What We Believe

Our Purpose and Our Vision:

Strengthening People for Life

HighRidge Church exists to strengthen people for life. We care about people because God cares about people. God desires for His children to experience abundant life in Him. Through the love and encouragement of Christ, HighRidge seeks for its members to be strengthened by experiencing this life each and every day.

At HighRidge Church we accomplish our purpose through our Vision to Equip, Engage, Encourage and Expand.

Equip the Body – We strengthen people for life by equipping the body with the Word of God, biblical teaching and practical life training.

Engage the Lord – We strengthen people for life by leading people to engage the Lord in worship, giving and prayer.

Encourage One Another – We strengthen people for life by encouraging one another through love, spiritual family and godly relationships.

Expand the Kingdom – We strengthen people for life by expanding the Kingdom through personal evangelism, missions and growth.

Our Core Values:

Our purpose and our vision are guided by our core values. Core values are beliefs we stand by, which shape how we operate as a church.

Core Values to Equip the Body:

• The Word of God We believe that the Word of God is our guidebook for life. Everything that we do is centered on and guided by the Bible. It is the foundational basis for life at HighRidge. Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart
• Teaching We believe that receiving Biblical teaching is foundational to our spiritual life as believers. Teaching helps to establish us, keep us free from error and helps us to be rooted and grounded in the Word of God. Colossians 1:28 – We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
• Training We believe that practical life training and leadership training is mandated by the Word of God and is part of God’s call on HighRidge to equip the body. Luke 6:40 – A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Core Values to Engage the Lord:

• Worship We believe that God has called us to be a people that worship Him. We engage the Lord in worship through music that is based upon the word of God. In addition, our worship is more than just music. We engage the Lord by living a lifestyle of worship, where we endeavor to honor the Lord in everything we do. Psalm 100: 1-5- Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
• Giving We believe that God has called us to give to Him out of our time, our talents and our treasure. We give generously and with a happy heart knowing that when we give to the Lord, he will favor us. Luke 6:38 - Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
• Prayer We believe that God has called us to be a people of prayer. We endeavor to constantly and consistently take all of our burdens and cares to the Lord in prayer and to also call out to him in intercession on behalf of ourselves and others. Philippians 4:6-7 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Core Values to Encourage One Another

• Love We believe that love for others is a central part of the Christian faith. Encouraging one another in love is the primary way that we show the love of God to each other in the body of Christ as well as showing God’s love to those who have yet to receive Him. I John 4:7-8 - Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
• Spiritual Family We believe that every Christian is a part of the family of God. We are to care for each other as Spiritual Family in the same manner that we care for our own physical family here on earth. Galatians 6:9-10-Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
• Relationships We believe that as part of the body of Christ, God has called us to be involved in healthy, spiritual relationships with one another. Godly relationships exist to provide encouragement, counsel and accountability as we seek to grow in our spiritual walk. Proverbs 27:17-As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Core Values to Expand the Kingdom

• Evangelism We believe that HighRidge Church and its members should be actively involved in personal and corporate evangelism. Based on the Great Commission, we have direction from the Lord to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:16- I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
• Missions We believe that based on the Great Commission we have a mandate from the Lord to not only share the Gospel with our friends and family, but to reach out to those around the world as well. We believe that missions begin with our local community and extend to the “ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
• Growth We believe that God has called us to grow both spiritually and numerically as a church. While we don’t believe that numerical growth is the most important aspect of growth, we do believe that it is an indication of a healthy, vibrant church life. Acts 2:46-47-Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
  

Our Statement of Faith:

Article 1 – The Trinity

It is the testimony of both the Old and New Testaments and of the Christian Church that God is both One and Triune. The biblical revelation testifies that there is only one God and that He is eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• God the Father - God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He created the universe in love. He created man in His own image for fellowship and called man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.
• The Son - Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption, He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two natures—God and man—in one person.
• The Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature and conforms us to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Article 2 – The Scripture

We affirm that the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is alone the only infallible, inspired Word of God, and that its authority is ultimate, final and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction and reproof. It contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct.

Article 3 – The Atonement

Christ’s vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, but its benefits are only applicable to those who receive Jesus as personal Savior. Healing—body, soul and spirit—and all of God’s provisions for His saints, are provided for in the atonement, but these must be appropriated.

Article 4 – Salvation

The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is affected by personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification) and personal acceptance of Him into one’s life as Lord and Savior (regeneration). The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Salvation is an act of free will in response to God’s personal love for mankind. It is predestined only in the sense that God, through His omniscience, foreknew those who would choose Him. It is secure in the eternal, unchanging commitment of God who does not lie and is forever the same. Salvation should produce an active lifestyle of loving obedience and service to Jesus Christ our Savior.

Article 5 – The Christian Life

We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the saint in this world to be one of balance between what is imputed to us as Christians and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. Hence, God’s provision for His children is total, and the promises are final and forever. The shortcomings of the individual and of the Church are because of the still progressing sanctification of the saints. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.

Article 6 – The Church

The goal of the Church is to make disciples of all nations and to present the saints complete in Christ. The five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4 governs the Church, the offices of elder and deacon, as well as other offices mentioned in scripture. Church policy is a balance between congregation and eldership authority, emphasizing the final authority of the Church leadership. It is essential to the life of the Church that scriptural patterns of discipline are practiced and that oversight for Church discipline, individual and corporate, is exercised by the leadership of the Church.

Article 7 – Baptism & the Lord's Supper

The Word of God enjoins on the Church two perpetual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first, baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual’s life and is a testimony to all that the person now belongs to Jesus. It is identification with Jesus and is affected in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our participation in Him. Both institutions are restricted to those who are believers.

Article 8 – Eschatology

We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the millennium and the final judgment. The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, determined by their relationship to Jesus Christ. We affirm with the Bible the final state of the new heavens and the new earth.