STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Scriptures
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that in its original writing is inerrant, complete and the final authority for faith and life.
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(See Deuteronomy 4:2; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:160; Ezekiel 1:3; Matthew 5:18; John 17:17; II Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; II Peter 1:20-21; and Revelation 22:19.)
The Godhead
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons share in the same divine nature, attributes, works and perfection.
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(See Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20; John 15:26; and II Corinthians 13:14.)
God the Father
We believe the Father is the first person of the trinity in His relationship to the Son and the Holy Spirit; and in His sovereign plan are the works of creation, providence and redemption.
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(See Genesis 1:1ff; Exodus 3:14; Job 12:13ff; Psalm 103:19; Psalm 139:16; Isaiah 44:6-8; Romans 1:20; Ephesians 1:3-6; I Timothy 6:15-16; and Revelation 4:11.)
Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ became a true and complete man without ceasing to be true and complete God. We believe that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God to man and to accomplish man’s redemption through His death, burial and bodily resurrection. We believe His substitutionary sacrifice was sufficient to satisfy God’s judgment against all men and that Christ is now present at the right hand of God the Father as our mediator.
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We believe in the personal, bodily and imminent return of Christ wherein He will gather His elect, judge the world, and establish His eternal rule. This is the blessed hope of every believer.
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(See Matthew 1:20-25; Mark 13:24-32; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1-2, 14; Romans 4:25, 8:34; Colossians 2:9-10; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:1-4, 7:25, 9:24-28; I Peter 3:18; I John 2:1-2; and Revelation 19:11-22:7.)
Holy Spirit
We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and is the Divine agent of the new birth, bringing sinners to faith through the Word of God. We believe that at the moment of conversion, every believer receives the Holy Spirit in all His fullness, is baptized into the body of Christ and sealed until the day of redemption.
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(See John 14:16-17, 26, 16:8-11; Romans 8:12-17; I Corinthians 2:10-13, 12:12-14; Galatians 5:22-26; and Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18-21.)
Satan
We believe in the existence and personality of Satan, a fallen angel. He is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.
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(See Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Ephesians 6:11-12; Hebrews 2:14; I Peter 5:8-10; I John 3:8; and Revelation 20:10.)
Man
We believe that God created man in His own image and likeness. However, because of Adam’s disobedience, sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. Therefore, mankind is naturally sinful, hopelessly lost, and completely unable to remedy his lost condition.
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(See Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 51:5, 139:13-16; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:12-21; and Ephesians 2:12.)
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Salvation
We believe that salvation is wholly of God by grace alone, which is received by personal faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
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(See Mark 1:15; John 1:12, 3:16, 10:28-29, 14:6; Romans 3:21-26; and Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9.)
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The Church
We believe that the church universal and invisible is composed of all such individuals who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ of which He is the head.
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We believe that the church local and visible is composed of professed believers in Christ who organize and assemble themselves together to glorify God through worship, instruction and training in the Word, fellowship, evangelism, observing the ordinances, and administering discipline.​
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We believe that the church universal is the body and bride of our Lord and that He will return to claim His bride at the time appointed by God the Father.
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(See John 17:21; Acts 2:37-47; I Corinthians 12:12-14, 15:50-53; Ephesians 1:15-23, 5:25-27; I Thessalonians 3:12-13, 4:13-18; Hebrews 10:23-25; and Revelation 19:7-9, 20:6.)​​​
​Ordinances
We believe an ordinance is an action instituted by Christ in which signs perceived by our senses present to us the grace of God in Christ and the blessings of His covenant. We believe that God has given the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper to the church.
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We believe that water baptism is for believers and that it is an act of personal obedience and public declaration signifying a believer’s death, burial and resurrection to a new life in Christ. It is not effective for salvation, nor does it guarantee it. (See Constitution Article IV, Number 8.)
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We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial service ordained by Christ in which a believer testifies that Christ’s death on the cross is the only source of salvation. It consists of self-examination, union with Christ and with other believers, and taking of the bread and cup which symbolize the body and blood of Christ. The Lord’s Supper is open to all believers who are in right relationship with God and with one another.
(See Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 22:14-20; Acts 2:41-42, 8:36-39, 18:8; Romans 6:1-11; I Corinthians 11:23-34; and Colossians 2:12.)
Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead: the believer to the everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord and the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.
