Move into The Presence of God

 1) Worship God
Our number one priority, as believers, is to worship the one true God. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ( Romans 12:1) At the heart of Christian worship lies the biblical command to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). This commandment, originating from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5), underscores the priority of worshiping God with one's entire being. It is not merely a duty but a privilege—a sacred opportunity to reciprocate the love of the Creator.

2) Equip the saints
Once we belong to the body of christ, Ephesians 4:12 emphasizes the purpose of equipping the saints: "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Our goal isn’t to raise up seat fillers, but rather what Christ called “True Worshippers” in John 4:23 so that they might be able to defend their faith when the time comes thru the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 3:15) and ultimately take part in the next phase of reaching the world.

3) Reach the world
The cornerstone of Christian outreach is the Great Commission, as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." This directive from Jesus Himself compels Believers to spread the Gospel to all peoples.

I. The Bible

We believe in the plenary verbal inspiration of the traditional canon of Scripture; that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are the infallible Word of God in all matters of life and doctrine; that the Bible is completely relevant today for every area of the human experience because it is living and active; that the Bible is the exclusive and only authority for faith and lifestyle; and that the original autographs are without error. It is to be believed, practiced, trusted, and hoped in (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:21).

II. The Triune God

We believe that there is One true God, the eternally self-existing “I AM”, who has revealed himself to us in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the persons of the Trinity are co-eternal, co-equal, and yet with unique function (Ex. 3:14; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10, 11; Matt. 28; Jn. 8:58; 2 Cor. 13:14).

III. Jesus Christ

We believe in a Chalcedonian Christology of the Second Person of the Trinity. He is a distinct person from the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet of the same substance, two natures in One person (divine and human). We believe that Jesus Christ is God of God, the Son of God, who was incarnated as a human, was born of a virgin, was crucified, was buried, was resurrected, and is seated at the right hand of God on high (Mt. 1:20; Mk. 16:19; Jn. 1:1, 14; 3:16; 20:1-2; 1 Cor. 15::3-5; Hebrews 2:17; Gal. 4:4 Phil. 2:8; 1 Pet. 3:22).

IV. The Holy Spirit

We believe in an Athanasian pneumatology of the Third Person of the Trinity. He is a distinct person from the Father and the Son, God of God, sent by the Father to equip the Body of Christ with grace for work. In all he does, he glorifies Christ. He convicts the world of sin, regenerates sinners, and in him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit is received at salvation, and assists us in our weaknesses by enabling us to live victorious, bold, Christ-like lives (Jn. 14:16-26; Rom. 8:9, 26; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; Heb. 10:29).

V. Sin and the Fall of Humanity

We believe that humankind was created in the image of God but voluntarily sinned when tempted by Satan and fell short of God’s righteousness. Sin is willful transgression of the law of God and deserves death. At the fall, humankind incurred physical death and spiritual death, which is separation from God. All human beings are in union with Adam and are sinners by nature and by choice. Sin has alienated humankind from God and subjected it to his wrath (Ge. 1:26, 27; 2:17; 3:6; Rom. 5:12-19).

VI. Salvation and the Work of Christ

Fallen humankind’s hope of redemption is only possible through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. The redemption offered to humankind through the work of Christ must be received by repentance toward God and faith in Christ who shed his blood. Those who receive God’s offer of grace by faith are born again, justified, regenerated, adopted into the family of God, made heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, and are partakers of eternal life to come (John 3:3; Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:10; 8:14-17; 10:9-10; Titus 3:5-6).

VII. The Church

We believe that the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, who is its Head. The Church is comprised of all those who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. The Church is manifest in local churches, who’s membership should be only believers. The Church is being built up and made into the Bride of Christ, fully matured and presentable at Jesus’s Second Coming. We believe the Church is a pillar of truth to the world because of the abiding story and presence of Jesus as mediated by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 5:1, 5; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-17; 5:27; Rev. 2-3).

VIII. Christ’s Return and the Eternal Perfect State

We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the moment of his coming, which time is unknown, we will be caught up in the air, transformed in glory, and brought back to the to the earth whereupon Christ will sit in judgment, separate the wheat from the chaff, renew the earth, and reign as King forever. We believe that God is creating a New Heavens and a New Earth where humans will dwell forever with God. The imminent coming of Christ should inspire godly living and commitment to the mission of the Gospel (Isa. 65:17; Mt. 24:30; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:50-54; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 19:11-22:21).

