of His judgment and will remain the center of Christian fellowship. It is, and will forever remain, the supreme standard by which all human conduct, religious opinions and creeds should be tried. All scripture leads to the testimony of Jesus, Who is Himself the focus of God’s divine revelation. Biblically, we believe that men are to accept the calling of preaching and teaching in the instruction of God’s Word, and to be pastors and preachers in leadership (1 Timothy 2:12-13). We also believe ladies have a special calling to teach one another and children according to the scripture (Titus 2:1-5). We believe God’s Word is a living and anointed message unto all people of the gospel of Jesus.
God
There is only one living and true God. The eternal God of the Trinity. He reveals Himself to us as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who have distinct personal attributes, without division of nature, being or essence.
God the Father
The Father God reigns over His creation with providential care and love by example. He cares for His creation and humanity through His grace and mercy. He invites all of mankind to become the children of God through faith in Jesus.
God the Son
Jesus is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. He walked in obedience by God’s divine law and became the eternal substitutionary sacrifice for all of mankind. It is through Him, and Him only, that God allowed a provision for the redemption of man’s sin.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Living God who is fully divine. He convicts men of sin, judgment and righteousness. He exalts Jesus, enlightens and empowers the believer and God’s church in areas of worship, gifts, service, evangelism, preaching, teaching, and discipleship. We believe scripture demonstrates that all believers possess the Holy Spirit of God, instantaneous to their salvation experience, and possess His indwelling presence when they choose to trust in God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit manifests Himself in many ways to encourage believers in the gifted areas listed above and manifests Himself in order and without any type of chaos (1 Corinthians 14:27-40).
Humanity
Mankind is the special creation of God, created specifically both male and female, in God’s own image. Given the opportunity of free will, man sinned against God bringing sin into the human race. The special nature of humanity is evident in that God created mankind in His own image. As Jesus died for humanity, every person possesses a unique nature worthy of love and respect by God’s supernatural design.
Salvation
Salvation is the redemptive grace of God offered freely to all who trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ, by His own blood, obtained eternal redemption for all who will believe and trust Him as Savior and Lord. Salvation includes the truths of regeneration, justification, sanctification and glorification.
Grace
All true believers will, through perseverance, endure to the end. Only God, through His providence and sovereignty knows the heart of man and his ultimate destination after this life. We, as believers, have an eternal home with Jesus that has been promised through salvation in Jesus Christ. Those who God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by his Spirit, are true believers. According to God’s Word, there is security as a believer, knowing and trusting Jesus. While man cannot lose his salvation, we believe God’s eternal grace is His sovereign decision, and conditional upon the believer’s obedience and commitment to endure to the end through the perseverance of a changed life, living in accordance to God’s Word and the evidence of a life dedicated to Christ. Election is the purpose of God’s grace as He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies and glorifies non believers.
Holy Living
All believers will develop lives of growth and progressive sanctification through the indwelling power of God’s Holy Spirit. The scriptures teach the importance of a “progressive” work of sanctification in each believer. We believe the marks of holiness are proven more in the heart and internal life of the believer than the external. Both areas are proof of God’s continued power in the life of believers. Believers, in this humanity, will not ever live in a state of sinless perfection (1 John 1:8-10). It’s important to live holy lives. We believe this is an expectation of God for believers (Hebrews 12:14).
The Church
Our church, as a fellowship of believers, is a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an autonomous local congregation of believers. We are associated in a covenant of faith in Jesus Christ and the fellowship of His gospel. We are governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges of His Word and dedicated to the call of His Great Commission. Our congregation operates under the Lordship of Jesus through democratic processes. Each member is responsible and absolutely accountable to Christ as Lord and Savior. Our scriptural officers include our Senior Pastor and elders who serve as our Elder Leadership Team with scriptural bylaws managing God’s church in this local body. While both men and women are called and gifted to service in our fellowship, the offices of pastor, preachers, or elders are limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
Baptism & The Last Supper
Christian baptism is the act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior. It also symbolizes the believer’s death to a routine life of sin, the burial of the old man, and the resurrection of the new man in Christ who walks in the newness of the Christian life. Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water. The Lord’s Supper is the symbolic act of obedience where believers memorialize the death of our Redeemer and look forward in anticipation of His coming.
