Who We Are & What We Believe
Freshwater Community Church is part of the Christian & Missionary Alliance. It began as a small movement of Christians led by A.B. Simpson in 1887 to preach about Jesus as our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King, and completing His Great Commission, and now has grown into a movement of 6 millions Christians in over 20,000 churches worldwide. In the United States, the Alliance has over 500,000 Christians in 2,000 churches. Freshwater Community Church is part of the Central District which covers eastern Ohio and all of West Virginia.
Statement of Faith
1. There is one God, (1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3)
2. Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6) as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7) and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.(8) He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9) He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10) He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace. (11)
3. The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12) sent to indwell, guide, teach, empower the believer,(13) and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14)
4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15)
5. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God:(16) he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature,(17) are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18) The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19) and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.(20)
6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.(21)
7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly,(22) being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23) This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.(24)
8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body.(25) Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26)
9. The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, (27) which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28) The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.(29)
10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(30) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31)
11. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32) and will be personal, visible, and premillennial.(33) This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34)
(1) Deuteronomy 6:4, (2) Matthew 5:48, (3) Matthew 28:19, (4) Philippians 2:6-11, (5) Luke 1:34-38, (6) 1 Peter 3:18, (7) Hebrews 2:9, (8) Romans 5:9, (9) Acts 2:23-24, (10) Hebrews 8:1, (11) Matthew 26:64, (12) John 14:15-18, (13) John 16:13; Acts 1:8, (14) John 16:7-11, (15) 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:15-16, (16) Genesis 1:27, (17) Romans 3:23, (18) 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, (19) Revelation 21:8, (20) Revelation 21:1-4, (21) Titus 3:4-7, (22) 1 Thessalonians 5:23, (23) Acts 1:8, (24) Romans 6:1-14, (25) Matthew 8:16-17, (26) James 5:13-16, (27) Ephesians 1:22-23, (28) Matthew 28:19-20, (29) Acts 2:41-47, (30) 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, (31) John 5:28-29, (32) Hebrews 10:37, (33) Luke 21:27, (34) Titus 2:11-14
The Christian & Missionary Alliance
Acts: 1:8
Freshwater & the CMA
The Freshwater Community Church (FCC) of The Christian and Missionary Alliance is a community of faith that exists to exercise and express its biblical beliefs within the broader community of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). These beliefs are grounded in a shared understanding of Holy Scripture including those beliefs and standards specifically addressed in the Manual of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
LEARN MOREMission Statement: Why We Exist
We exist to glorify God by
connecting to Him
Living Up
connecting to His Family
Living In
connecting to His mission
Living Out
Vision Statement: What We're Striving For
EZEKIEL 47
To see disciples making disciples in which the presence of God flows through them into the world to bring transformation.
Values: How We Live
This is how we should live in every moment of our lives. These values should describe our culture.
● Spirit Led: We seek and submit to the continuing ministry of the Holy Spirit
● Authentic: We live openly and honestly before God and people
● Relational: Every person matters and has worth
● Missional: We advance God’s kingdom in all aspects of life
Operating Principles
Our laws. The “We will. We will not. We shall. We shall not”
● We will lead people to a place of freedom – freedom from the bondage of their past, addiction, sin, sickness, and fear.
● We will facilitate environments where people can find and maintain biblical wholeness spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, and mentally.
● We will be involved in missions work locally, regionally, and globally.
● We are committed to releasing and sending people as God calls them.
● We will worship God in spirit and in Truth.
● We will call current leaders towards continued growth and development.
● We will provide an environments for emerging leaders to gain experience and mentoring.
● We will provide opportunities for the Freshwater family to be invited into authenticity and transparency.
● We will regularly champion serving as a critical component of being a Christ-follower and being in a church family.
● We will help people know and use their spiritual gifts for building God’s kingdom.
● We will value people over production.
● We will teach, model, and create opportunities for people to pray earnestly (James 5).
● We will emphasize big faith (Matthew 21).
● We will be disciple makers.
● We will teach, model, and create environments where disciples are making disciples (program).
● We will lead people in the pathway from conversion to glory.
o Exploring Christ, growing in Christ, close to Christ, and Christ Centered
● We are committed to reaching the emerging generations.
● We will establish a model of ministry that is able to pivot quickly.
● We will not be bound by traditionalism.