Our Calling
At Radisson Evangelical Free Church, we pursue the Glory of God through worship, ministry, giving and education. We strive to connect with Jesus Christ and to each other, in order to magnify His name. At the heart of everything we do is the understanding that we must love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to treat our neighbors as we wish to be treated ourselves. May others see our actions and see Christ's Spirit at work within us!
What We Believe
At the Heart of Everything We Do
God:
1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible:
2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition:
3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God's saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled, and renewed.
Jesus Christ:
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus- Israel's promised Messiah- was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ:
5. We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground of justification and salvation for all who believe, and such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit, and thus become children of God.
The Holy Spirit:
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church:
7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the Gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer. We further believe that every local church has the right, under Christ, to decide and govern its own affairs.
Christian Living:
8. We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor, and justice for the oppressed. With God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed.
Christ's Return:
9. We believe in the personal, bodily, and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service, and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny:
10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the Gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper :
11. We believe that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-42).
A. Christian baptism by immersion (Acts 8:36-39) is the solemn and beautiful testimony of a believer showing forth one's faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and one’s union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life (Rom. 6:1-11). It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ (Acts 2:41-42).
B. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Cor. 11:28-32). We also teach that, whereas the elements of Communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, participation in the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer, and so is present, fellowshipping with His people (1 Cor. 10:16).
OTHER MATTERS OF FAITH
1. Final Authority for Matters of Belief and Conduct - 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 the Radisson Evangelical Free Church’s faith, doctrine, policy, and discipline, our Board of Elders is our final interpretive authority on the Bible's meaning and application.
2. Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality - 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 and, as such, one's biological sex is not to be rejected (Gen. 2. 26-27). We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive, lifelong union that is generative in nature, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2: 18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18 and 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and the use of pornography) is contrary to Biblical teaching (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor.6 9-10). We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who seek His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 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 the Radisson Evangelical Free Church. We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Radisson Evangelical Free Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a Biblical role model to the Radisson Evangelical Free Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by or who represent the Radisson Evangelical Free Church in any capacity, agree and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22).
3. Sanctity of Life - We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image (Gen. Chap. I and 2). 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 to natural death (Psalm 139). We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.