CHRISTIAN
First
and foremost, the Church of God is a determinedly
Christian church. It is built upon the person of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The doctrines and practices
of the church are based upon His teachings.
PROTESTANT
The
Church of God is founded upon the principles of Protestantism,
although it is not a traditional follower of any
specific leader of the Protestant Reformation. The
denomination stands firmly for justification by faith,
the priesthood of believers, the authority of the
Bible, religious freedom, and the separation of church
and state. It stands against abuses and extravagance
of ecclesiastical ritualism and dogmatism.
FOUNDATIONAL
The
Church of God subscribes to the following five foundational
Christian doctrines:
-
The
inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.
-
The
virgin birth and complete deity of Christ.
-
The
atoning sacrifice of Christ's death for the sins
of the world.
-
The
literal resurrection of the body.
-
Christ's
second coming in bodily form to earth.
EVANGELICAL
Evangelical
is the term used to describe those who affirm the
primary doctrines revealed in the Scriptures. These
doctrines include the inspiration and authority of
the Word of God; the Trinity; the deity and virgin
birth of Jesus Christ; salvation by faith in the
atoning death of Christ; His bodily resurrection
and ascension to the right hand of the Father; the
ministry of the Holy Spirit; the second coming of
Christ; and the spiritual unity of believers in Jesus
Christ.
The
Church of God has aligned itself with the basic statement
of faith of NAE (National Association of Evangelicals)
the largest association of Evangelicals in the USA.
Members of NAE subscribe to a common statement of
faith. The Church of God can be described as positioned
in the mainstream of Evangelical Protestantism.
PENTECOSTAL
In
1896, many members of the Church of God experienced
a spiritual outpouring they identified as the baptism
of the Holy Spirit. Because it was so similar to
the experience of the early Christians on the day
of Pentecost, it came to be called a Pentecostal
experience, an enrichment of the Christian life through
the power of the Holy Spirit that empowered believers
to be effective witnesses of Christ. The principle
distinctive of the Church of God as a Pentecostal
organization is its belief in speaking with other
tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance and that
this is the initial evidence of the baptism in the
Holy Spirit.
CHARISMATIC
The
charismata (Gk.) or gifts of the Spirit appeared
early in the life and ministry of the Church of God.
The gifts can be divided into three categories: the
gifts of revelation, the gifts of power and the gifts
of utterance or inspiration. The gifts of revelation
are the gifts of the word of wisdom, the word of
knowledge and the discerning of spirits. The gifts
of power are faith, miracles, and gifts of healing.
The gifts of utterance and inspiration are prophecy,
tongues and interpretation. The Holy Spirit bestows
these gifts and those who accept the validity of
these gifts are called charismatic.
EVANGELISTIC
From
its inception the Church of God has been a revival
movement. Evangelism has been in the forefront of
all its activities. The church has maintained an
aggressive effort to take the message of Christ throughout
the world by all means and methods. Every program
of the church reflects an evangelistic attitude:
revivalism, conferences, worship services, teaching,
preaching and its missionary efforts.
ORGANIZED
The
magnitude of the Great Commission requires a united
effort. This united endeavor is efficiently served
by guidance, support, resources and leadership from
a common center. The Church of God is centrally organized.
Centralized church government is administration from
the international, state or territorial and local
levels. It helps facilitate the fulfillment of the
mission of the church.
The
control of the Church of God rests with the laity
and ministers, who jointly form a governing body
called the General Assembly which meets biennially.
Benefits of centralized government include the following:
uniformity of doctrine and practice; principles that
bind together local churches in the same manner;
membership commitments in all churches; expansion
and extension of fellowship; accountability; cooperative
decision-making; and united efforts in evangelism
and world outreach.
MINISTERS
AND LAITY
Ministers
in the Church of God are ranked as ordained bishops,
ordained ministers, exhorters, ministers of music
and ministers of Christian education. They achieve
these levels of ministry through a profession of
faith, commitment to the church, training, internship
and fulfillment of credential requirements. The Church
of God emphasizes the doctrinal position of the priest-hood
of all believers and encourages laity to assume a
Biblical role in local church ministry.
EDUCATION
Emphasis
upon education and training is a priority of the
Church of God. Educational opportunities are provided
from local congregations through institutions of
higher learning at the international level of the
church.
