These are the core beliefs as followers of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and came to us as man to teach about the Kingdom of God and to save those who believe in Him from our sins and give us eternal life through His death and resurrection.
God is one but has revealed Himself from Genesis to Revelation in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is fully God, the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Each one is distinct from one another, but they are all equal & exist eternally, simultaneously in a three-fold relationship. None is
more powerful than the other. Each has a specific purpose, but all are unified within the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all there in the beginning & are not created
Jesus is not created, but has always been and will always be (John 1:1,2). He became a man
and was miraculously born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35) without ceasing to be
God. He lived a sinless life and performed many miracles to confirm His divinity. He died on
the cross as a perfect sacrifice, paying the debt for our sins (Mark 10:45). On the third day
after His death He arose from the dead showing His victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians
15:3-8). He appeared to His disciples and then ascended into heaven and now sits at the right
hand of God serving as our mediator. He will return again to judge the living and the dead (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18)
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son. He is a person (Eph 4:30), not an “it” or
“force.” He indwells and empowers the believer (I John 4:13; Galatians. 5:16-26). His presence
in our life is a seal and guarantee that we are God’s children (2 Corinthians 1: 21-22). The Holy
Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts (talents or abilities) (1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Romans 12:4-8)
to be used to help others. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in water baptism (Acts 2:38).
We do not believe in what some churches teach as the need for a “second baptism of the
Spirit” or “speaking in tongues.” The Holy Spirit’s ultimate purpose is transform us into
Christlikeness (Romans 8:29).
The Scriptures are so much a part of God, and God so much a part of them, that the Bible is
described as His breath (II Timothy 3:16). We believe the Bible is the perfect, inspired Word of
God and that the Holy Spirit is the author (2 Peter 1:20,21) who guided the pens of the 40 men
who wrote down the words of Scripture. The Bible is the final authority in all things.
SALVATION
Salvation and forgiveness of sins is found only in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6) who is the Son of God and Lord of all. He is the only way to heaven. Our good works cannot save us, (Ephesians 2:9) but they are evidence that we have genuine faith in Christ. We are saved
100% by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8); in the finished work of the cross of Christ. Jesus told us how we can receive forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.
1) Do you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? (Acts 8:37; 16:31)
2) Can you say, “Yes, I am sinner and I am lost. I cannot save myself. I am ready to put my trust in Jesus and His finished work on the cross to save me from my sins.” (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23)
3) God calls us to repent, to make a decision to stop going the way of the world and to start following Him. (Acts 17:30,31; 2 Peter 3:9) Repentance is a lifelong attitude. We are constantly growing, constantly realizing our faults. We cannot change ourselves! This is why we need a Savior in the first place! Repent means simply to make a 180 and turn to God. It’s not a call to be perfect, it’s a call to be faithful (just like you would when you get married)
4) Confess Christ before people. (Matthew 10:32,33) You don’t have to confess your sins. God already knows. And He still loves you. But, you are saying, “Yes, I am ready to follow Jesus. He is my Lord and Savior now.” We should count the cost and be willing to seek to put Jesus first in our lives (Luke 9:23-26; 14:25-27)
5) Baptism is where we begin that walk with God and is essential because it is a command of Christ. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16). It is by immersion (Acts 8:36-38) and is for those people who know who Jesus is, that they are lost, that they are ready to change their ways and to put Jesus first. It’s like your “wedding day” between you and God. It’s where our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16) and where we receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit to help us follow and obey Him. (Acts 2:38) It is where we are born again spiritually on the inside. (John 3:3-5) There is no example of infant baptism in the Scriptures. Therefore, instead of baptizing the children, we have a special ceremony to dedicate the children to God in the church and encourage the parents to promise before God that they will raise their children in the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
1. The churches of Christ have their roots in the Restoration Movement of the early 1800’s
where there was a strong call from denominational preachers to get back to the simplicity of
the early church and New Testament Christianity. They called for unity and the unification of
all Christians in a single body patterned after the first century church of the New Testament
that was begun in 30 A.D. in Acts 2. Christian churches and Disciples of Christ have their roots
in this same movement. We are not affiliated in anyway with United churches of Christ
2. We unashamedly believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, declaring Him LORD and Savior of
all, and in the beautiful mystery of the Godhead, the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (more
in depth on our AWESOME, NEW REVISED, website, www.shillingtonchurch.org)
3. Churches of Christ believe the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be the 100%
inspired Word of God, uncorruptible, and perfect in all its ways. (1 Peter 1:20,21) Since Jesus’
death, burial, and resurrection ushered in a New Testament, we understand we are not under
the Old Testament (Hebrews 8:13) so our focus is on Jesus and His teachings along with the 27
letters of the New Testament. But, as lovers of God, we do seek to understand the story of
God, His incredible plan and purpose, from Genesis to Revelation, as it is all beneficial and
useful for knowing Him and His heart and learning what pleases Him (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
4. Churches of Christ have no creeds and no hierarchies of clergy like Pope, Bishop, Pastor,
Father, or Priest. As Jesus taught, we are simply brothers and sisters (Matthew 23:8).
