What We Believe

Core Beliefs

The following are the core beliefs of Mount Pleasant Christian Church based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. 
All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

God

  • We believe there is one true God who is perfect, infinite and personal. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 139:8; Isaiah 45:5-7; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14. 4:24; Acts 5:3-5; 1 Corinthians 8:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; Revelation 1:4-6)
  • We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He is the second person of the Trinity, God in human flesh, fully God and fully man, born of a virgin and savior of the world. He lived a perfect life, died in the place of sinners, rose from the grave and will return. (Philippians 2:5-8; John 14:1-6; 9-11; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1; 1:14; 1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 9:24-28; Acts 1:9-11; Acts 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
  •  We believe the Holy Spirit the third part of the Trinity, a person full of power promised to all believers. When someone accepts Christ as their savior, they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit marking them as belonging to God, manifesting the fruit of the spirit in their lives, endowing them for ministry through the process of sanctification. (John 15:26; Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8, 2:38; Romans 15:16; John 16:8-11; John 14:16-18; Ephesians 4:3; 1 John 3:24; John 14:26)

salvation

  • We believe all people are born with a sin nature and are thus separated from God. We are saved through the grace of God by Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross. Those putting their trust in Christ are called to repent of their sins, confess their faith in Jesus and be baptized by immersion. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23, 6:23; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:5, 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:11-12; 1 Peter:3:21)

scripture

  • We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to all people. It is absolute in authority, inerrant in its teaching, complete and final. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 5:18, 24:34-35; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Romans 15:4)

church

  • We believe the Church is a body of Christ-followers who should live in community, connection, and fellowship with one another as well as gather weekly, following the pattern of scripture, for worship, praise, prayer, instruction, giving tithes and offerings, and observing the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:44-47; Proverbs 16:3, 19:21; James 1:5, 4:13-15; Romans 12:2; Acts 20:17; Malachi 3:10; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
  • We believe love is to be shown to all people as the central trait of the Christian faith. (John 13:35; 1 Peter 4:8)
  • We believe that full devotion to Jesus Christ is normal for every Christian. (Matthew 16:24-27)
  • We believe it is the mission of the church to reach the spiritually lost for Christ by living our Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20, Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 

general beliefs

  • We believe in the sanctity of life and that life begins at conception. (Psalm 139:13-16)
  • We believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that the homosexual lifestyle is outside of God’s plan for His people. (Genesis 2:24; Jeremiah 29:6; Isaiah 62:5; Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,) Because of this belief we do not perform or endorse same-sex wedding ceremonies.
  • We do not administer baptism to infants or to children who have not confessed faith in Christ, nor do we baptize by any mode other than immersion. We ask any believer who has not been baptized by immersion to submit to the New Testament form before becoming a member of MPCC. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:3-4)
  • We believe that a spiritual gift is a special ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer, to be used to minister to others and thereby build up the Body of Christ. (1 Peter 4:10; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
  • We promote and seek the spiritual gifts that build and serve the Body of Christ.  We ask that those who seek the miraculous gifts (e.g. speaking in tongues) not practice those gifts within our worship services or promote the exercise of those gifts among our members.
  • We believe that God answers prayer, occasionally in miraculous ways. We believe prayer is a spiritual discipline that should be taught and learned within the Body of Christ. (Acts 1:14; Colossians 4:2; 1 John 5:14-15)
  • We believe that we are “Christians only,” but not the only Christians. (John 10:14-16)
  • We believe the Church should seek unity with all believers in matters essential to the universal Christian faith, and contend for liberty in all matters wherein the Lord has not spoken through His Word. (Ephesians 4:2-6)
  • We believe the local church is an autonomous body which cooperates with many Christian agencies but is regulated or dominated by none. (Ephesians 5:23b)