The members of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, in harmony with our historic position, believing the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible to be our infallible rule of faith and practice, and feeling our responsibility to make known the divine message of the Bible, present the following articles as a statement of those basic truths taught in the Bible which are common to our Christian faith and practice:

THE BIBLE  The Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore  wholly without error as originally given of God (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21)

GOD  The One True God existing eternally as three persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matthew 28:19, II Cor. 13:14).

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST   His preexistence and deity (John 1:1-13), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14); Matt. 1:18-23; sinless life (Heb. 4:15), subsitutionary death (II Cor. 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Heb. 4:14:16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).

THE HOLY SPIRIT   His personality (John 16:7-15); and deity (Acts 5:3-4; and His work in each believer:  baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Cor. 12:13); Roman 8:9); and filling (Eph. 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:22-23).

MAN   His direct creation in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Gen. 3:1-24, Rom. 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).

SALVATION  A complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work (Eph. 2:8-9); Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

THE CHURCH  One true Church, the body and the bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Cor. 12:12-13); and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Eph. 4:11-16).

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE  A life of righteousness, good works and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Rom. 12:1-2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Eph. 5:22-6:4) settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (1 Cor. 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Rom. 12:7-21); exhibiting the fruit of the Sprit (Gal. 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the elders o the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).

ORDINANCES  The Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are (1) baptism of believers of triune immersion (Matt. 28:19) and (2) the threefold communion service, consisting of the washing of the saint's feet (John 12:1-17), the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-22, 33-34); (Jude 12), and the communion of the bread and the cup (I Cor. 11:23-26).

SATAN  His existence and personality as the great adversary of God and his people (Rev.12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:30), and final doom (Rev.)

SECOND COMING  The personal, visible and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth (1 Thess. 4:16-17), before the Tribulation (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6).

FUTURE LIFE  The conscious existence of the dead  (Phil. 1:21-23); Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Rom. 14:10-12; II Cor. 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of  unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15).

Covenant of Understanding:

• All matters must be subjected to the Scriptures.  (The issue is truth; not tradition of convenience.)

• Biblical doctrine is nonnegotiable;  methods are open to evaluation. 

• Under gird everything with prayer.

• The Elders should seek to lead by being perceptive to the needs of the church. They should be backed by the prayers of all the church members.

• Recognizing that most people have limited time for church, we must not waste time by concentrating on the trivial or insignificant, but focus on what is most important.

• The family must be strengthened, not undermined.

• We must discover the activity of God and adjust to it.  It will be unique to Washington Heights Grace Brethren Church.

• We must seek to understand our cultural context and minister to it.  (How can we best meet the needs of those around us?)

• We must seek to develop a lighthouse ministry to all of the Roanoke Valley and surrounding communities.

• Everything should be done in light of this mission statement, "To know Christ and to make Him known."  (We glorify God by reaching people.)

• There must be constant adjustment for growth.  We cannot get overly comfortable.  We must create new Bible study units, new ministries, and constantly improve the quality of education.

• Outreach must be the priority.

• Strive for week-long and year-long ministry, not just Sunday or the season.

• We must walk by faith.  Think big, not small.  (With God, nothing is impossible.)

• The bottom line is not "can we afford it?"  but "is it God's will?"  (Where He guides, He provides.)

• Ministry is more important than meeting (committees, etc.)

• We should strive for quality and excellence in every area (appearance, music, publications, etc.).

• Hard work is necessary. (William Carey said, "Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.")

• Each Christian should discover his/her gift, passion and ministry.

• We must seek to develop leadership in the lives of all church members for the expansion of the ministry of Washington Heights Grace Brethren Church.  

• Since all sin and make mistakes, an attitude and atmosphere of grace must abound.

• The church is a hospital for sinners, not a country club for saints.

• We must be vitally concerned with meeting needs and healing hurts through ministries an developing relationships.

• Criticism, murmuring, and slander must not be allowed to disrupt the fellowship.  All members should seek to be peace makers while constructively expressing their thoughts and ideas in an atmosphere of love.

• Problems will be dealt with, not ignored.

Adapted from Dr. Wicker of First Baptist Church, Naples, Florida, January 1995.