There are two categories our beliefs can fall into. There are the “core beliefs” and the “mission beliefs”. The core beliefs are the unchanging beliefs about God, Man, Sin, Salvation, etc… whereas the mission beliefs are what we use to best accomplish our style of ministry.
Mission Beliefs
CedarCreek Mission Statement:
CedarCreek Church exists to help spiritually restless and unchurched people love Jesus, serve others, and tell the world about Christ.
We can’t accomplish our mission alone. We don’t for one second believe that we are responsible for the success of CedarCreek or our mission. There is no doubt in our minds that God has grown CedarCreek by His blessing and by His hand working throughout the church so we can work together to accomplish our mission. To that end, we know that the only thing that can stand in God’s way of using us… is us! Hardening our hearts towards the needs of others, clinging to traditions in the church, complaining about preferences… To combat such behaviors, the church leadership has often stated that anyone who wants to be “on board” at the Creek, needs to agree with what we call “The Five Agreements”:
1 – We agree that the cause of the church is the greatest cause on the planet.
(Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 6:33)
2 – We agree to do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ.
(1 Corinthians 9:22, 1 Corinthians 10:33)
3 – We agree to never complain about the church getting too big.
(Acts 1:8, Acts 2:41)
4 – We agree to be an example of Jesus’s love and generosity both behind and beyond the walls of the church.
(Galatians 6:10, Matthew 5:16)
5 – We agree to accomplish more with less.
Core Beliefs
CedarCreek's Vision
It is our vision to live out our mission statement in the greater Toledo area and as we move forward with our mission we want to come alongside other churches with similar goals to equip them and aid them along the way.
To this end, we have what we call Vision 15/2015:
The multi-site campuses we have are models of CedarCreek taking action to accomplish the mandate of Christ: reaching unchurched people. Our hope and dream is to have six CedarCreek locations by the year 2015. In addition, it is our desire to help nine other churches (not under the CedarCreek name) get started, perhaps in the greater Toledo area, but most likely in a community outside the area. 15 by 2015.
The Bible
The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament. We believe that Scripture originated with God and was given to the world through chosen men. Scripture speaks with the authority of God, and at the same time, reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of human authors. The Scriptures are infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16
God
There is one true, holy God, eternally existing in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each possesses equally all the attributes of God. In the beginning, God created the world out of nothing and all the things therein, thus showing the glory of His power, wisdom, and goodness. Man chose to walk away from God’s gift of perfection and was destined for eternity apart from God. But God’s will and unending love for man prevails, and He is operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive purposes and restore that broken relationship. Genesis 1:1, Isaiah 7:14 and Luke 1:34-35
Jesus
Jesus Christ is the eternal second person of the Trinity. We believe in His deity and in His miraculous conception and virgin birth as a man. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and voluntarily atoned for the sins of all by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust in Him alone. He rose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He lived and died. He ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for His own. He shall come again to earth, personally and visibly, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. John 1:1-5
The Holy Spirit
As believers submit to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, they are enabled to live a life of holiness and obedience. The Holy Spirit was sent into the world by the Father and the Son to apply to mankind the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them recognition of their need of a Savior and regenerates them. At the point of salvation, He permanently indwells every believer to become the source of assurance, comfort, strength and wisdom. He uniquely endows each believer with spiritual gifts for the building up of the church. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying the Scriptures. His power and control are appropriated by faith, making it possible for the believer to lead a life of Christ-like character and to bear fruit to the glory of the Father. John 16:5-15
Salvation
The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Him. Originally created to have fellowship with God, man defied God, choosing to go his independent way, and so was alienated from God and suffered the corruption of his nature, rendering him unable to please God. The fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals since have suffered these consequences and are in need of the saving grace of God.
The Salvation of mankind is, then, wholly a work of God’s free grace, not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness, and must be personally accepted by repentance and faith. When God has begun a saving work in the heart of any person, He gives assurance in His Word that He will continue performing it until the day of its full consummation. John 3:16, Romans 10:9
Human Destiny
Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. For all mankind, there will be a resurrection of the body into the spiritual world and a judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. Unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. God’s judgment will reveal His justice in consigning them to exist in eternal retribution for their own rejection of God. Believers will be received into eternal communion with God and will be rewarded for works done in this life. Romans 6:23
The Church
The result of being united with Jesus Christ is that all believers become positional members of His body, the Church. There is one true Church universal, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scriptures command believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word of God. The Scriptures command believers to devote themselves to the observance of Baptism and Communion as the sacramental ordinances established by Jesus Christ. We believe that Baptism by immersion, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is commanded by God; that it happens after accepting Christ’s gift of salvation, that baptism is not what saves you, rather it is an obedient outward expression of an inward work of the Spirit of God (Matthew 3:13-17). We believe that Communion is a symbol of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and a symbol showing the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, and a looking forward to the second coming of Christ to receive His followers (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). The Scriptures also command believers to devote themselves to fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world. Every member of Christ’s body should share their Christian faith with others, both in speech and action. Acts 2:42
Faith and Practice
Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible.
Staff Integrity
We know that everyone sins. And church leaders/staff are even more prone to being attacked by the temptations of Satan. Our goal is to put in place as many systems as we see fit to help protect our staff from making a bad choice. After all, it’s been said that, “Everyone is just one bad decision away from disaster.” One of the systems we have in place is something we call the “CedarCreek Staff Ten Commandments” which we hold all staff members to. These were adopted from Saddleback Church. Please be sure to read that correctly… This is what we hold STAFF to, not attenders (though we think these principles are great for anyone to hold to).
- Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex. *
- Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it’s just the two of you. *
- Thou shalt not kiss any attendee of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned. *
- Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home. *
- Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone at the office, and thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.
- Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.
- Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attendee of the opposite sex.
- Thou shalt be careful in answering emails, instant messages, chat rooms, cards or letters from the opposite sex.
- Thou shalt make your co-worker your protective ally.
- Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.
* The first four do not apply to unmarried staff.
