Calvary Chapel Distinctives
One of the mistaken concepts many have is that all Christians and churches should be identical. They assume that "unity" is equivalent to "sameness". But the Apostle Paul points out that differences do and will exist among churches and individuals in Christ: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men and women (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).
We are called to unity in faith and doctrine, and there should be no tolerance for false, heretical doctrine. But on issues of style and practice, there should be tolerance. These are the areas of personal preference that should be respected. We refer to these as "distinctives". They represent diversity within the greater Christian unity. The following is a short list of our distinctives.
We Believe. . . in the Expository Teaching of the whole Word of God (Acts 20:20, 27; Nehemiah 8:8; Psalm 138:2). Therefore, our worship services are structured around verse by verse teaching of the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
We believe . . . the Book of Acts represents "normal" Christianity. Therefore, we seek to pattern our lives and ministry after that modeled by the early church, as revealed in the Book of Acts.
• Our Missions & Means:(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."
• Our Lifestyle: (Acts 2:42)
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
• Our Growth: (Acts 2:47)
"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
We believe . . . in Pastoral Leadership as the truest biblical pattern for church government. Therefore, the Elder Board, under the leadership of the Senior Pastor, is primarily responsible for direction and decision-making.
We believe . . . that the Worship of God should be . . . Spiritual: we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship; Inspirational: we give a great place to music in our worship; Intelligent: our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshipped; Fruitful: we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshipping Him.
We believe . . . in Balance regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we consider ourselves to be neither charismatic or non-charismatic. We believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are available and operational within the church, but should only be publicly exercised under the guidelines found in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
We believe . . . that our ministry should be Simple and Sincere. Therefore, we seek to imitate the testimony of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have behaved in the world, and more abundantly toward you" (2 Corinthians 1:12). Therefore, our services are conducted in a relaxed, comfortable and normal style. Human effort to coerce or manipulate a response is contrary to the gentle and personal nature of the true ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We believe . . . we are a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our greatest desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations, as such. We are opposed only to the emphasis of non-biblical teachings that divide the Body of Christ. We believe the true basis of Christian fellowship is God's love, which is greater than our differences. Without His love, we have no right to say we are Christians.
We believe . . . in both the sovereignty of God and mankind’s free will/choice. Therefore, we resist the extreme positions of hyper-Calvinism and/or hyper-Armenianism. We feel that both try to force a conclusion that disregards a biblical balance. The believer in Christ is both secure in his faith and his life of faith, gives evidence to the genuineness of his salvation.
We believe . . . in the Imminent Return of Jesus Christ. Therefore, doctrinally, we are Pre-Tribulation/Pre-Millennial in our interpretation of Last Days’ prophecy. Consistent with this position, we believe there is no sign or condition which must be fulfilled before Christ’s imminent, visible, bodily return.
We believe . . . that Healthy Sheep Beget Healthy Sheep. In keeping with this purpose, we seek to win the lost, disciple the saved, and encourage the faithful. We believe that, if we take care of our "depth", God will take care of our "breadth". The purpose of the church is not numerical growth, but spiritual growth. The only strategy we have for our ministry is to "feed the flock of God" (John 21:15-17; Acts 6:4).
Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only to their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the Body of Christ.
We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's Agape love, which is greater than any differences we possess and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.
We believe worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give great place to music in our worship.
We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshipped.
We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshipping Him.
We believe in all the basic doctrines of historic Christianity.
We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, infallible Word of God.
We believe that God is eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that God is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign Creator of all things.
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His substitutionary death on the cross, was bodily raised from the dead, ascended back to the right hand of the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us.
We believe in the personal, visible, and pre-millennial second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. He will return with His saints and set up a kingdom of which there will be no end.
After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
We believe that all people are, by nature, separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
We are called to unity in faith and doctrine, and there should be no tolerance for false, heretical doctrine. But on issues of style and practice, there should be tolerance. These are the areas of personal preference that should be respected. We refer to these as "distinctives". They represent diversity within the greater Christian unity. The following is a short list of our distinctives.
We Believe. . . in the Expository Teaching of the whole Word of God (Acts 20:20, 27; Nehemiah 8:8; Psalm 138:2). Therefore, our worship services are structured around verse by verse teaching of the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
We believe . . . the Book of Acts represents "normal" Christianity. Therefore, we seek to pattern our lives and ministry after that modeled by the early church, as revealed in the Book of Acts.
• Our Missions & Means:(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."
• Our Lifestyle: (Acts 2:42)
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
• Our Growth: (Acts 2:47)
"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
We believe . . . in Pastoral Leadership as the truest biblical pattern for church government. Therefore, the Elder Board, under the leadership of the Senior Pastor, is primarily responsible for direction and decision-making.
We believe . . . that the Worship of God should be . . . Spiritual: we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship; Inspirational: we give a great place to music in our worship; Intelligent: our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshipped; Fruitful: we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshipping Him.
We believe . . . in Balance regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we consider ourselves to be neither charismatic or non-charismatic. We believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are available and operational within the church, but should only be publicly exercised under the guidelines found in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
We believe . . . that our ministry should be Simple and Sincere. Therefore, we seek to imitate the testimony of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have behaved in the world, and more abundantly toward you" (2 Corinthians 1:12). Therefore, our services are conducted in a relaxed, comfortable and normal style. Human effort to coerce or manipulate a response is contrary to the gentle and personal nature of the true ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We believe . . . we are a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our greatest desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations, as such. We are opposed only to the emphasis of non-biblical teachings that divide the Body of Christ. We believe the true basis of Christian fellowship is God's love, which is greater than our differences. Without His love, we have no right to say we are Christians.
We believe . . . in both the sovereignty of God and mankind’s free will/choice. Therefore, we resist the extreme positions of hyper-Calvinism and/or hyper-Armenianism. We feel that both try to force a conclusion that disregards a biblical balance. The believer in Christ is both secure in his faith and his life of faith, gives evidence to the genuineness of his salvation.
We believe . . . in the Imminent Return of Jesus Christ. Therefore, doctrinally, we are Pre-Tribulation/Pre-Millennial in our interpretation of Last Days’ prophecy. Consistent with this position, we believe there is no sign or condition which must be fulfilled before Christ’s imminent, visible, bodily return.
We believe . . . that Healthy Sheep Beget Healthy Sheep. In keeping with this purpose, we seek to win the lost, disciple the saved, and encourage the faithful. We believe that, if we take care of our "depth", God will take care of our "breadth". The purpose of the church is not numerical growth, but spiritual growth. The only strategy we have for our ministry is to "feed the flock of God" (John 21:15-17; Acts 6:4).
Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only to their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the Body of Christ.
We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's Agape love, which is greater than any differences we possess and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.
We believe worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give great place to music in our worship.
We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshipped.
We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshipping Him.
We believe in all the basic doctrines of historic Christianity.
We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, infallible Word of God.
We believe that God is eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that God is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign Creator of all things.
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His substitutionary death on the cross, was bodily raised from the dead, ascended back to the right hand of the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us.
We believe in the personal, visible, and pre-millennial second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. He will return with His saints and set up a kingdom of which there will be no end.
After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
We believe that all people are, by nature, separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.