Christ Presbyterian Church is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), an engaged network of Christian congregations who have an entire book dedicated to what we understand to be true about God, ourselves, and the world. This Book of Confessions collects a number of historical statements of faith from the time of the early church to the time of the Protestant Reformation (where our ancestors have deep roots) and up to contemporary times. We are constantly guided by these Confessions as documents which help us understand what Scripture leads us to believe and do. We believe in one God known in three persons, a mystery which we call the Trinity.

In the beginning this good, eternal, just, merciful, almighty and faithful God created everything which exists, making everything good. Because God creates, we call the first person of the trinity Creator. But because this same God loves us with the greatest love we have ever known, welcoming us into God’s own family, we also call this God Father or Mother (since God has no gender).

We love, honor and serve Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is at the same time totally human and totally God (another mystery). By the love and power of God Jesus was born over 2,000 years ago to a young virgin named Mary. Jesus taught about who God is and what God wants, showing grace to all people, healing the sick, blessing the poor, and proclaiming hope. He was crucified, died and was buried, but he didn’t stay dead. God raised him to life on the third day and later he ascended to heaven! We call Jesus Savior because in his life, death and resurrection he rescues us from every power of evil, including sin. We also call Jesus Lord because we know and trust that Jesus has the last word in all things, and we will see this most clearly at the end of time when Jesus comes back in glory.

Until then, Jesus left us the Holy Spirit, who is equally God, to guide us and give us power to do God’s will in the world. The Holy Spirit lives in us and around us, comforts us in our trials, challenges us to be part of the mission of God in the world, and transforms our character so that we become more like Christ each day.

The Holy Spirit is present in the two holy rituals (sacraments) we celebrate as a church, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, claiming us as children of God, reminding us that we are forgiven, and uniting us with God and with one another.

• We believe that God still speaks to us through the words of Scripture, in the Old and New Testaments, and so we study the Bible together to listen to God’s voice and find guidance for our lives.
• We believe that God listens to those who talk to God and speaks to those who listen for God, so we pray in all circumstances and through all times.
• We believe that every person is created in the image of God, so EVERYONE (No exceptions! Not for age, race, gender, appearance, ability, habits, etc!) is welcome and deserves love and respect.
• We believe that God gives all people gifts so that together as a community and individually in each of our lives we continue the work of justice and mercy that Jesus began in the world. Everyone is invited to serve in different ways and everyone has a purpose outside of the community.
• Finally, we believe that we are works in progress in the hand of God. We need God and we need one another to remember who we are and who we are meant to be. Therefore, every Sunday before going our separate ways we read this together:

Then we go out into the world as people sent by God to serve!