At Harbor City Church, we emphasize intellectual and spiritual growth as the fuel for ministry and service. While we create a warm environment for spiritual explorers, we read, explain, and apply the Scriptures in corporate worship, holding to a conservative theological position.

 

We believe in one perfect, loving, all-knowing God who exists, has always existed, and will always exist as the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, our Helper. We believe that They are equal in power and deserve from us equal worship, love, confidence, and obedience. (See Genesis 1:1,26,27;3:22, Psalm 90:2, Matthew 28:19, I Peter 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 13:14)

 

We believe that God opens our eyes to who He is through creation, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. We believe that the Bible, all of it, is the very word of God. Written through human authors, the Bible is entirely true and the only unfailing guide to life – past, present, and future. Because of this, we choose to believe what it teaches, strive to obey what it commands, and determine to trust in all that it promises. (See 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Psalm 119:105, 160; Psalm 12:6 and Proverbs 30:5)

 

We believe that God created everything – all the heavens and all the earth – through his spoken word. We believe that He Himself created Adam and Eve in his own image, above all other living creatures, and that they are the parents of the entire human race. We believe that they were created, and for a time, lived in blamelessness and perfect relationship with God, but walked away from perfection by choosing disobedience when tempted by Satan. We believe that because of this original disobedience, all mankind is by nature impure and separated from God. It is only through the saving work of Jesus Christ that we can be renewed. (See Genesis 1:27, Psalm 8:3-6, Isaiah 53:6a, Romans 3:23, and Isaiah 59:1-2)

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We believe that Jesus, born to Mary, a virgin, is both fully man and fully God. We believe that He lived a perfect life, free from disobedience or blame. We believe that He walked and lived on this Earth, loving people, performing miracles, and showing us the love of God. We believe that He died on a cross and that His shed blood covers our own disobedience and blame – all of it. We believe that Jesus, in bodily form, rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God, praying for us. (See Matthew 1:22-23, Isaiah, 9:6, John 1:1-5; 14:10-3-, Hebrews 4:14-15, I Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 1:3-4, Acts 1:9-11, I Timothy 6:14-15, and Titus 2:13)

 

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the very Spirit of God, that he points to Jesus in all that he does, that he lives within those who choose to follow Jesus – giving us new life, allowing us to better understand the mysteries of the Bible, and helping us be all that God created us to be. (See John 16:7-13; 14:16-17, Acts 1:8, I Corinthians 2:12; 3:16, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:25 and Ephesians 1:13; 5:18)

 

We believe that the invitation to follow Jesus, to be rescued by Him from our own disobedience and blame, and to live a new and different life is offered freely to every person. We believe that those who trust in Him alone to be made right before God immediately receive a new life here and now and for all eternity. We believe that those who say, “Yes,” to Jesus no longer have to strive to be made good or right, but may rest in knowing that the Holy Spirit will work together with God’s Word to make them more and more of who God intends them to be. (See John 1:12; 14:6, Romans 5:1; 6:23, Galatians 3:26 and Ephesians 2:8-9)

 

We believe that Jesus is the Leader of the Church, which is made up of all who have truly accepted His invitation. This larger Church demonstrates itself in local churches, which should be made up of those who are truly committed to following Jesus with all of themselves. We believe that Jesus placed importance upon two acts: the public declaration of our faith in Him through baptism and the breaking of bread together as we remember and honor what He did for us on the cross. (See Ephesians 2:19-22, Hebrews 3:6, Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38,42; Matthew 26:26-28, I Corinthians 11:17-34)

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We believe that it is our responsibility, as followers of Jesus, to be an example of honest, transparent, loving community. We believe that we are to embody the love of Jesus by pointing to God with songs and words of praise, prayer, and declaration that He is right and loving all the time; by working to share the love of Jesus with everyone all over the world by what we say and what we do; by caring for everything God has created and actively seeking the good of everyone, by living out the realities of true Christianity with care for one another, and by showing compassion to the poor and justice for the oppressed. (See Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 111:1, Colossians 3:16, Romans 12:5, Ephesians 2:19-22; 4:16, James 5:14)

 

We believe that Jesus will return to this earth in bodily form. This return, at a time that no one knows but God, is the reason we press into the love, hope, and commands of our God. We believe that He will return and fulfill every promise made in the Bible. We believe that every person that has lived or will live on this earth will stand before God and give answer for his or her life here. Those who have accepted the blood of Jesus as a gift and payment to God for all disobedience will be pardoned and will spend all of eternity in His presence while those who have rejected that same blood will spend eternity separated from that same presence. (See John 3:16, I John 2:25; 5:11-13,24; Luke 16:27-30, Romans 6:23, and Revelation 20:15)