5. We believe in that the church’s purpose is to: glorify God by making Him look good by being
the body of Christ to a broken world (Revelation 4:11); reach the lost of all nations with the
good news of Jesus (Mark 16:15); make disciples that make disciples (Matthew 28:19); to
know God and make Him known (John 17:3); to equip every believer to serve & identify their
spiritual gifts in order to edify the church (Ephesians 4:11-13) and to help every believer grow
into maturity (Ephesians 4:14) Churches of Christ are non-denominational with the Bible
alone being the final authority in all matters.
6. We are a church devoted to loving one another (John 13:34,35), a hospital for sinners
where broken people, beggars tell other beggars where to find the Bread of Life (Jesus)
7. Following the New Testament model for leadership, there is a plurality of elders over each
congregation that meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. They are chosen
by the local Christians and work together to guide, shepherd, and take care of God’.
8. Each church of Christ is autonomous, independent, self-supporting, and self-governing just
like the churches in the New Testament. For that reason, there are no Headquarters, Dioceses
or councils. Just like the church in the first century, we simply call ourselves, “Christians” (Acts
11:26) but do not believe we are the “only Christians” (judging is God’s department) –
therefore, we seek to build unity with other churches by finding what we have in common first
(faith in Jesus) rather than our differences.
9. We believe to begin a relationship with God and to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal
life, the New Testament teaches us what we need to do:
1) JESUS, the importance of falling in love with Jesus first and understanding who He is,
to come to faith that He is the Son of God whom we can trust in to save us from our sins
(Acts 16:30,31);
2) admitting that we are truly lost sinners and cannot save ourselves by our own
goodness, but by fully trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His
resurrection (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 10:9,10);
3) repentance (Acts 3:19) which means making a decision in our minds to make a “180,”
running to the loving arms of the Father, and desiring to change our ways;
4) not only trusting in Jesus as Savior, but seeking to make Him LORD of our lives daily
in a relationship (Luke 9:23-26) – connected intimately to Him through the Holy Spirit
5) being spiritually re-born again on the inside through adult believer’s baptism by
immersion where we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sins, beginning
our relationship with God (there is no infant baptism in the Bible; instead, we dedicate
children to the LORD) – (Matthew 28:18-19; John 3:3-5; Acts 2:38; 8:36-38; 16:30-33)
6) GOAL: daily transformed into Christlikeness by the power of the Spirit (1 Thess 4:3)
10. After baptism, growing in our walk with God and being discipled by an older believer who
can help us mature in our faith, learning how to read the Bible for ourselves, prayer, etc.
11. Weekly worship is simple and patterned after the early church involving prayer, fellowship,
Lord’s Supper, teaching, singing, and giving (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 16:1,2; Colossians 3:16)
12. Weekly observance of the Lord's Supper to celebrate the cross of Jesus (Acts 20:7) and the
practice of a cappella singing just like the early church did (Ephesians 5:8-19; Hebrews 13:15)
In 2022 in the USA, there were 1.1 million members in 11,776 congregations.
Internationally, while God alone knows, best estimates there are over 3 million members
and 60,000 congregations in Africa, South America, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe.
There are 29 colleges, 37 preacher training schools, & hundreds of various ministries.
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