The Holy Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testament) and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God.   The canon of Scripture is closed and is always in agreement with the Holy Spirit as it is inspired by Him.  It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible, and inerrant. The Scriptures are God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. All Scripture is true, trustworthy, and applicable. Scripture is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religions opinions should be tried. The Scripture is sufficient for all that God requires for us to believe and do and is therefore to be believed, as God's instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God's command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God's pledge, in all that it promises.  As God's people hear, believe and obey the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel.

 (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:19-21; Hebrews 1:1-2, 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26).

There is only one true and living God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

(I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11).

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

(Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7).

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

(Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

(Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17).

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

(Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11).

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. We are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ: His death, burial, and resurrection. Man cannot save himself through good works, human efforts, or through faith in any other person, thing, or doctrine apart from the truth of Scriptures. Salvation is a gift from God, not of any human efforts

1. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
2. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
3. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
4. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
5. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

(Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5).

The Church is a New Testament institution established by Jesus Christ. A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local body of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel. Jesus is the sole Head, revealed through the Holy Apostles; empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit to be His “Body” for service and His “Bride” for glory. The church is the habitation of God through the Spirit with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. While all Christians are part of the universal body of Christ, all should be actively involved in a local body of Christ which we see evidenced in the New Testament. The Church is saved people. This group of saved people should meet regularly as expressed in Scripture, covenant with one another in faith and fellowship, observe the sacraments of Jesus, be governed by His laws, exercise the gifts of the Spirit, have leadership of Elders, Pastors and servants in Deacons, and be benevolent. The Church has the authority as evidenced by Scripture to commission individuals, committees, or groups by the laying on of hands to perform special tasks or missions as led by the Holy Spirit. The main goal of the Church is to glorify God, perpetuate His Gospel, make disciples that look like Jesus, and love the world around it as defined by the Gospel

(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 2:41-42, 6:6; Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 3:21; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:25, 11:39-40, 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23; 1 Peter 5:1-4). 

Baptism by immersion in water is a direct commandment of our Lord and is for believers (those who are born again) only.  Believer's baptism is a symbol of the Christian’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. It is a testimony to the Christian’s faith in the final resurrection of the dead. It is a prerequisite to covenant of church membership and the Lord's Supper. Following salvation, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Baptism does not save as salvation is not of works but by grace through faith.  Immersion is the only mode of baptism found in Scripture.  Infant baptism is not believer's baptism nor is it found in the Bible.   We do not require people to be "rebaptized" in order to become a member of Family Church if they have been biblically baptized (i.e. immersion, following salvation)

(Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38, 41; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48; Ephesians 2:8-9). 

A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. The elements of communion (bread and juice) do not turn into the blood and body of Christ but represent His atoning work of salvation from sin.  We practice open communion, meaning communion is available to any Christian believer even if not a member of Family Church.  We typically take communion weekly during our services centered in a time of prayer.

(Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25).

All Christians are filled with the Spirit at the moment of salvation and are given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit and Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel.  The gifts that we see exercised in the Scriptures have not ceased with the death of the last Apostle or the closing of the New Testament canon.  They are available today and are to be eagerly desired and practiced in submission to the Spirit through the Scriptures.  The Bible lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. No one believer has all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, thus emphasizing the need for the whole church body.   Having certain gifts does not create "super-Christians" as all the gifts are necessary in the body of Christ.   These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters as God is orderly, not chaotic.  The gifts are useless and meaningless void of Christ-like love. 

(Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11, 12:4-8; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:16; I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6-7; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10).

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

Heaven - Heaven is the literal, eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Good people do not go to heaven; saved people do.  (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4). 

Hell - After living one life on earth, the unbelievers (those who physically die in their sins without Christ) will be judged by God and sent to a literal Hell where they will be eternally tormented with the devil and the fallen angels.  Most sadly, those who do not believe in the gospel will be eternally separated from God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Heaven with no chance of return or salvation. The Lake of Fire is literal and everlasting. (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 19:20, 20:12-15, 21:8). 

The Second Coming - Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. His return is imminent. When He comes, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are alive in Him shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Following the Tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then, together with His saints, who shall be kings and priests, He shall reign for a thousand years. The second coming of Christ will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 20:6).

(Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 3:2; 4:8-10,23; 12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Romans 5:17; 8:19; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 11:10,16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13; Revelation 1:6,9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22).

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Genesis 2:18-25). We believe God created marriage to be one man and one woman as pronounced in Genesis 2:24, that Jesus affirmed the same in Matthew 19:5-6 adding “what God has joined together let not man separate”, and the Apostle Paul agreed by quoting them both in Ephesians 5:31.

We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, polygamy, incest, prostitution, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Family Church as a local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Family Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Family Church in any capacity, those who are members of Family Church, or who serve as volunteers in any way, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22). We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Family Church.

It is our practice as Family Church that our pastors only perform Covenant Marriages as set forth by the State of Arkansas the Covenant Marriage Act of 2001. If a man and a woman in our congregation desire a pastor outside our staff to perform their wedding ceremony in our facilities they must receive approval from the Senior Pastor and that outside pastor must be in agreement with our doctrinal beliefs concerning marriage. We also will only perform marriages between one man and one woman in our church for those who have formally gone through our membership process. We believe marriage is holy matrimony, created and ordained by God alone, and is a worship experience. Scripture is our final and ultimate authority and arbiter in this matter.

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Family Church's autonomy, faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Elders are our final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm 139).