Westview Christian Church

Statement of Faith
These things don’t change at Westview.
This is what we believe, and it’s who we are at the core as a church.

We believe in one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of all things visible and invisible.
• We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the eternal Word, the one and only Savior.
  • Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, both fully human and fully divine; Who lived a sinless life; Who suffered and was crucified as an atonement for sin; Who rose again bodily from the dead on the third day; Who ascended into Heaven; and Who will return in victory to rule forever.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit.
  • Who convicts of sin; Who indwells every Christian; Who helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us in prayer; and Who empowers us to a fruitful Christian life.

We believe in the Bible—God's Word.

• We believe God inspired the original writings of the Scripture and those original writings were consequently without error.
• We believe that the Bible is the final authority for all matters of faith, truth, morality, and Christian living.
• We believe the Bible teaches that God is the Creator and Sustainer of human life; that God creates each person in His image; and that life is therefore sacred, from conception to natural death. We believe that God creates each person as male or female; that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the "image of God" in humankind; and that each person's biological gender is an intrinsic, immutable aspect of his or her nature and identity.
• We believe the Bible teaches that God established marriage in the beginning as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman; that He has reserved sexual intimacy as an expression of love and commitment between married couples; and that any intimate expression of sexuality outside of Biblical marriage is sin.

We believe in the Gospel—the Good News of Salvation.

• That man, created by God, willfully sinned against God and is consequently lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ.
• That salvation—the forgiveness of sins—is only by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.
• That one receives salvation by putting faith in Christ, repenting of sin, and confessing Christ, and that the Bible commands every believer in Christ to be baptized by immersion.
• That those who have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ are sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel and to love and serve the world just as Jesus Himself did.

We believe in the Church—God's redeemed people.

We believe in the Church of Jesus Christ, founded on the Day of Pentecost, consisting of all Christians everywhere, and organized into local assemblies, called churches.

• We believe the Bible teaches that every Christian should be an active member of a local church.
• We believe that the Elders of the church are the overseers of its affairs and the shepherds of its members; that they are the final interpretive authority of the Bible's meaning and application for the church; and that they are responsible for the oversight, instruction, edification, discipline, and restoration of church members.
• We believe that the Bible instructs church members to:
  • Meet together regularly for fellowship, worship, teaching, and the Lord's Supper. Use our natural abilities and spiritual gifts to serve one another.
  • Love one another, bear with one another, accept one another, and forgive one another.
  • Seek unity, agreement, and peace with one another.
  • Encourage and build up one another.
  • Bear one another's burdens and pray for one another.
  • Spur one another to love and good deeds.
  • Submit to the authority of the elders of the church.
  • Support the church financially.
  • Pursue personal holiness and obedience to God's Word.
  • Strive together to fulfill the Great Commission.