Shared Core Beliefs

Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).

The Godhead

We believe in one True God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit co-eternal in being, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections(Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Person and Work of Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8, 11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).

Total Depravity

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37, 40; John 10:27, 30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4, 8; 1 Peter 1:5).
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’ s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh(Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11, 15).

Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual gifts. It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their sovereignly given spiritual gift(s). The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion and is the placing of the believer into the Body of Christ.
We also believe that particular spiritual gift(s) are neither essential, nor prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 13; Ephesians 4:7-8).
We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7;1 John 5:14-15).
We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God that is given to him (Romans 12:1, 8; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

The Church

We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25, 27; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; Acts 18:22; Acts 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1, 3; Titus 1:5, 11)
We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, free of any external authority and control (Acts 13:1, 4; Acts 15:19, 31; Acts 20:28;Romans 16:1,4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 5:4, 7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1, 4).
We recognize believer’ s baptism and the Lord’ s Supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23, 26).

Regarding Marriage and Sexuality:

We believe and affirm that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: a single, exclusive, covenantal union between one man and one woman, for life, sanctioned by God as delineated in Scripture. We believe and affirm that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. We believe and affirm from the teaching of Scripture that any other form of sexual conduct, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexuality, gender reassignment, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, polygamy, or pornography is sinful and offensive to God. We believe and affirm that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Church as the local body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Church Partners and the community, it is imperative that all Church Partners, those employed by the Church, or those who serve as volunteers in any capacity, shall abide by and agree to this Statement of Biblical Belief Regarding Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly by the Grace of God.

Shared Family Traits

Biblical Theology

We are committed to proclaiming, embracing, and living out the full counsel of God’s redemptive message as revealed to us in the Scriptures. While we are intentional about reaching the immediate culture in a relevant way, we are committed to the biblical doctrines of the Christian faith. We do not believe that effective cultural engagement must lead to doctrinal compromise. Rather we believe that faithful Gospel contextualization is what is needed to bring temporal and eternal transformation to individuals, families, churches, and communities.

Gospel Centrality

We believe the Gospel is the good news of what God has graciously accomplished for sinners, not instruction for what man must do to be right with God. Through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, God has accomplished our forgiveness from sin and complete justification. This Gospel is also the foundation for our confidence in the ultimate triumph of God’s kingdom and the consummation of his purpose for all creation in the new heavens and new earth.

This Gospel is centered in Christ, is the foundation for the life of the Church, and is our only hope for eternal life; this Gospel is not proclaimed if Christ’s penal substitutionary death and bodily resurrection are not central to our message.

This Gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which people are sanctified; it is the truth of the Gospel that enables us to genuinely and joyfully do what is pleasing to God and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ.

The salvation offered in this Gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved.

(Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1: 7-10; Colossians 1: 19-20; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3: 11-13; Jude 3-4; Revelation 21-22)

Expositional Preaching

We believe that expositional preaching is important because God’s Word alone is what convicts, converts, builds up, and sanctifies God’s people (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23; 1 Thess. 2:13; Jn. 17:17). Preaching that makes the main point of the text the main point of the sermon makes God’s agenda, and not the preacher’s, rule the church.

Identity-Based Living

Church partners live as disciples of Jesus making disciples of Jesus. We continually shape our perspectives by applying the gospel, often asking ourselves the 4 Gospel Fluency questions:
1.     Who is God?
2.     What has He done?
3.     In light of who God is and what He has done, who am I?
4.     Therefore, what do I do?

We see in Scripture that the gospel not only saves us, but radically transforms us as well giving us entirely new identities.  We focus on three identities that we are given to disciples of Jesus Christ:
1.     Family – God is our Father, so we love others in the church like brothers and sisters.
2.     Servants – Jesus is our King, who came to serve and not be served, so we serve the least of these as Jesus served us.
3.     Missionaries – Jesus sends his disciples out to make more disciples and teach them how to walk with him. He sends The Holy Spirit as our power to be witnesses of Jesus in word and deed.

