What We Believe
The core beliefs of New Life Church will be based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible and upheld in the Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church. All our teachings and ministry will be rooted in and flow out of these biblical doctrines.
God
We believe in one true, holy, and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. God is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of all humanity, to the glory of his name. We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, both fully human and fully God, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering servant, he lived, suffered, and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, and will one day return. He is eternal Savior and mediator who intercedes for us, and by him all humanity will be judged at the final day because he alone lived a perfect life without sin.
Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads humanity through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the church. He comforts, sustains, and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth. He provides gifts for ministry to followers of Jesus as described in 1st Corinthians 12:8-10 and other passages of scripture. His presence in a believer's life is testified to by the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23.
The Church
We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We believe it is one, holy, apostolic and universal Church. The Word of God is preached by persons divinely called, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.
The Bible
We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice.
The Sacraments
We believe that the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion (The Lord’s Supper) are ordained by Jesus Christ as symbols and pledges of the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us. They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, transforming, strengthening, and confirming our faith in him. Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Jesus Christ and a mark of Christian discipleship. Celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a rehearsal of Jesus’ act of redemption through His suffering and death on the cross. John Wesley believed that the Lord Jesus Christ is uniquely and mysteriously present in both sacramental practices in a way that is difficult for human logic to fully conceive.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
* universal