Statement of Faith
The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:
God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christian Living
We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ’s Return
We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
* Adopted by the Conference on June 19, 2019
Additionally, our distinctives can be found in our membership book, Each Part Working Properly.
Our Values
A Passion for the Word of God
The Bible is our foundation and source of inspired and inerrant truth. We want to be known as a people with an unquenchable thirst for knowing God more deeply and loving him more (Philippians 3:8). This is no mere intellectual pursuit, but one born out of astonishment at the grace of God as it is expressed in the gospel and revealed in our fellowship. Because all of theology is practical, the adherence to sound doctrine and the application of biblical truth is an ultimately useful endeavor.
Gospel-Centeredness
The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ lived the life we should have lived, died the death we should have died, and rose again defeating death forever (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, his perfect life and record is transferred to our account, and our record of sin and rejection of God was taken by Christ to the cross, where Jesus Christ received the wrath of God and rejection we deserved (2 Corinthians 5:21). Astonishment at this amazing grace should be the heartbeat of every ministry of the church – informing and shaping the way we go about even the smallest details of ministry (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).
Authentic Community
A community that believes the gospel should be one marked by the grace of God, and one that consists of deep, authentic, and caring relationships. Because we’re saved by grace alone (not by anything we’ve done), we’re freed to admit who we really are – the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) – and, therefore, enabled to embody a culture of repentance, forgiveness, growth in Christ-likeness, prayer, and joy (Acts 2:46-47).
Missional Living
Everyone who comes to trust in Christ is a minister of the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:18). Every facet of life should be viewed as an opportunity to display the all-surpassing worth of Jesus Christ and no area of our lives – work, play, church events, small group fellowships – should be separated from our mission to make disciples and spread the good news. Our community does not exist simply to create deep relationships, but to be directed outward in mission. This mission to see disciples multiplied has also given us a desire to be a church that eventually plants other gospel-centered churches in Harrisburg and its surrounding areas.
Humble-Service
Though we enthusiastically desire that all would know Christ, we are called to love and serve others in our city regardless of whether they follow Jesus or not. Christ’s love for outsiders, like us (Romans 5:8), must urge our fellowship toward acts of service, care for the poor, and a willingness to lay our lives down for our neighbors.