The mission of Faith Church Statesville is
Here are three distinctives that Faith Church holds that may be unique to our context.
At Faith Church we believe that the singing of believers leads us into a place to be receptive to the working of God, through the Holy Spirit. We believe this is true for every gathering that Faith Church has. The first way we become receptive is by practicing biblical obedience by singing (Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:18-19, Psalm 100:4). Secondly, there is a real way in which the presence and power of God is stirred up through corporate singing. God sits enthroned on our praises (Psalm 22:3) and music can bring the presence of God in a more tangible way (2 Kings 3:15). Music was created by God to stir our emotions, so when we sing truths about God we can expect our emotions and affections to be directed towards Him.
When you come to Faith Church you will find that we value 25-30 minutes of uninterrupted worship through singing to begin our time together. We believe that there is great value in lingering in His presence for this extended time. There is also freedom in the way people express their love for God and gratitude for all he has done. Many will sing and raise their hands, others may sit quietly and meditate. Whatever your physical posture is, our desire is that your heart’s posture will be towards God.
Faith Church Statesville can rightly be labeled a “continuationist” church. We believe that the gifts of the Spirit are still active and available for the Church today. This includes the gifts of mercy, helps, teaching, and administration. We also believe and practice in the gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 which are words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. (A comprehensive list of gifts of the Spirit in the New Testament are found in Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28, Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Peter 4:10-11).
If you attend a gathering at Faith Church you might see any of these gifts practiced decently and in order, as directed by 1 Corinthians 14. It is not unusual for someone to give a prophetic word publicly to the church gathered or privately to an individual. When asked a Pastor or prayer team member will pray for physical healing by the laying on of hands as prescribed in Mark 16:18 and James 5:13-18.
We believe that incorporating children and teenagers into the Sunday morning corporate gatherings is instrumental to their growth in their love for the Lord. On Sunday mornings children in 3rd grade and above stay upstairs for the corporate worship time. It is our belief that this age group is able to listen, learn, and engage the singing and teaching from the stage. If this means that sometimes there is a little more noise in the Worship Center, we welcome that. Children from birth to 2nd grade are invited to Faith Kids on Sunday morning in the kids wing downstairs. Nursery is available for those 3 and under while pre-school to 2nd grade engage with their teachers in a bible lesson, singing, and games.
While we value the presence of older children and youth in our Sunday corporate gatherings, we still want to connect them with their peers and give them age appropriate discipleship. Third to fifth graders can attend Faith Followers every 2nd and 4th Sunday morning at 9 AM. Sixth grade to high school meet on Sunday mornings at 9 AM for Bible study and for youth gatherings on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM with our Youth Director Caleb Brooks.
There is one eternal Godhead. He is an immortal, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power, and love. He has always existed as three distinct persons of one substance. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in glory, authority, and power.
At the fullness of time, the Father sent Jesus His son to redeem the world. Jesus was born of a virgin both fully God and fully man. Jesus was the anointed Messiah come to bring the reign of His Kingdom on Earth. While fully God and man, He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the ministry of the Kingdom. Through His sinless and perfect life, He died on the cross as a substitute for our sins. Through His death and resurrection, He defeated the enemies of darkness and is established as the ruling King who has authority over heaven and Earth.
When Jesus ascended to the Father He sent the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the indwelling presence of God given to all who have confessed Jesus as Lord and is the down payment for their future redemption. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, empowers the Christian to live a holy life, and gives spiritual gifts to all believers. A life walking in the Spirit produces the fruits of the Spirit.
The gifts of the Spirit are for all believers until Christ returns. At no time have any of the gifts been intended to cease in operation in the Church. These gifts include gifts such as teaching, mercy, helps, and administration. They also include all the gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 which include words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. The Spirit supernaturally distributes His gifts to believers to empower them to live like Jesus. The Church – The universal Church is the visible bride of Christ. The Church is made up of all followers of Jesus Christ with Him as the head of the Church. Empowered by the Spirit, the church’s mission is to make disciples of all nations. As the church is on mission it makes the Kingdom of God manifest through the preaching of the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons, and other signs and wonders.
