WHAT WE BELIEVE
​We realize we can't tell you everything that we believe in just few paragraphs, but these are the basics. Because the Bible is our authority in all matters of faith and conduct, the following represents the core of what we believe at Jerome Christian Church. If you are new to church, we don't expect you to believe all of this on the first day. Spiritual growth is a process for everyone, including us.
THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, written down by 40 people of His choosing over a period of about 1,600 years. The Bible is a collection of 66 books that speaks with God's authority through the individual styles and personalities of those who wrote it down. It teaches us how to live and how to stay on the right path. No other writings are so inspired by God. The Bible is the authority in what is believed, taught, and practiced by this church.
GOd
We believe in the one true and holy God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist as a tri-unity within the Godhead. God created the world in six days by his power, wisdom and creativity. He continues to work in history, sustaining his creation and fulfilling his redemptive plan.
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God, fully divine and fully human. He became a man through a miraculous conception and a virgin birth. He lived a perfect life, committing absolutely no sin. As a perfect sacrifice, He voluntarily died on the cross for our sins and He bodily arose from the dead on the third day, appearing to many people. He came the first time “to seek and save the lost.” When He returns in judgment, He will gather His people to Himself in Heaven.
THE CHURCH
All those who experience union with Christ through salvation are united with His spiritual body, the Church. The Bible instructs believers to gather together in fellowship, worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, partaking of the Lord's Supper, serving God and reaching out to the world. Wherever Christians meet regularly, there is the local expression of the Church. Under the loving care and guidance of Elders, staff and other supportive leaders, the church family works together in love and unity to extend the Kingdom of God on the earth.
SALVATION
Mankind was created in the image of God to have fellowship with, and glorify God. Man, however, sinned against God by choosing his own way and brought death into the world. With the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, everyone who has ever come to an age of responsibility has sinned. Sin separates us from Him, and we are in need of what the Bible calls “salvation.” Personal salvation is available only through the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is by God’s grace, and it cannot be earned. Salvation is through faith in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, it occurs at baptism, and it launches the believer into a fresh, new life.
BAPTISM
Baptism by immersion is an act of humble obedience that portrays the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible identifies it with forgiveness of sins, receiving the Holy Spirit, becoming part of the church, and beginning a new life. It is preceded by trusting faith, real repentance and confessing Jesus as Lord. It is a testimony of dying to sin and rising to new life that also identifies us with the visible church family.
CHRISTIAN LIFE
The result of a relationship with Jesus Christ is a life that is being transformed to become like we were intended to be in the first place. The Holy Spirit comes to live within every Christian at the point of salvation, empowering them for this process, for building up the church, and serving the world.
THE LORD'S SUPPER
The Lord's Supper, also called communion, is a proclamation of the death of Jesus Christ. The emblems of unleavened bread and unfermented fruit of the vine that we use represent the pure body and blood of Jesus. The Lord's Supper is a spiritual communion with the risen Christ and a reminder of His great love. As in Bible days, we offer the Lord’s Supper each week. Believers use this time to remember Christ and his death, examine their lives, ask God for forgiveness, and personally rededicate themselves in service to God.