WHAT WE BELIEVE

Valley View Community Church exists to be a biblical community that helps people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who make a difference in this world. This statement of faith summarizes the beliefs we teach and describes some of the practical applications of those beliefs.

THE BIBLE

We believe that the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. We also believe that all of Scripture centers around the person of Jesus Christ and that a full understanding of the Bible is impossible apart from a personal relationship with him.

Therefore, we strive to regularly read and study the Bible, submitting our lives to the teachings of Scripture. The Bible is our source of authority and our practical guide for living. Teachers at Valley View Community Church strive to teach the truth of the Bible clearly, accurately, and practically.

GOD

We believe that there is only one God who eternally exists in the three persons of the Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the beginning God created out of nothing the universe and everything in it. By his power he continues to sustain his creation and is operating throughout history to fulfill his divine purposes. God values every person he creates and desires to have a personal relationship with them.

Therefore, our highest priority in life is to know God. We count on God to be active throughout our lifetime, seeking to draw us into a deeper relationship with himself. We also strive to treat God's creation as something wonderful to be enjoyed and cared for, knowing that one day God will renew all things.

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully human and fully divine. He was born of a virgin, lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father, and voluntarily died on the cross for the sins of all. His substitutionary death satisfied God's justice and provides salvation for everyone who trusts in him alone. He rose from the dead in a glorified body, ascended into heaven, and will one day return to earth, personally and visibly, to set up his kingdom and reign forever.

Therefore, we are Christ followers because our message centers on Jesus Christ, his person, his work, and our need to follow him. Because of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, we live knowing that we are totally and unconditionally forgiven of our sin and on our way to heaven. Knowing that Jesus will return some day, we hold loosely the things of this world and live according to the values of his kingdom.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, empowers believers in Jesus Christ to live a life of obedience to God. The Holy Spirit enlightens us to our need for a Savior and gives us spiritual life. At the moment of salvation he permanently indwells every believer and becomes their source of assurance, strength, and guidance. He uniquely endows each believer with spiritual gifts to build up the church. He makes it possible for a believer to live a Christlike life to the glory of God.

Therefore, through the power of the Holy Spirit we strive to be more like Jesus Christ. Every day we seek to yield to the Holy Spirit's control. We are not content just to be forgiven. We want to exemplify Christlike behavior in every area of life. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we listen for his promptings, anticipating that he will direct us if we are open to him.

THE SPIRIT WORLD

We believe that God created an innumerable company of spiritual beings, known as angels, which are distinct from God and humans. The highest of these angels, Satan, sinned through pride and was cast out of heaven along with a host of other angels that followed in his rebellion against God. Some of these fallen angels are active today as demons. Satan has already been judged by God and defeated by Jesus Christ on the cross. One day he will be condemned forever in the lake of fire. The remaining angels in heaven carry out the will of God and minister to believers on earth.

Therefore, as believers in Jesus Christ, we recognize that we have an adversary. Satan and his demons are opposed to everyone who seeks to follow God. To defend ourselves against his attacks, God has given us an arsenal of spiritual weapons including the Word of God and prayer. We know that the Holy Spirit who lives in us is greater than the evil one who lives in the world. God's angels also offer their protection to believers.

HUMANKIND

We believe that man and woman were originally created in the image of God. They rebelled against God and as a result experienced both physical and spiritual death. This spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race, except for Jesus Christ. Every human being is born into sin, separated from God, and totally incapable of earning merit or acceptance with God except through the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Therefore, all people matter to God. We are eternal beings and worthy of respect. We have never met a person that God did not create and for whom Jesus Christ did not die. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and love. Because we are born separated from God we need to be reconnected with God through faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God's ultimate desire for us is that we live in community with him and with one another.

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is a free gift of God's grace, which is received solely by faith in Jesus Christ, who took our sin upon himself and paid the death penalty that we deserved to pay. Faith involves transferring our trust from ourselves to Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. Those who put their faith in Christ alone become children of God and are placed in the body of Christ. Once in Christ, believers are eternally secure and can never lose their salvation since it is completely based on the work of God and not in any way on our good works. The continued presence of our sin nature means that our experience will not always reflect our position in Christ. We need to be progressively changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, our message is the good news that we can stop our vain attempts to earn God's favor and freely receive salvation by trusting in Christ's provision on the cross alone. The life we now live is a way of saying 'thank you' to God for the salvation that he has fully and completely provided. Knowing that we are still sinful causes us to live our lives dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

THE CHURCH

We believe that all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ alone are part of his body, the one true universal church. In the church there are to be no distinctions based on race, gender, economic or social status. Believers are one in Jesus Christ. The Bible commands all believers to gather together in local churches under the direction and care of godly leaders. Believers are to devote themselves to worship, the teaching of the Word, community building, prayer, the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, serving one another through the use of their talents, gifts, and resources, and outreach to the world.

Therefore, Valley View Community Church is a nondenominational church, emphasizing that all believers are one with Jesus Christ and each other, regardless of denominational background. Opportunities for ministry are open to all without distinction and we encourage each member of Valley View to discover their spiritual gifts and to use them for the benefit of the whole body. We guard our unity and diligently seek to honestly confront one another and work through differences in God honoring ways that both respect the individual and preserve the oneness in Christ we need to display.

THE FUTURE

We believe that Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return to earth to establish his kingdom. On that day heaven and earth will become one. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people, believers to eternal life and unbelievers to eternal punishment. At death, the souls of those who have trusted in Christ for salvation pass immediately into his presence until they are reunited with their resurrected bodies when Christ returns. The souls of the unbelieving after death remain in conscious torment until the final judgment when soul and body are reunited and cast into the lake of fire.

Therefore, knowing that our eternity is infinitely longer and more significant than our life on earth, we order our lives so that they take into account this eternal perspective. Though we know good works cannot earn heaven, we also know that obedience pleases God and will be rewarded by him. We strive to make good choices with the one life we have. Because the message of the gospel brings life to those who would perish eternally without Christ, we look for every opportunity to present God's saving message both publicly and privately.