Our Beliefs

With its formation in 1881, the Church of God movement set out to restore unity and holiness to the church. The aim was not to establish another denomination, but to promote primary allegiance to Jesus Christ and to transcend denominations, bringing unity to God's church.

Out of its concern for unity among all Christians, the Church of God does not call for those who come into its fellowship to go through the ceremony of joining the church. It is felt that when a person becomes a Christian, he is, at that moment, made a member of God's church.

Thus, there are no formal membership rolls in Church of God congregations. Church of God people say, "We regard any Christian anywhere as a member of God's one church."

Common Values/Core Beliefs

The Church of God movement holds the firm conviction that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. In this context we accept all that is central and enduring in the faith of historic, orthodox Christianity as these essentials often have been stated in widely accepted faith affirmation.

In declaring our present understandings of Christian faith, experience, discipline, and fellowship, we gratefully acknowledge our particular indebtedness at many points to the Protestant Reformation, to the Anabaptist free-church tradition, to the Puritan-Pietist movements, to Arminian-Wesleyan evangelicalism, and to the Holiness movement in the United States.

The Church of God believes in a cluster of biblical teachings which form a vision of the church. Specifically:

• God's church is the community of redeemed persons.
• God's church is a community of divine-human partnership with Christ as Head.
• God's church is a holy community.
• God's church is intended to be a unified community.

The Church of God believes that God calls his people to mission. All Christians are mandated to bear witness to God's saving activity in Jesus Christ and to "make disciples of all nations."

The Church of God believes in the principle of openness to all affirmations of the Christian faith which are expressions of the biblical revelation. The intended unity among Christians is not based on the achievement of full agreement on all theological questions. Rather, it is based on a common membership in the church through the grace of God and is anchored by a common commitment to the centrality of Christ and the authority of the Word of God.