What We Believe

The following Statement of Faith of the Joshua Center is based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry are rooted in and flow out of these biblical doctrines.
The following summaries of the apostolic witness disclosed in Scripture have been affirmed by many Christian communities, and express orthodox Christian teaching.

GOD
We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinite in love, perfect in judgments, and unchanging in mercy. God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary. He died for the sins of all, taking on Himself, on behalf of sinful persons, God’s judgment upon sin. In His body, he rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us.  We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ, in the bodily resurrection of all persons, in final judgment, and in eternal reward and punishment.

We believe that God graciously justifies and regenerates all who trust in Jesus Christ. Believers become children of God and begin to live in holiness through faith in Christ and the sanctifying Spirit.

HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God present and active in the world. The Holy Spirit was given to the church in His fullness at Pentecost and continues to work supernaturally in the world today. By the Spirit, Christ lives in His church, the gospel is proclaimed and the Kingdom of God is manifested in the world.

We believe that God calls all disciples to sanctification in a moment of full surrender and faith subsequent to their new birth in Christ. Through sanctifying grace the Holy Spirit delivers them from all rebellion toward God and makes possible wholehearted love for God and for others. This grace does not make believers faultless nor prevent the possibility of their falling into sin. They must live daily by faith in the forgiveness and cleansing provided for them by Jesus Christ.

We believe that all believers are assured that they are children of God by the inward witness of God’s Spirit with their spirits, by faith in the gracious promises of God’s Word, and by the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

SCRIPTURE
We believe in the divine inspiration, truthfulness, and authority of both the Old and New Testaments, the only written Word of God, without error in all it affirms. The Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. The Holy Spirit preserves God’s Word in the church today and by it speaks God’s truth to people of every age.

GRACE & SALVATION
We believe the gift of grace is available to all persons.  Our Father in Heaven is not willing that any should be lost (Matthew 18:14), but that all may come to “the knowledge of truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). With Paul, we affirm the proclamation found in Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  We believe grace is the manifestation of God’s love toward fallen creation, to be freely received and freely given. This undeserved gift works to liberate humanity from both the guilt and power of sin, and live as children of God, freed for joyful obedience. In the classic Wesleyan expression, grace works in numerous ways throughout our lives, beginning with the general providence of God toward all.

We believe God’s prevenient grace refers to “the first dawning of grace in the soul, ”mitigating the effects of original sin, even before we are aware of our need for God. It prevents the full consequences of humanity’s alienation from God and awakens conscience, giving an initial sense of God and the first inclinations toward life. Received prior to our ability to respond, preventing grace enables genuine response to the continuing work of God’s grace.

We believe God’s convincing grace leads us to what the Bible terms “repentance,” awakening in us a desire to “flee the wrath to come” and enabling us to begin to “fear God and work righteousness.”  We believe God’s justifying grace works by faith to bring reconciliation to God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, what God does for us. It is pardon for sin and ordinarily results in assurance, “God’s Spirit witnessing with our spirit that we are children of God.”
We believe God’s sanctifying grace begins with God’s work of regeneration, sometimes referred to as “being born again.” It is God’s work in us as we continually turn to Him and seek to be perfected in His love.  We believe sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit works to replace sin with the fruit of the Spirit.

HUMANKIND
We believe that human beings were created in the image of God. This image was marred in every part through the disobedience of our first parents, and fellowship with God was broken. God, in His prevenient grace, restores moral sensibility to all humankind and enables all to respond to His love and to accept His saving grace, if they will.

THE CHURCH
We believe that the Church is the people of God composed of all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Church is Christ’s body; it is visible in the world wherever believers, in obedience to the faith, hear the Word, receive the sacraments and live as disciples. We believe the Church is called to assist all those who experience a new birth in Jesus to deepen and grow in their relationship with Him, inviting the Holy Spirit to produce spiritual fruit within their lives as they similarly manifest the gifts of that Spirit. We believe that the Church is called to live in daily witness to the grace which comes to us in Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel to every person according to the command of Christ, and to declare God’s insistence upon righteousness and justice in all relationships and structures of human society.  We believe the Church is called to introduce all people, without exception, to Jesus Christ, recognizing that the mission in which we are engaged has eternal consequences. We are committed to carry out the Great Commission of Jesus in Matthew 28 to go into all the world to make disciples of Christ, teaching and baptizing in His name.

PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS
We believe Christians share in Jesus Christ’s priestly status; therefore, there is no special class of people who mediate the knowledge, presence, and forgiveness of Christ to the rest of believers, and all believers have the right and authority to read, interpret, and apply the teachings of Scripture.  We believe this goes beyond the interpretation of Scripture and extends to also include both men and women who are called into ordained and licensed Christian ministry.  We affirm the role of women in pastoral ministry and prominent leadership roles within the church, including ordained ministry.  We believe the priesthood of all believers allows called and trained persons to administer the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism under the authority of an elder.

TREATMENT OF OTHERS
We believe the practice of the Golden Rule, treating others as we would wish to be treated, can effectively guide our social and business relationships. We seek to cultivate the mind of Christ and a heart for others.  We believe that each person should have the right to exercise their religious beliefs without fear of persecution and that governments should respect freedom of religion and the important role of faith communities within the greater society. We further denounce discrimination or persecution which may target any because of their gender, economic status, ethnic or tribal identity, age, or political views. We believe that all persons irrespective of their station or circumstances in life have been made in the image of God and must be treated with dignity, justice, and respect. We denounce racism, sexism, and other expressions that unjustly discriminate against any person as sin.  We believe that God has called us to share His concern for the poor and to alleviate the conditions and policies which have produced vast disparities in wealth and resources, both among individuals and nations, giving rise to poverty. We are called to improve the quality of life and opportunities for all of God’s people as we share the good news with the poor and freedom for the oppressed.

SANCTITY OF LIFE
We believe that life is a holy gift of God whose beginnings and endings are set by God and that it is the particular duty of believers to protect those who may be powerless to protect themselves, including the unborn, those with disabilities or serious illness, and the aged.  The sacredness of all life compels us to resist the practice of abortion except in the cases of tragic conflicts of life against life when the wellbeing of the mother and the child are at stake. We do not accept abortion as a means of birth control or gender selection, and we call upon all Christians as disciples of the Lord of Life to prayerfully consider how we can support those women facing unintended pregnancies without adequate care, counsel, or resources.

We believe that children, whether through birth or adoption, are a sacred gift to us from God, and we accept our responsibility to both protect and nurture the youngest among us, particularly against such abuses as enforced child labor, involuntary conscription, human trafficking, and other such practices in the world.

MARRIAGE & SEXUALITY
We believe God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either male or female. Together these two distinct sexes reflect the creative nature and image of God.  We affirm celibacy as a valuable and honorable practice related to holy living. We honor and esteem the fidelity of deep holy friendships as being in the image of God.

We affirm marriage as sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union for life, as delineated in Scripture, and provides the sole context for sexual intimacy, helping to ensure the blessings of that relationship as God intended.

Based on a Biblical view of creation, fall, and redemption, our goal is to come alongside as a loving community anyone who is experiencing gender identity discordant with their birth sex. We do not affirm theologically the adoption of a psychological identity discordant with one’s birth sex as a result of the tension between one’s biological sex and one’s experience of gender. Similarly, we do not affirm attempts to change one’s given biological birth sex via medical intervention in favor of the identity of the opposite sex or of an indeterminate identity.

HOLY LIVING
We believe that followers of God have been called to exercise self-control and holiness in their personal lives, generosity and kindness in their relations with others, and grace in all matters of life.  We affirm God’s design for holy living, and believe that Scripture clearly prohibits certain acts, including but not limited to drinking alcohol to excess, using pornography, stealing, speaking or writing profanely or slanderously, acting dishonestly, cheating, engaging in occult practice, and engaging in sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage (including but not limited to premarital sex, adultery, and same-sex sexual behavior). Such actions have devastating personal, social, and global effects, especially upon society’s most vulnerable members.  We stand with all Christians, both past and present, against the misuse of all substances that abuse the body, foster addiction, and bring harm to others.  We covenant with each other to maintain an alcohol, tobacco, and drug free environment with respect to all Church facilities, events, and activities.

FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENTS OF OUR FAITH
The below button link provides access to other foundational documents of our faith.  Each of these documents are considered part of our Statement of Faith.  Theses summaries of the apostolic witness as well as our Wesleyan and United Brethren heritage have been affirmed by many generations before us and express orthodox Christian teaching.