What We Believe
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God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has existed eternally in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are equal and are one God.
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Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven and will return again to reign as King of Kings.
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The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every believer from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right.
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The Bible is God’s true word. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is something we look to for direction in our everyday lives.
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The blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the only way of salvation through the forgiveness of sin. Salvation occurs when people place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin. Salvation is a gift from God, and it cannot be earned through our own efforts.
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We were created to exist forever. We believe that forever is spent in one of two places: eternally separated from God because of sin or in union with God because of His forgiveness and salvation. When we die, we will either spend eternity in heaven or hell. Eternal separation from God happens in hell. Eternal union with God occurs in heaven.
Our Core Values
Nothing reveals the DNA of a church more clearly than its core values. It provides a list of distinctive features that form the identity and culture of the church family. The following eight core values keeps the God-given mission and vision of Northside clear. They also serve as a constant guide and reminder for our volunteers, our ministries, and church body of what we are about. Most importantly, these core values reflect our priority to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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We will tell the "good news" about sin, salvation, and a relationship with Jesus. No matter what situation a person finds themselves in, Jesus has good news for them.
(John 3:16; Romans 1:16-17; 10:9-10)
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The Church is God's beacon of hope in this dark world. That becomes real when we choose to be light to the world, salt to the earth, and a city set on a hill. We have the privilege of bringing light to the darkness, hope to the hopeless, and a Savior to the lost. Hope is the catalyst to pursuing life.
(Matthew 5:13-14; Acts 26:17-18; 1 Timothy 1:15-16)
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Living in a lower kingdom will always bring lower values. God’s Kingdom rises above all kingdoms and focuses on relationships above rules. It is above politics, prejudice, racism, institutions, tradition, sin, and man. We live in the reality of our world, but as citizens of the Kingdom of God.
(Matthew 6:9-13, 33; Philippians 3:20)
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God did not give us the right to rule over anybody but the task to equip everybody. We can’t live life for anyone and we won’t force life on anyone; but we will equip anyone willing to live life in transformational relationship with Jesus, with us, and with the world.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-12)
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We pace ourselves for our whole life not just a season of life. We believe that if a person starts too fast and runs too hard, they will end too soon. The tortoise always wins!
(2 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 12:1)
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Disciples are not made in an hour in a classroom but learning and serving over a lifetime. We embrace Jesus’ example of His twelve disciples. Their growth happened in small groups doing life together, infusing the teachings of Jesus in everyday situations, in everyday life, and in the classroom of the world.
(Matthew 28:18-20; John 13:34-35)
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There are two ways to think about the Church: 1) the gathered church 2) the scattered church. The most powerful form of the church is scattered. It can reach into every crevice of society and replicate numerous messages all at the same time. While when gathered it is more focused and singularly effective. However, the collective power of the gathered church can move more at one time than the scattered church. The major goal of planning is to discover the best way that the gathering can affect the scattering. Jesus did this through persecution to get the gathered church out in the open.
We believe that we have to be in the world to influence the world, which is why Jesus sent us into the world. We also believe that we must focus our energy on the few things the Church does best to complement people’s witness, not compete with people's lives.
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God and His church are all about people in relationships with each other. Church online is good for vacation, but it is not good for life. Presence is what God really wants and what faith is really about. Similarly, online relationships are good, but they are not the best relationships we can have. Just as much as we seek the presence of God, we also seek the presence of His people. So we are a presence-based fellowship. We seek your presence and we seek God's, but It only works as intended when our worship goes to God, our service is to one another, and our relationships are in person. So we ask you to prioritize Sunday worship, find your place of service, and grow with us in small-group relationships. God put the church together so that all the parts are necessary, and without our united worship God is under-glorified; without our united service we are under-served; and without our united relationships we are under-connected.
(John 4:23-24; Acts 2:46-47; 1 Corinthians 12:20-26; Ephesians 4:15-16)
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