IX. Eternal Conscious Punishment

We believe that those who reject God’s offer of grace and forgiveness and are not found in the book of Life will be raised and judged in the resurrection of the wicked and given over to eternal conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire along with the devil and his angels for all eternity (Mt. 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8).

X. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

We believe in the continuation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that the charismata did not cease after the Apostolic age. The purpose of the gifts is to equip the Church to carry out its mission until Christ returns, as well as to be a foretaste of the life to come. Believers should seek God in prayer for the gifts of the Spirit to operate in their own lives and ministries and should not only agree to them theoretically but practice them outwardly as the Spirit leads (Rom. 1:11; 1 Cor. 1:5, 7; 12:1, 31; 1 Cor. 14:12; 2 Tim. 1:6-7; Heb. 6:5).

XI. Marriage

We believe God has ordained marriage and defined it as a covenant relationship between one man, one woman, and himself. Hence, we only recognize marriage between a biological man and a biological woman. As a result, the staff and faculty of Forward Church will only participate in weddings and the solemnization of marriages between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4; Eph. 5:25; 1 Pet. 3:7).

XII. Gender

We believe that from the beginning God created two separate and distinct biological sexes: male and female. Moreover, we believe that Scripture does not permit any difference between biological sex and gender identity or expression. Humankind has been created by God and any attempt to misconstrue the difference between male/female and/or biological sex/gender identity is an attempt to self-create and is a result of sin and the fall. We also acknowledge that there are rare instances where people are born with an indiscriminate biological sex. Yet, these cases do not involve an attempt to self-create nor deny the dignity of how they were born (Gen. 1:26-27; Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6-7; Psalm 139:14).

XIII. Race

We believe that God loves all races of human beings equally and without preference or favoritism. Racism, which is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, is evil and is the result of sin. We believe that the authority for approaching racism is Scripture and, therefore, our approach to racism centers around such. As a result, we reject Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other systems of thinking that insist on being the authority on racism and the resolution to it. (Mk 12:31; Acts 17:26; Rom. 2:11;: Rev. 7:9-10; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

XIV. Ecumenism

We believe in unity among the essentials and liberty among non-essentials. We embrace ecumenism, finding it more edifying and Christ-like to build bridges when it comes to peripheral doctrinal matters (i.e., eschatological interpretations, Calvinism/Arminianism, etc.) versus drawing lines of division. (Ps. 133:1; Acts 15:1-21; Eph. 4:3; Phi. 2:2; 2 Cor. 13:11).

XV. Right to Life

We believe that all human life is valuable and sacred, and that human life and full personhood begins at conception and continues until death. As stewards of life, we are endowed by God with the responsibility to protect the worth and dignity of human beings from the moment of conception until the moment of death. Therefore, we oppose taking innocent life in all forms, including abortion and euthanasia. (Gen. 1:26-27; Job 31:15; Ps. 22:10; Ps. 127:3-5; Ps. 139:13-16; Jer. 1:5; Acts 17:25).

Historic Christian Orthodoxy

We believe that the future church should observe the faith of the ancient church. We practice the Sacraments of Christ and center our gatherings around the Eucharist, worship, and the reading of Scripture. 

Liturgically Charismatic

Our services are functionally Charismatic, encouraging and fostering prophetic atmospheres of worship, prayer, gifts of the Holy Spirit, and preaching of Scripture in an orderly manner.

Eucharistic

We believe that the Table of the Lord is an ordinary means of grace wherein the gathered saints encounter the tangible presence of Christ Himself as mediated by the Holy Spirit, and where the grace to live the Christian life is superabundantly dispensed. 

Baptismal Regeneration

We believe baptism is a sacrament of Christ, commanded and instituted by Christ, necessary for obedience to Christ, and another ordinary means of grace whereby the power of God for salvation and spiritual vitality are received. We  defer to the parents on age of individual to be  baptised, who are the authority of God for their children. In this way, we allow for both child and adult baptism. 

Accountability

We believe in co pastoring and therefore embody a team-driven approach to leadership, recognizing that ministry is most effective when led as a unified effort. We find this in Luke 9:1-2 and Acts 15.

Church Membership

We believe that church membership can be observed in the New Testament, that it confirms the spiritual vitality of a believer, that it empowers the priesthood of a believer, and facilitates spiritual growth in the context of the shepherding leadership of a local congregation. Excommunication, a last resort to spiritual stubbornness, is administered  in such cases as needs be.