The Trinity

It is the testimony of both Testaments and of the Christian Church that God is both One and Triune. The Biblical revelation testifies that there is only one God, and that He is eternally existent in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

‍God the Father – God the Father is the Creator and sustainer of all things, who created the universe in love to respond to Himself. He created man in His own image for fellowship, and calls man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man. (Genesis 1:26)

‍The Son – Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and henceforth He is forever one Christ with two natures, God and Man, in one Person. (John 1:1)

‍The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament, and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness. He imparts the life of Christ to the believer through the new birth experience and works to conform the believer to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the believer and is evidenced by tongues, joy, praise and other inward and outward manifestations. (John 14:16,17)

The Scripture

We believe that the Bible Scripture comprised of the Old and New Testaments is alone the only infallible, Holy Spirit inspired Word of God and that its authority is ultimate, final and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction and reproof. It contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct. Only through the revelation and operation of the Holy Spirit does the Word of God become alive and effective in our lives.

The Bible is the standard for our relational and experiential knowledge of God. Any personal ministry or prophecy must be in accord with Scripture, or if not, be considered false and rejected. Literal word for word translations of Hebrew and Greek and the most reliable manuscripts gives us the most reliable translations in use today. Biblical scholarship therefore holds translations such as the King James, new King James, New American Standard and the English Standard Version as the most reliable for authoritative use for doctrine. While the aforementioned list of versions is not an exhaustive list of reliability or value, some other versions written with a cultural agenda are not accepted. (2 Timothy 3:16, Isaiah 55:11, Matthew 24:35, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 12:6)

The Atonement

Christ’s vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, and inaugurated the New Covenant in His blood, for those who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. His atoning sacrifice makes available healing of the body, soul and spirit, when appropriated by His saints. (Hebrews 9:12, 1 Peter 3:18, Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, Revelation 5:9)

Salvation

The Bible declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God appropriated only through faith, based completely on the accomplished and finished work of Christ’s death and His resurrection. Salvation occurs when a person confesses and accepts Christ as Lord and Savior, resulting in being born again. The new birth is described as being united with Christ in His death and resurrection, so that we pass from death to life, and our identity changes from the old man to a new creation in Christ. The results of salvation include justification, reconciliation, regeneration, righteousness, and sanctification. The new life in Christ also includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance as sons of God and as citizens in His Kingdom.

Salvation is an act of free will in response to God’s personal love for mankind. It is predestined only in the sense that God, through His omniscience, foreknew those who would choose Him and predetermined the way by which they would be saved. (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:8-10, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 John 2:2)

The Christian Life

Through the experience of salvation, our old life, inherited from Adam, is crucified with Christ and we are born again as new creations into the risen life of Christ, the second man. As new creations, we are born into the Kingdom of God as infants and we live our lives becoming progressively more mature in our faith as we yield to the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. This maturity is an experiential process of having our minds renewed by the truth that is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. As we become progressively more mature in Christ, our behavior will more and more reflect His life in us and His purposes for us.

A vital part of this process is living life in the community of believers that make up the Church and allowing ourselves to be built up by our relationships with other believers. The Christian life, while joyful and fulfilling, still includes trials, tests and warfare against a spiritual enemy who takes advantage of our flesh to lure us into sinful behavior and independence from God. Victory over these trials, tests and attacks is provided to us through our faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross that redeems us from the power of the enemy. (Romans 12:12, Ephesians 4:14-16, Galatians 5:16-26, Philippians 2:12-13)

The Church

The Church is described in scripture as the Bride and Body of Christ. The Church is comprised of those who through the miracle of salvation and the new birth have been baptized by the Spirit into His Body. The command of Christ for the church is to fulfill His commission, to go unto all the world, to proclaim the good news, to disciple believers to maturity and to equip the saints for ministry. The Church is governed by the Board of Elders according to scripture. It is essential to the unity and well being of the Church that membership function under authority. Scriptural standards and patterns of Church discipline and instruction are practiced by the leadership of the Church. (Mark 16:15-18; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Acts 20:28; Titus 1:5-11; Titus 3:10, Hebrews 13:17 )

Water Baptism and Communion

The Bible establishes in the Church two perpetual commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first, water baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual’s life, and is a testimony to all that the person belongs now to Jesus. It is an identification with Jesus and is effected in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Communion is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again, and is a sign of our participation in Him. Both institutions are reserved for believers. (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:19, Colossians 2:12-13, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 15:23-26)

Eschatology

We believe in the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the Saints, the Millennium, and the final judgment. The final judgment will ultimately reveal the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, determined by their relationship to Jesus Christ. We affirm with the Bible the final state of the New Heavens and New Earth. (John 14:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:31-34, Hebrews 9:28)

Biblical Marriage

We believe the term “marriage”, has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which is the joining together of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive covenant as defined in the Bible (“Biblical Marriage”). We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the Biblical definition of marriage for all of human history. We believe Biblical Marriage is the only definition of marriage God recognizes or accepts. (Genesis 2:22-24, Matthew 19:4-6, 1 Timothy 3:12, Ephesians 5:22-28)

Gender

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26,27, Psalm 139:13-16)

Statement of Faith Policy

The Statement of Faith of Thrive Church details the beliefs and Biblical foundations upon which the Church operates. Therefore, no elder, officer, employee, servant, agent, or any person, corporation, organization, or entity under the direction or control of the Church may commit any act or omission, or make any decision whatsoever, that would be inconsistent with, or that could be perceived by any Statement of Faith person to be inconsistent with, full support of this Statement of Faith. This Church’s Statement of Faith Policy specifically prohibits the use of any property (whether real, personal, or intangible), owned by or subject to the direction or control of the Church, in any manner that would be or could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with this Statement of Faith, including but not limited to permitting any church facilities to be used by any person, organization, corporation, or group that would or might use such facilities to convey, intentionally or by implication, what could be perceived as a favorable impression about any belief that is inconsistent with this Statement of Faith. We believe this Church’s Statement of Faith Policy is based upon God’s will for human life as conveyed to us through the Scriptures, upon which this Church has been founded and anchored. Therefore, this Policy may be amended only by the unanimous vote of the Board of Elders. To be sure, this Policy is not subject to change through popular vote; referendum; prevailing opinion of members or the general public; influence of or interpretation by any government authority, agency, or official action; or legal developments on the local, state, or federal level.