(See Luke 16:19-31; John 5:25-29, 11:25-27; I Corinthians 15:20-26; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; and Revelation 20:15, 21:3-4.)
Christian Conduct
We believe that all believers, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, should seek to live a life pleasing unto God, separated from those practices that compromise our Christian ministry and testimony and that hinder our fellowship with Christ and His church.
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We believe that each believer should be quick to forgive and slow to take offense so that the church might be bound together in unity of spirit and purpose.
(See Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 12:1-2, 14:13, 15:5-6; I Corinthians 1:10, 10:31-33, 15:33-34; II Corinthians 6:14, 7:1; Galatians 5:19-24; Colossians 3:5-14; I Thessalonians 5:12-22; James 1:19-20; and I John 2:15-17.)
Marriage and Human Sexuality
We believe that God created human beings in His image as two distinct genders, male and female, and that the intended gender identity of an individual is determined by such individual’s biological sex at birth. With this belief, we apply this understanding to all policies and programs throughout Pine Grove Community Church’s faith community. In addition, we believe that God has instituted marriage as a covenant relationship between one man and one woman. We recognize only such marriages for all policies and programs throughout Pine Grove Community Church’s faith community. Further, we believe that sexual desire is rightfully fulfilled only within marriage and that unmarried singles who abstain from sex can be whole, mature persons, as pleasing to God as persons who are faithful in marriage.
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(See Genesis 2:21-25; Matthew 19:6; Ephesians 5:21-33; Romans 1:26-27)
Spiritual Gifts
We believe that in regeneration, every believer receives the Holy Spirit who manifests His presence by gifts which are borne out in the believer’s life in the service and building up of the body of Christ in the unity of the same Spirit. In the use of these gifts, we practice that which is orderly, appropriate, edifying and profitable.
(See John 16:13-15; Romans 12:4-10; I Corinthians 9:1-2, 12:1-7, 14:12; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:11-13; Hebrews 2:1-4; and I Peter 4:7-11.)
CORE COMMITMENTS
Glorifying God
We make disciples who seek to do all for the glory of God by living in submission to Him. We seek the glory that comes from God, not man.
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Proclaiming the Whole Truth of God’s Word
We boldly proclaim all of God’s Word, hold to the reformed Doctrines of Grace, prioritize repentance before the holy God, and confront cultural sin through sound teaching of God’s inspired, eternal Scriptures.
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Shepherding the Members
We prioritize personal pastoral care from elders and pastors, including prayer, counseling, and loving discipline. We help bear each other’s burdens and encourage one another during the trials of life.
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Engaging in Biblical Worship
We are devoted to faithful Lord’s Day worship through bold preaching of the Word to the conscience, baptism as the covenant entrance sign, and the Lord’s Supper for believers who can examine themselves. We call those who gather in worship to hearty participation with prayer, loud singing, and humble receiving of the Word of God.
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Living Out Freedom in Christ
We stand firm in our freedom as God’s children to enjoy peace with God and each other, relief from a guilty conscience, and the terrors of God’s wrath, only in Christ by grace through faith. We will be diligent in maintaining this freedom by avoiding both legalism and licentiousness. To avoid legalism regarding secondary matters of conscience, we preserve the freedom of individuals and families to be fully convinced in their own minds, to refrain from quarreling over opinions, and live by faith in love and mutual submission. To avoid licentiousness, we will not neglect the goodness of God’s law, the need for daily repentance, and the duty to help each other in our fight against temptation and sin.
Teaching Biblical Sexuality and Loving Families
We affirm that God made us in His image, male and female, equal in dignity and worth. We defend life from fertilization until natural death, oppose all forms of abortion, and the degradation of God’s creational design of men and women, upholding male headship and female submission. We cherish marriage, sex, and procreation—in that order and together. We strengthen marriages, train parents, and love children.
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Prioritizing Relationships
We build sincere love in relationships through faithfully and regularly gathering together, warm hospitality, lingering for fellowship before and after services, and generous care in Christ-like deeds of love, meeting the needs of one another.
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Growing God’s Kingdom
We support the proclamation of the Gospel locally and globally, teach obedience to everything Christ commanded, seek the good of our community, and aim to plant churches marked by these commitments.
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Pursuing Prayer
We believe that apart from God’s blessing we can do nothing of lasting value to the glory of God. We pursue these commitments in a spirit of humble dependence on God in prayer so that it is evident that any success is only by the power of God’s Spirit so that He alone may be glorified.