What do we believe? Our Articles of Faith and Social Concerns

Articles of Faith

The Bible
We believe the words of the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit. These Scriptures are, therefore, the sole basis for our faith and practice. While Scripture was written through the instruments of chosen men, it originated in its entirety with God, so that it speaks with God’s authority as it reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors.

God
As the Bible teaches, there is one God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — each possessing all the attributes of Deity.

The Deity of Jesus
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. The Lord Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for the sins of mankind, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven where He reigns as King at the right hand of God the Father.

Man
We believe that God created man and woman in His own image, and as a result all of mankind is tremendously valuable to God. We are the supreme object of His creation. Tragically, mankind is marred by an attitude of selfishness and disobedience toward God called “sin”. This sin separates us from God. Romans 3:23 explains clearly, “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard”.

Sin
Only through God’s divine love and the sacrifice of his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is our sin forgiven.  We are called by scripture and commanded by God to love others as he has loved us and to forgive others as he has forgiven us.

Salvation
Where sin is the problem, we believe Jesus offers us salvation as the perfect and only solution. God’s perfect Son dying in our place would be our only hope. That is exactly what He did. But three days later, just as promised, Jesus rose from the dead. Anyone who accepts Christ’s punishment for their sins is accepted and forgiven by God. Good works cannot save anyone from sin; salvation cannot be earned. A person is saved only by God’s grace, when they place their faith in Jesus Christ.

The Church
The Holy Spirit draws sinners to Christ and equips believers for personal growth and service to the church. The church's role is to glorify and worship our God and to serve those in need. We are called by God to share his love for the lost and his compassion for the poor and broken.

A Non-Denominational Church
As keepers of the faith, we have an obligation to bear a faithful Christian witness to Jesus Christ, the living reality at the center of the true Church. To fulfill this obligation, we reflect critically on our biblical and theological inheritances, striving to express faithfully the witness we make in our own time.

Two considerations are central to this endeavor: the sources from which we derive our theological affirmations and the criteria by which we access our faith, worship and ministry to others. We believe that the living core of the Christian faith is revealed in Scripture and illumined by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. As an independent Community Church we unite with all believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Our Faith in Our Everyday Lives
As humble debtors we are grateful for God’s forgiving love and immeasurable grace by which we are saved to life eternal. Affirming our belief in the inestimable worth of every individual we renew our commitment to become faithful witnesses to the gospel, not only to the “ends of the earth” but in the depths of our everyday life and work as well.

Ministry of the Laity
Calling and Gifts of Leadership – Parkside Community Church recognizes the gifts and callings in the ordained offices of Pastor and Associate Pastors. 

We also recognize that laypersons as well as ordained persons are gifted and called by God to lead the Church. The servant leadership of these persons is essential to the mission and ministry of our congregation.

At Parkside Community Church under the prayerful guidance and supervision of the Senior Pastor ministry of lay persons shall be encouraged and nurtured.

Social Concerns

Discrimination
The gospel teaches us that all persons are important-because they are human beings created by God. We support and encourage all individuals to be sensitive to the needs of others and find no place in the gospel of Jesus Christ for discrimination based on race, nationality, ethnic background, gender or physical difference. As Christians we are called to condemn such practices.

Divorce
God’s plan is for marriage. Our church will do all things possible to encourage and preserve strong marriages. However, when a married couple is estranged beyond reconciliation, even after thoughtful consideration, counsel and prayer, divorce is a regrettable alternative in the midst of brokenness. 

We grieve over the devastating emotional, economic and spiritual consequences of divorce and will do everything within our power as Christians to minister to all involved.

It is the stated belief and policy of this church that no seeker after God shall be discriminated against in anyway as the result of divorce. Therefore, our church remains open to all, and no person as a result of divorce shall be barred from full participation in the worship, leadership or activity of the church.

Divorce shall not constitute a barrier to marriage at Parkside Community Church.

Marriage
We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman. We believe that God's blessing rests upon such marriage, whether or not there are children of the union.

We reject social norms that assume different standards for women than for men in marriage.

Family Violence and Abuse
We recognize that family violence and abuse in all its forms—verbal, psychological, physical, sexual— are detrimental to the covenant of the human community. We encourage the Church to provide a safe environment, counsel, and support for the victim. While we deplore the actions of the abuser, we affirm that person to be in need of God's redeeming love. 

Adoption
Children are a gift from God to be welcomed and received. We recognize that some circumstances of birth make the rearing of a child difficult.

We affirm and support the birth parent(s) whose choice it is to allow the child to be adopted. We recognize the agony, strength, and courage of the birth parent(s) who choose(s) in hope, love, and prayer to offer the child for adoption.

In addition, we also recognize the anxiety, strength, and courage of those who choose in hope, love, and prayer to be able to care for a child.

When circumstances warrant adoption, we support the use of proper legal procedures. When appropriate and possible, we encourage open adoption so that a child may know all information and people related to them, both medically and relationally.

We support and encourage greater awareness and education to promote adoption of a wide variety of children through foster care, international adoption, and domestic adoption.

We commend the birth parent(s), the receiving parent(s), and the child to the care of the Church, that grief might be shared, joy might be celebrated, and the child might be nurtured in a community of Christian love.

Single Persons
We affirm the integrity of single persons, and we reject all social practices that discriminate or social attitudes that are prejudicial against persons because they are single.

The Family
We believe the family to be the basic human community through which persons are nurtured and sustained in mutual love, responsibility, respect, and fidelity. We affirm the importance of both fathers and mothers for children.

We also understand the family as encompassing a wider range of options than that of the two-generational unit of parents and children (the nuclear family), including the extended family, families with adopted children, single parents, stepfamilies, and couples without children. We affirm shared responsibility for parenting by men and women and encourage social, economic, and religious efforts to maintain and strengthen relationships within families in order that every member may be assisted toward complete personhood.