Concerning the Focus of Our Faith:
The cornerstone of our faith is Jesus Christ, who is our ultimate authority (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 2:20). Our belief that Jesus died for our sins and that He rose from the grave to be with our Father is central to that faith.
Concerning Our Message:
We believe that all people are sinners alienated from God, but by God’s grace all people have hope. Through Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, He won the ultimate victory over Satan, evil, and death and gave us the right to be children of God (Romans 8:16, John 1:12). We believe that God’s grace has been made available to all people (Titus 2:11). We believe that faith in this reality inspires us to turn our lives toward living as He has called us to live. We affirm that we have been given the mission by Jesus Christ to teach others about His salvation, His grace, and His mercy (2 Corinthians 2:14ff). We will teach that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). This faith is confirmed by becoming a true follower of Jesus Christ, repenting and being baptized (immersed) into Him, for remission of sins (Romans 6:1-4; Acts 2:38). We will teach and try to do all that Christ has commanded us to do (Matthew 28:19-20), all the time knowing that, in this life, we will never be perfect. We believe that only by our willingness to renew our minds will we be transformed by the power of God (Romans 12:1-2).
Concerning the Holy Spirit and the Bible:
We believe the Bible has been preserved as the primary source of knowledge concerning Jesus, God’s nature, how to live the Christian life, and how to relate to people and to our Lord. In those matters where God’s will has been made clear we will declare his teachings clearly. In those matters where His will remains unclear, we will encourage open, honest discussion and will honor each individual’s right to work out his or her understanding with the Father. We will teach the whole Bible as best we can understand it, but we must always realize that we are fallible human beings who can fail to understand some of what God would want us to know and live by. While the Bible serves as the base of our knowledge of God and His will, we also affirm that it is the Holy Spirit who helps us grow in our relationship with Jesus and in our understanding of God’s will (Ephesians 1:17ff).
Concerning Others:
We will not be judgmental concerning who has or who has not been saved because it is God who adds us to His church (Acts 2:47). We will make every attempt to avoid a spirit of alienation or division. We will respect those whose opinions may differ from our own and are searching for God’s truth. We passionately hold to the conviction that we are a family of God, thus we will strive to maintain each person’s dignity by providing a place of refuge, peace, love and commonality!
Concerning the Needs of Others:
Since we have been created in God’s image He expects us to be servants of all people (Mark 10:43ff). We believe that the Northside family is to serve everyone with the spirit of Christ to the extent that God gives us opportunity.
Concerning Our Worship:
Ultimately we believe that worship consists of a life of devotion that is established by the divine nature of God himself. Consequently, our worship is not confined to what happens when we gather together. Our worship time together is the overflow of lives spent worshipping God in daily life (Romans 12:1-2). John 4:23 says that worshippers must worship in Spirit and in Truth. The “Spirit” expresses sincere heartfelt devotion to God. The “truth” is the truth as revealed by God’s words (John 17:17), and His son (John 14:6). Publicly, we will strive for devotion and zeal that brings honor to God and strengthens the worshippers. We believe in public and private prayer as effective communication to our God. We believe that God approves of our singing to him and to one another with our voice and heart (Ephesians 5:19). We honor God and lift up Jesus in our observance of the Lord’s Supper, on the Lord’s Day. We believe in giving from the blessings of our financial resources.
Our Challenge to Each Christian:
The heart of our existence as a church must always be Jesus — His life, His death, and His resurrection from the grave. All our activities, both as a congregation and as individuals should be designed to allow God to transform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
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