What we believe

Our purpose:”Building Communities of Christ-centered People to Reach the World”

At the heart of who we are is the reality of who Jesus is. He is the Eternal Son of God, the perfect God-Man who gave His life on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and have the abundant and eternal life that He offers.

Our passion is to know Him and to make Him known; He is the best that life has to offer. So at our very core, we exist to help people begin, develop, and sustain a relationship with Him. All that we do is designed to contribute to that.

We don’t exist to carry out our own agendas and plans, but to follow His leading, as it is revealed primarily in His Word.

Our highest privilege and greatest responsibility is to help you begin a life changing relationship with Jesus. To learn more about a relationship with Christ, click here.

Our Beliefs

Woodlands Church is part the Evangelical Free Church of America – an association of over 1500 churches that affirm the statement of faith below.

▸ What We Believe:

God
1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. We believe 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
10. 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.

Additionally, there are core values we strive to live out in the context of our church community.

▸ Our Values

Biblical Foundations

Because the Bible is God’s Word, it will be the basis of our teaching, shape our ministries, guide our decisions, and govern our church life.

Prayerful Dependence

Because Jesus said “apart from Me you can do nothing,” we will rely on God’s strength and guidance through consistent and widespread prayer, at three levels, individually, in teams, and corporately.

Passionate Worship

Because God is infinitely worthy of honor and praise, we will seek to worship Him in truth filled and Spirit led worship services and to deepen our personal and daily experience of worship.

Local Outreach

Because Christ is the hope of the world and His people are to be the salt of the earth, we will seek to impact our community by doing good deeds and sharing the good news.

Global Outreach

Because Jesus said “make disciples of all the nations”, we will be actively, strategically, and generously involved in sending and going to the least reached and least resourced peoples and places of the world.

Personal Development

Because every person matters to God, we will help all people grow in Christ centered faith, obedience, service and witness in ways that fit their stages and situations of life.

Relational Development

Because we need each other, we will pursue life in Christ together in small groups and serve Christ together in ministry teams.

Leadership Development

Because godly, effective leadership is vital in the pursuit of our vision, we will plan for and invest in the development of leaders at all levels of church life.

Loving Environment

Because God is honored and people thrive when Biblical love is practiced, we will create and maintain a culture of love, while expressing our differences with graciousness and pursuing our vision with unity.

Financial Stewardship

Because God has revealed that we are owners of nothing and stewards of everything, both corporately and individually we will seek to manage the financial resources that He has entrusted to us with faithfulness and integrity.