Engage strives to be a Bible-driven, God-glorifying, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, Gospel-loving, People-redeeming, Kingdom-minded, Hope-filled Church that exemplifies Unity in belief and Diversity in belonging.
Which is really just a wordy way of summarizing the following beliefs of historic Christianity:
The Bible
We believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life both communal and individual. (Matthew 5:18, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)
God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1 /1:26, Deuteronomy 6:4,Matthew 28:19-20, John 4:24/10:30, 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man. We believe that He lived a sinless life on earth; that he died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and a substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus, in His ascension into heaven, and in His present ministry there for us, as High Priest and Advocate. As his followers, we expectantly await his sudden, visible return to earth to free it from the curse of sin. (John 1:1-14, Romans 3:23-25, Acts 2:24-27, 1 Timothy 2:5, Titus 2:13)
Holy Spirit
We believe The Holy Spirit is the personal, supernatural agent who applies salvation to sinful people, regenerating, indwelling, sanctifying, and sealing them until the day of Christ’s return. We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God. (Matthew 28:19, John 3:3-7, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 2:12/6:19/12:7-13, Ephesians 4:30)
Humanity
We believe that man and woman were created in the image of God; that they sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death resulting in separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and therefore are sinners in thought, word, and deed. All people, regardless of their actions, retain God’s image and none are beyond the scope of Jesus’ redemptive work. Racism and bigotry in all their forms are tragic effects of our fallenness and are not found in the character of God. We believe the institution of marriage is a union between one biological male and one biological female. We believe all people are sinful and in need of salvation. Salvation is a gift of God, given by grace alone, and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:26-28/3:16, Romans 3:10-18/5:12-14, James 3:9, Luke 2:52, Acts 4:12/16:31, Ephesians 2:8-10, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 John 5:11-13, Romans 8:35-39)
The Church
We believe that the Church is both universal and local and that humans were created for community. (Matthew 7 /28:19, Acts 1:8, Mark 1:17, 2 Corinthians 5:11-20)
Ordinances
We believe that baptism is the immersion of a believer, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit in testimony of faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Christ, and in confession that the believer is to be dead to sin and risen to newness of life in Christ Jesus; and that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death “until He comes.” (Acts 2:41, Romans 6:1-14, 1 Corinthians 11:26)
Christ’s Return
We believe in the final judgment of all people. Those trusting in Jesus will enter into eternal life and blessedness as coheirs with Christ. Those that reject Christ will experience eternal separation from God. (Revelation 22, Matthew 24, 2 Timothy 4:1, 1 Peter 4:5, 2 Peter 3)
Our vision for living out these beliefs can be found on our Mission and Values page.