West Walnut Church of Christ is a non-denominational church that shares a heritage with other churches going by the name Christian churches or churches of Christ.
The Bible is our sole authority. We use the Bible alone for guidance in matters of doctrine, structure, and practice.
We focus on Jesus. Christian churches seek to unite God’s people by adopting a simple, biblical name for our churches – Christian.
We are an independent church. Every Christian church is completely independent. Our church is self-governed and determines its own affairs, based on the Word of God and guidance from God’s spirit.
For example, with the Lord’s guiding:
· At West Walnut, we choose our staff.
· At West Walnut, we own our buildings and assets.
· At West Walnut, we determine our programs.
· At West Walnut, we select our missionaries and agencies to support.
West Walnut Church of Christ does not require that members subscribe to a formal creed. In a very real sense, “We have no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible.” The twin bases of our unity are our faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and our adherence to the Bible as the inspired text for our teaching and the one sufficient constitution for governing congregational life.
The Bible teaches that God is Creator of our world and Sustainer and Lord of our lives. Genesis 1:1, 1:26-27, 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; John 14:26; 1 Peter1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14
Jesus Christ is the one and only living Son of God and our Savior. Through Him God opened the way of abundant and eternal life through His death, burial and resurrection to all who call on His name. Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:22-23; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1-5; 14:6; 14:10-30; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4; I Corinthians 15:3-4; I Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 4:14-15; 7:25-27; Revelation 19:11-16
The Holy Spirit is God Himself encouraging, guiding, and transforming us in the way of Christ. According to Acts 2:38, the Holy Spirit is a gift resulting from our faith and obedience. We are, therefore, a Spirit-filled church seeking to do God’s will and to become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. John 14:16-17, 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Ephesians 1:13; 5:18; Galatians 5:25
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is the authoritative rule of faith and practice for Christians and the Church. 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6; Proverbs 30:5 Explore our various ministries, including children's ministry, youth group, women's ministry, and more. We have something for everyone, and we believe that everyone has a place in our church family.
Believe – We are brought to faith by God’s Holy Inspired Word. We believe that Christ is the Son of the living God, and that He died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day. Christ’s blood covers our sins and allows us to be adopted into the family of God as His heirs and co-heirs with Him. John 3:14-16, 3:36, 6:47; Romans 1:16; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 1:13; Hebrews 11:1-6; Matthew 16:13-16
Confess – We openly declare our faith in Christ. We do this not only in speech but with our actions. Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9; Matthew 10:32; Mark 8:38; Romans 10:9-10, 13, 1 Corinthians 12:3
Repent – We sincerely desire to turn away from anything that displeases God, willingly choosing to live in accordance with His Word and His will. 2 Corinthians 7:10; Luke 13:3; Acts 2:37-38
Be Baptized – We practice baptism of the repentant believer by immersion in water, confident that this expresses the form and purposes of the New Testament precedent. The New Testament teaches that all believers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in relation to their faith, repentance and baptism. Through the obedience of our faith we identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus by being immersed for the remission of sins. This act of obedience yields the gift of the Holy Spirit as it is the means by which we, having died to sin, are buried with Christ, and are raised with Him to walk in the newness of Life. Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:2-6; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 2:12-13; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 4:4-6
Live the New Life – As Christians we live a life that will give credibility to our witness and strength to the body of Christ as we labor to advance His Kingdom. We live a life that magnifies Christ and exhorts His body. John 14:23; Hebrews 3:12-14,12:12-15; 1 Peter 1:13-16
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, as we find the New Testament Christians did. In partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, we remember our Lord’s sacrifice for us, and we strengthen our relationship with Him. Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
We seek a unity of understanding in the essentials of our faith, yet we do not suggest that we must agree on all things pertaining to our walk in Christ. On many issues we have the freedom to disagree. Unity in the body depends upon harmony and mutual trust in the leadership. Ephesians 4:11-13; John 17:23; Colossians 3:12-17; Philippians 2:1-2
We are a praying church. We daily lift before God fervent prayers of praise, confession, thanksgiving and petition. 1 Thessalonians 5:17; John 1:8-9; I Timothy 2:1
God, who created the heavens and the earth, will one day bring life on earth to a conclusion. While accepting various understandings of how God will bring this about, we believe that Christ will come again and will call His own to Himself, as He promised. Acts 1:8; 10-11; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 22:12-13
We are a free and independent church under Christ. Guided by a Board of Elders, we determine our own policies and practices in light of biblical expectations, and we voluntarily cooperate with other Christian groups in fulfilling our Lord’s Great Commission. We have this requirement for church membership:
One must be a believer in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, be willing to repent of sin and surrender to His Lordship, to confess this faith before others, obey Him in Christian baptism and to continue in faithful discipleship. John 14:6; Hebrews 10:24-25
Marriage has been instituted by God. This church defines “marriage” as the exclusive covenantal union of one man and one woman in which such union is a lifetime commitment. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-5
The New Testament teaches the ministry of all believers, recognizing that the Holy Spirit gives various gifts to members of the body so that every member can make a contribution to the effective ministry of the entire church. 1 Peter 2:5-9; Ephesians 2:10; Romans 12:1-2
We are a mission-minded church. We send and support evangelistic and benevolent missions throughout the world. Our budget calls for 10% of our general fund to be directed to missions around the world. We encourage our finest people to accept the call to a greater kingdom service, and we support them through generous mission offerings.
All persons of all races have been created in the image of God and stand in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
The church exists to serve the world. Therefore, we send evangelists to rescue the perishing of the world. We participate in efforts to improve community life. We want to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, offer hospitality to the stranger, clothe the naked, minister to the sick, and visit the imprisoned, as Jesus has instructed. Matthew 9:37-38; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Timothy 2:1-2
God expects wise management of our money and other resources in both our personal and our congregational lives. We encourage the tithe (ten percent) as the minimum the Bible teaches us to return to the Lord. In fact, we understand the governing principles to be that everything we have and are belongs to God. We do not hesitate to teach principles of Christian stewardship, agreeing with Jesus that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. Psalm 24:1; Malachi 3:8, 10; Matthew 6:19-21
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