MISSION
& Beliefs
MISSION
& Beliefs
Our Vision
Jesus came to save the lost, give life to the full, and destroy the works of the devil. We’re “Jesus people” doing what Jesus did
(Matthew 6:10)
Our Mission
Walls of division crumble. Holiness and unity take full effect. We reach our hands in fellowship, and partnership, with every blood-washed one. Jesus is the subject. Not just a tagline, these four words speak to our purpose and plan. Only when Jesus is the subject—not the church, not the building, not the music, not the various doctrines we profess—can God’s people work together, in unity and without distraction, to bring the kingdom to life on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus is the subject.
Walls of division crumble. Holiness and unity take full effect. We reach our hands in fellowship, and partnership, with every blood-washed one. Jesus is the subject. Not just a tagline, these four words speak to our purpose and plan. Only when Jesus is the subject—not the church, not the building, not the music, not the various doctrines we profess—can God’s people work together, in unity and without distraction, to bring the kingdom to life on earth as it is in heaven.
Who are we?
As Jesus is the subject, we are called by his hand and Spirit to be verbs, action words in real life, real time.”
—JIM LYON, Church of God Ministries general director
Jesus applauded those who stepped out of the boat, climbed down out of the tree, and got off their donkeys to proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Not everyone was so sure. They said, “Jesus, tell us who are you?” He said, “I’ve already told you who I am but you don’t believe me. The works I do prove who I am.” Words must be proved true by action. We were created to take action, to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). Since our calling is to do what Jesus did, a brief look at why Jesus came and what he came to do offers a prescription…
Our History:
A People On the Move
The Church of God movement appeared in the 1880s in the midst of the broader Wesleyan-holiness movement in the United States. The pioneers of the Church of God hoped to restore a more biblical understanding and practice of what it means to be God’s one, universal church.
Today, the Church of God is an international family of Jesus people collectively build a Jesus-centered, biblically grounded Movement that brings the kingdom to life on earth as it is in heaven. The love of Jesus, taught as the Great Commandments in Scripture, is but one of several core convictions that drive everything we do. We believe, so we take action.
We do not imagine ourselves to be a denomination or institution, but a movement. The Oxford Dictionary helps us here, defining movement as ‘a group of people working together to advance shared ideas.’ We have seen ourselves as a movement within the larger Christian family, emphasizing certain core ideas drawn from Scripture, calling the best out of the larger body of Christ, expanding the kingdom of God.”
—JIM LYON, Church of God Ministries general director
Living What We Believe
Jesus is Lord. The singularity, the exclusivity, the divinity of the one Lord Jesus stood tall. The Bread of Life.
READ MORE
The Water of Life. The Lamb of God. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. The one Mediator between God and humankind. The Lord of lords, the King of kings. The Son of Man. The Son of God. The Word become flesh. The Name at which every knee shall bow. Jesus is the subject. About His supremacy there is no dispute in the church. It is a non-negotiable. We will not be convening any conferences to discuss whether or not He is all that. He is. Period. This defines us.
Holiness. The Person, the work, and the power of the Holy Spirit is fundamental to who we are as a people.
READ MORE
We unabashedly own the truth that the Spirit can transform us, possess us, equip us, and empower us. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us, makes us holy, sets us apart for sacred service, and seals us for eternity’s sake. It is the Spirit that convicts us of sin and enables us to overcome sin. It is the Holy Spirit that can breathe supernatural gifts into us, for Jesus’ sake. He is the Comforter promised by Jesus and the witness of our redemption. We will not be debating whether or not the Holy Spirit is all that or whether or not He can transform us into a holy people. He is, He does. This defines us.
Unity. We are a people uniquely called by God to be a catalyst for Christian unity,
READ MORE
believing that the division of the body of Christ is hell’s greatest weapon to thwart heaven’s ends in this world. We are convinced that the splintering of the body is not the Lord’s work, but the Enemy’s; we believe that hell trembles at the prospect of a people united, redeemed by the blood, possessed by the Spirit. Unity is not for us an also-ran on the to-do list of God, but a primary driver of who and why we are called out. We are not spending time arguing whether or not the Church of God should embrace this ambition. It is who we are. A non-negotiable. It defines us.
The Supremacy of Scripture. We are a people of the Book, the Good Book, the Holy Bible,
READ MORE
the Old and New Testaments, supernaturally inspired, preserved across time, cultures, and continents, delivered to us, useful for reproof and instruction, for righteousness. The Scripture is our backstop, the ultimate field of inquiry and judgment, the measure of conduct, faith, and practice. Whatever the question, whatever the test, whatever comes before us, in the end, it is the Scripture, above all other disciplines, that informs and defines us. We are not wrestling with whether or not the Bible is authoritative, without peer, or supreme; all other sources of knowledge fall beneath its shadow. It is a non-negotiable. It defines us. It is who we are.
Resources
A Special Message from Our General Director
Learn More About Our Beliefs
The following free downloads (PDF) are available to provide more detail on the beliefs of the Church of God:
We Believe
(Anderson School of Theology)
What We Teach
(Barry Callen, 129 KB)
Salvation
(Arlo Newell, 121 KB)
Holy Living
(Arlo Newell, 106 KB)
Membership
(Arlo Newell, 114 KB)
Ordinances
(Arlo Newell, 112 KB)
Divine Healing
(Arlo Newell, 89 KB)
Return of Christ
(Arlo Newell, 111 KB)