Evangelism
It is the call and duty of every disciple of Jesus, and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ, to make disciples in our community and all nations. We have been called to seek and minister to non believers continually as God’s Holy Spirit gives opportunity. Evangelism is the diversified effort of churches and believers to share the gospel message of Jesus with friends, neighbors, co-workers and all people who have not entrusted their lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Evangelism is accomplished in verbal witness to others with the blessing of the Holy Spirit and supported by a faithful Christian lifestyle as witness to the sustaining power of God in the life of each believer. Outreach is an essential key to reaching others through the principles of evangelism. Outreach is the means by which churches and individuals go into local communities to initiate and invite individuals to come and enjoy fellowship with believers and hear the gospel message of Jesus through various means. The Bible teaches the harvest is plentiful if we are faithful and work to bring it in.
The End Times
There are many areas of scripture that present God’s plan for the end times. God, in His own time and in His own unique way will bring this world to its appropriate end. Jesus will return visibly and personally. Those who are dead, will be raised, and Jesus will judge all men in righteousness. Those who are deemed by Christ to be non-believers will make their eternal home in a place called Hell that was prepared for Satan and fallen angels. Jesus will also judge believers at the judgment seat of Christ. Believers will receive their reward and dwell in Heaven for eternity with the Lord and others who have gone before us in the faith.
Stewardship
It is God who is the source of all blessings, both spiritual and temporal. All that we have received and have become, we owe to Him. Christians owe a spiritual debt to this world. Through this spiritual debt, we have been given a holy trusteeship in the gospel of Christ and a binding biblical stewardship regarding our possessions. We are called to serve God with our time, talents and material possessions. We are also called to serve God in areas of worship that include the faithful giving of tithes and offerings in accordance to the principles taught in the Bible to support the work of God’s kingdom.
Cooperation
Christ’s people, as believers in Christ, can and should organize associations, conventions and churches of fellowship to best secure an effective spirit of cooperation in the Kingdom of God. The local church is paramount and should be recognized as such in its autonomy. These organizations have no true authority over one another or churches of fellowship in God’s Kingdom. God’s people should always serve in a spirit of cooperation between various organizations and Christian denominations as a living example of the love and Spirit of Jesus.
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of our society. It includes God’s design of individuals related to one another in marriage, blood or adoption. According to God’s Word, marriage is the God-ordained commitment and uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant relationship for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God as both are created in God’s own image. A husband is charged to love the wife as Christ loved the church. He has been given the responsibility by God to provide for, to protect and lead his family. It is his responsibility as the priest of a Christian home, to provide spiritually for his family. A wife is called to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband, just as the church willingly submits to the headship of Jesus. The wife is created in the image of God like her husband, as such, she is equal to him. She has been given the responsibility by God to respect her husband and to serve as his helpmate in managing their collective household and nurturing the next generation. Children are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate God’s pattern for marriage in the eyes of their children and teach this heritage in Christ.
Christians & The Social Order
All Christians are under a divine obligation to make the will of Christ supreme in our individual lives and society. The improvement of our society and the establishment of God’s divine plan for men can only take place when believers approach such improvements by the principles of God’s Word rooted in the saving grace of Jesus. As the Spirit of Jesus lives within the life of the believer, Christians should oppose racism, greed, vice and selfishness. We should oppose all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality and pornography. We should work to provide for the abused, needy, orphaned, aged, sick and helpless. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and protect the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Each believer should work to bring industry, government and society under the Biblical principles of righteousness, truth, and love of Christ.
Peace & War
Religious Liberty
The Spirit of God, alone, is the Lord of the conscience. It is free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word. The Church and state of government should be separate. The governmental body of the United States of America owes to every church the protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual pursuits. These truths have been ordained according to the documents in our nation’s formation and evolution. In providing for such freedom, there is no ecclesiastical denomination or organization that should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government was ordained by God, as such, it is the duty of believers to render loyal obedience in all things not contrary to the revealed Word of God. No church or fellowship of believers in Christ should resort to any civil powers to carry on its work in society. The gospel of Christ, alone, should be the pursuit of the local church. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is ideal in the Christian perspective. This implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and develop opinions in the scope of religion without the interference of any civil power.
What we believe:
Download our full doctrinal statement in pdf file format. 
Highlands Community Church What We Believe