God created the heavens and the earth by the power of His word. The physical creation was created good, and man was the pinnacle of God’s creation and was made very good. Man and woman were created unique and in the image of God. At creation man was given dominion and authority over the earth and was made to rule with God on Earth. The Fall – Satan, originally a good creation of God, rebelled and deceived Eve. Through this deception and Adam’s sin death entered the world. Through the sin of Adam Satan and his demonic forces have gained access to creation. Human beings are now born in sin, subject to God’s judgement of death, and captive to Satan’s dark kingdom. Through his sin man relinquished the authority to rule over the earth and Satan became ruler of the world. However, God promised to send the seed of the woman, the messiah, to save the world.
The Kingdom of God is the dynamic rule and reign of God over His people, a place, and a mission. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God in His earthly ministry. The in-breaking of the Kingdom of God through Jesus is seen when He preached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons. While Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God, it has not yet reached its full maturity. We live the “already, but not yet” of the kingdom in our present world. It is already inaugurated, but not yet fully experienced. We see the good effects of God’s reign, in our present day, when people believe the gospel, the sick are healed, and demons are cast out. As the Kingdom is made manifest on Earth, we wait until the time when Jesus returns and the Kingdom of God is fully realized.
The Lord’s Supper is the first ordinance given to the church. It is a remembrance of Jesus’ broken body and blood shed for us. When we take of the bread and the wine, we encounter the love and presence of Jesus. This supper is taken in community together to gloriously proclaim the death of Jesus Christ and wait, with great expectation, for His final return.
Baptism is the second ordinance given to the church. Baptism is a public declaration prescribed for all believers. It is an announcement in the physical and spiritual realms that we belong to God and symbolizes our death to sin and life with Christ. Faith Church baptizes believers through full water immersion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
After further angelic and human rebellions, God spreads humanity over the face of the Earth. From all of humanity God chose Abraham to make him a great nation and be a blessing to all the world, bringing them to worship of Yahweh. Through this covenant God’s nation would produce the Messiah, the savior of the world. God brought the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and led them to the promised land. To be the holy people through which the Messiah would come, God gave them laws, ordinances, and prescribed ways of worship. Through the failure of the nation to follow God with all their hearts God’s presence left the nation, though the covenant of a future Messiah remained.
The gospel of God is the good news that Jesus is the reigning King. Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension the enemies of darkness were defeated, and Jesus was given authority over every heavenly and earthly realm. Because of His great love for the world, everyone is invited into His Kingdom. We are granted life in His Kingdom when we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in His bodily resurrection. He then forgives us of our sins, adopts us into His family, and declares us righteous and holy before the Father. He then gives the church His authority to carry out His mission.
In our world today the Kingdom of God will grow like a mustard seed and Christ will reign in heaven until all His enemies are made His footstool. At that time there will come a final, visible, and triumphant return of Jesus as King. When He returns, He will bring about the final defeat of Satan and his counterfeit kingdom. After this victory Jesus will judge the living and the dead. The righteous will go to eternal life with God and the unrighteous will face eternal punishment in hell. God will bring heaven down to Earth as He makes all things new. With resurrected bodies believers will rule and reign with God in the new heavens and the new Earth. The Bible – The Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired, inerrant word of God. In its 66 books it contains the final authority on doctrinal truth and practice.
Faith Church is pleased to be a member of the Convergence Church Network.
Convergence Church Network (CCN) collaborates with like-minded leaders to promote, encourage, instruct, and support local churches committed to the convergence of Word and Spirit as a distinguishing feature of their ministry. The Network encourages both truths by preserving the rigorous functional authority of Scripture and the freedom and fullness of all supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit.
The “CONVERGENCE” is the flash point for all who trust Christ as Savior and desire to honor the fullness of His Triune name.
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