Church decisions are made in alignment with the mission, vision and overarching strategy of our people living as a family of missionary servants, disciples of Jesus making disciples of Jesus. Therefore, the New City Family of Churches tends to focus less on programs, investing more energy in equipping and encouraging its partners to live their identities in Christ.

Missional Communities

Missional Communities are the lifeblood of New City Churches. This is where we live, grow, and serve on mission together. It is the primary place where Scripture’s “one anothers” are lived out – “love one another,” “serve one another,” “encourage one another”. Discipleship takes place in Missional Communities, where we meet 3-4 times a month for a combination of sermon discussion, sharing meals, prayer, worship, social/missional outings, and quarterly service projects.

Ordered Equality

Both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. Men and women are together the recipients of spiritual gifts designed to empower them for ministry in the local church and beyond. God’s intent for the church is for both men and women to be encouraged and equipped to minister and serve in accordance with the gifts He has given them. In the home, both husbands and wives are responsible to God for spiritual nurture and vitality, but God has given to the man primary responsibility as the head of the household along with his wife in accordance with the servant leadership and sacrificial love modeled by Jesus Christ. The Elders (plural) of each local church have been granted authority under the headship of Jesus Christ to provide oversight, set an example of what is normative for the church and serve the church through prayer and equipping. The office of Elder is restricted to men who are an example of what a godly man looks like leading a household. Any other church role, outside the scope of eldership and shepherding responsibilities, can and should be filled by men and women, leveraging the diverse gifts of all.

Contextual Diversity

God has reconciled all peoples into a multiethnic family in Christ (Eph 2:11-22). God has also given us a ministry of reconciliation. This means we follow Jesus’ humble example in the Incarnation. Jesus emptied Himself and came to our turf and communicated on our terms so the Gospel could be communicated without cultural hindrance. The New City Family of Churches seeks to be a welcoming community for all-comers in the places God has sent us.

Every team of leaders and cultural context is different. God will grant each group a unique combination of capacity, calling and gifting that suits the context he sends them to for the work He calls them to do there. Just like every family member has things in common while expressing their commonalities in unique ways, the New City Family of Churches expects to see our common convictions expressed with great diversity and contextual consideration.  To reveal this beautiful theological reality in a North American context, we intentionally pursue a multiethnic expression of the church that reflects the diversity of the community around us.

We also believe we are responsible neither to retreat from our culture nor to conform to it.  Instead, we are to engage culture boldly with humility and through the Spirit and the truth of the Gospel as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ.

Kingdom Collaboration

The New City Family of Churches is committed to the pursuit of Gospel Saturation in North America and beyond until we see the gospel transform everything within our reach. We believe the local church is God’s means for bringing this about. We see God’s heart for unity in the church when we observe Jesus’ prayer in John 17, and we desire to press into God’s desires. We observe the Apostle Paul’s “concern for all the churches,” evident in both the content and tone of his letters, and this global concern was a powerful force used by God in building the early Church. Finally, we recognize that Gospel Saturation is too big (i.e. every man, woman and child) for any one church, or family of churches, to tackle so we eagerly pursue Kingdom Collaboration with other partner churches, networks, ministries, nonprofits and individuals. For all these reasons we believe it right and good to care about all of God’s church and not just our church or family of churches.

The New City Family of Churches believes that God desires for every church to use its resources and influence for the advancement of the Gospel, and that a dying church robs God of His Glory. Therefore, New City invests in revitalizing struggling churches, in replanting dying churches, and in planting new churches in ripe mission fields.

The New City Family of Churches pursues partnership with other organizations that adhere to Christian orthodoxy. Each city is unique. Leaders in each context prayerfully discover areas where partnership increases strength and fruitfulness. Among them may be shared commitments like: pastoral connection events for building relationships and trust, centralized justice initiatives, sharing resources (e.g. facilities, sound equipment, etc.), city-wide prayer gatherings, or church-based theological education.

(John 17; 2 Cor 11:28; Eph. 1:22-23; Phil 2:1-2; Col. 1:3, 27-28; Gal 2:10)