Team Leader Onboarding

Loma Vista Community Church shall be committed to the conservative doctrine of the historic orthodoxy of the Christian faith, as stated below.  Additional exposition of Christian teaching shall be the responsibility of the Lead Pastor and verified by the Board of Elders and Pastors.

What we believe about God

We believe in one God who is the Creator of all that exists (Deuteronomy 6:4; Colossians 1:16). God has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14), yet who is one in being, essence, and glory (John 10:30). God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), and sovereign (Psalm 93:1). God is all-knowing (omniscient) (Psalm 139:1-6), all-places (omnipresent) (Psalm 139:7-13), all-powerful (omnipotent) (Revelation 19:6), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). God is holy (Isaiah 6:3), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and righteous (Exodus 9:27), which are the primary traits He wants us to recognize Him by (Revelation 4:8). God is love (1 John 4:8), gracious (Ephesians 2:8), merciful (1 Peter 1:3), and good (Romans 8:28). God created humanity for His joy and calls all people to be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ in whom He has sent (2 Corinthians 5:18).

What we believe about Jesus Christ.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is God-incarnate (human form) (Hebrews 1:3), the express image of the Father (Colossians 1:15), who, without ceasing to be God, became man in order that He might demonstrate who God is (John 1:18) and provide the means of salvation for humanity (Matthew 1:21).

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18) and was born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is truly and fully God as well as truly and fully man (John 1:1,14), He lived a perfect, sinless life (1 John 3:5), and all His teachings are from the Father and true (John 14:6). The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all humanity (1 John 2:2) as a substitutionary sacrifice (Isaiah 53:5-6). Jesus’ death is not only essential but sufficient to provide salvation for all who receive Him as Savior (John 1:12; Acts 16:31). Our justification is grounded in the shedding of His blood (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7) and that it is attested by His literal and physical resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; 1 Peter 1:3) as witnessed by the apostles (Acts 1:22).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven in His glorified body (Acts 1:9-10) and is now seated at the right hand of God as our High Priest and Advocate (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25) and has been given all the authority by the Father over all of creation (Philippians 2:9-11).

What we believe about the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). He regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) and indwells believers upon their confession of faith (Romans 8:9). He is the agent by whom Christ baptizes all believers into His body (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). He is the seal by whom the Father guarantees the salvation of believers until the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14). He illumines believers’ hearts and minds as they study the Word of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is ultimately sovereign in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11). We believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, while by no means outside of the Spirit’s ability to empower, no longer function to the same degree they did in the early development of the church and with the apostles (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:20; 4:7-12). Furthermore, we believe the gift of tongues in the New Testament always presents itself as a known language (Acts 2:6-13) and not as a private prayer language.

What we believe about the Bible

We believe the Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired, infallible (2 Peter 1:20-21), and authoritative Word of God (Matthew 5:18). The Bible is inerrant in the original writings, God-breathed, and the complete and final authority for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). While still using the individual writing styles of the human authors, the Holy Spirit perfectly guided them to ensure they wrote precisely what He wanted written, without error or omission (2 Peter 1:21). We do not accept additional writings as part of the inspired canon, such as the Apocrypha, Koran, Book of Mormon, or any other writings outside the 66 books that have been canonized (Revelation 22:19).

What we believe about Humanity

We believe that humanity came into existence by direct creation of God (Genesis 5:2) and that humanity is uniquely made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). All humanity, because of Adam’s fall, has inherited a depraved, sinful nature, and are not born morally neutral (Romans 3:23), and that all sin is exceedingly offensive to God (Romans 6:23). Humanity is utterly unable to seek after God (Romans 3:11) or remedy this fallen state (Ephesians 2:1-5,12) and our greatest need is freedom from sin (Romans 8:6-8) and reconciliation to a Holy God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) that only Christ offers

What we believe about Salvation

We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ’s death fully accomplished justification through faith and redemption from sin (Romans 4:25). Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8-9) and bore our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). On the third day after His death, Jesus physically rose again, demonstrating His victory over sin and death (Romans 14:9).

We believe salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Good works and obedience are results of salvation, not requirements for salvation (Galatians 5:22-23). Due to the greatness, sufficiency, and perfection of Christ’s sacrifice, all those who have truly received Christ as Savior are eternally secure in salvation, kept by God’s power, secured and sealed in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14). Just as salvation cannot be earned by good works, neither does it need good works to be maintained or sustained. Good works and changed lives are the inevitable results of salvation (James 2:14-17).

What we believe about the Church

We believe that the Church is the assembly of genuine Christians that are united under the headship of Christ which makes up His body (Colossians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27). The Church is to gather together regularly (Hebrews 10:25) for the purposes of preaching the gospel, worship, study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, equipping for service, and stewarding our lives for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-13; Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20).  The Church is to regularly conduct believer’s water baptism by immersion as a testimony to Christ and identification with Him, and the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

What we believe about Gender and Sexuality

We believe that gender is not a social or individual construct based on subjective feelings or a person’s understanding of reality but is assigned to each person by God (Genesis 1:27) and is biologically rooted in the essence of the person at the moment of conception (Psalms 139:13).  Both genders, male and female, are made in God’s image (Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6) and are equally charged with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Both genders are to think of themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ (Matthew 12:48-50), equals within God’s family (Galatians 3:28).

We believe that human sexuality is designed for physical expression only in the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman (1 Corinthians 7:2, Ephesians 5:31).  Decisions to change, alter, or modify God’s will in marriage, sex, or gender are part of our brokenness and lead to despair (Romans 1:21-22; James 1:13-15). God offers forgiveness, healing and abundant life to anyone who turns from their brokenness and to Him in humility (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Titus 3:3-7; 1 Peter 5:6-7).