Statement of Faith

It is the responsibility of the Overseers/Bishops of a gathering
place of our Lord’s Flock to help provide:
Protection, Sound Doctrine, Fellowship, Instruction
and the necessary process to help the flock come to be like their Shepherd.

The following teaching of our Lord and His Apostles
are seen as the very “Essentials”
of the Christian faith for unity.

Essentials for Affiliation

There are six basics of the Christian faith, which are essential for salvation and upon which all Christians must agree.

So among ourselves, we may vigorously debate other items, such as the merits or means of baptism, the validity of various Bible translations, the authority of the Presbytery, etc. Such quests for truth in love are totally acceptable within the confines of Christianity, because our salvation does not rest upon those doctrines.

The Following Positions of doctrines are also considered of importance by
Caritas Catholic Church International.

• God is manifested in a Trinity of, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit similar as to water as liquid, solid and vapor. This essence of God's nature is found in: 1 Jn.5:7. Love, Holiness and Power may be seen in these three manifestations of God as in the Evangelical, Sacramental and Charismatic expressions of faith and without the balance of each other they tend to become indulgent, sanctimonious and perhaps a carnival. For more on God's authority and nature: www.Trinity-Aloha.org
• The Word of God became flesh and was born of a virgin. Under God's judgment of sin Jesus died in our place and was raised from the dead by the power of God for our justification and He shall come again as Jesus the Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords and His reign shall be forever, Isa.9:6.
• Disciples may also be filled with the Holy Spirit and learn to enjoy the fruit, gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can give power to live a holy life and to minister the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven to those who truly walk in faith and love and make Jesus Christ the King of Kings in their lives. Roman chapter 8-12 are support here.
• Events are closing for the final judgment in the history of mankind. Those who have yielded to Jesus as Lord will become His brethren in the eternal family of God. Those who reject the Lordship and forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ and have lived egocentric lives will be separated from God's presence, creation and light and exiled into isolation and outer darkness for eternity. God will not force any one to come under the authority of the Kingdom of Jesus the Christ. Free will is most precious in God's creation and God has made all souls eternal. The choice in time is to learn to want to live with Him in light. To reject His right to be God and King in our lives is to be removed from His presence and His creation. Jude 11-25

An expanded confession of faith:

I confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord, Master and Savior. By faith in Christ Jesus I am forgiven, cleansed, healed and made a citizen of His eternal kingdom. Jesus Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law of sin, sickness, weakness and eternal death through His death on the cross for me. I believe in the Trinity of one God: Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Creator made flesh, The Word of God who was begotten as the second Adam. He was born of a virgin, died for my sins, rose for my justification and is coming again soon, in great glory, to establish His Kingdom on earth. I believe in the new birth from above, the baptism in water, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I confess that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed me from all my sin and I am now made the righteousness of God in and through Christ Jesus. I confess that I can do all things through Christ who is my strength as I abide in Him. I confess that this world is not my home. I confess that I am a pilgrim in a foreign land and I look for that certain return of my Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. I confess that there is but one holy universal and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and all those who are born from above are brethren and citizens of His kingdom. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is being perfected by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers and other ministries of His Church until all the faithful come into the unity of the faith and the bond of peace and are changed into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ, (Eph. 4:1 16).

Authority:
The qualifications for Bishops (Elders, Overseers, Eph.4:11) are clearly laid out in 1 Tim.3:1 7, Titus 1:5 16 and Deacons (Servants of the Church) 1 Tim.3:8 13 .

Concerning "Proving or Trying" 1 Tim.3:10 This indicates that the calling of God made room for the acknowledgment of ministry and not the other way around. It is the fruit that determines the kind of tree and not the name pasted on the tree.

Concerning "Elders - Bishops" Titus 1:5 & 7 Here Paul uses the words Elder and Bishop as the same. The concept is one who oversees for our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostolic "company" of Eph.4:11 are "Elders" in general but specifically are "Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers" for the perfecting of the saints. The Greek word for Overseer is Bishop. So these Elders are the servant consensual authority on earth for a local area Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are not a dictatorship nor a democracy. They are the stewards of the Kingdom of God while the King is away. There is usually a first among equals who is the moderator and takes care that the decisions of the council are all in loving influence. Great care is given for the unity of the faith in the bond of peace as unity is more important that action. Therefore great care must be give in selecting the Elders/Bishops/Overseers/Apostolic Company as there is a need for pure holy unity or nothing can happen.

The election of the church to use a democratic voting system among the congregation is not Biblical and falls under the condemnation of Laodicea in Rev. 3:14 22 and the other excess is the dictatorship of Rev.17 & 18, Please note that Mystery Babylon sits on 7 hills.

The Early Church had 5 layers of teaching and ministry:

The Elder with an assistant who he was mentoring.

The local weekly "House Church" gathering.

The local "Eldership Council" for guiding the local church in a given community area.

The gathering of Christians in a given area of all the "House Churches" to hear an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist or ?

The gathering of the Presiding Elders to an international gathering to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace.

Our western traditional theater church polity has greatly changed this original design and is not near as effective.