What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Morrisville Church - which is part the cooperative fellowship of the Assemblies of God, which upholds the standards found in the
16 Fundamental Truths.  Our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these doctrines that are based on the foundational truths taught in the bible.

We believe God extends forgiveness to us through Christ, so we repent and rejoice in our forgiveness. Salvation is a transformational life experience that we must choose in order to see God eternally.

We believe followers of Jesus must be empowered by the Holy Spirit, so we expect supernatural power in our daily lives. A mark of surrender to the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, so we pray that God would fill us with His supernatural power.

We believe that God can heal both the body and the heart, so we pray with faith and hope. Divine healing of the sick is a privilege for Christians today and is provided for in Christ’s atonement (His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins.)

We believe Jesus will return to claim His Church, so we live in expectancy of His coming. Christ will one day be seen clearly as King on earth, so we live as citizens of His Kingdom now.

We believe that the Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, inerrant, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26).

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20; Colossians 1:15-17; Philippians 2:6).

We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is 100% man and 100% God. He is the only man ever to live a sinless life, be conceived by the Holy Spirit to a virgin, work in miracles on the earth,  complete a substitutionary work on the cross, experience a bodily resurrection from the dead, and be exalted to the right hand of God (John 1:1,14, 20:28; Matthew 1:18, 20, 23; I Timothy 2:5, 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6, II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, Romans 3:23).

Humanity was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression fell; our only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19).

We are saved by grace (which is undeserved and unearned) through faith in Jesus Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a transformational gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; I Corinthians 15:1-4). Repentance is a commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ. Through repentance we individually receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation (Acts 2:38, 3:19).

After receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water by immersion. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in a transformed life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 8:36-38, 10:47-48).

The Lord’s Supper is a unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and fruit of the vine (or crackers and grape juice), symbolizing the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, are taken by believers in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25; Matthew 26:26-28; John 6:53-54; Luke 22:1-20).

Initiated at Pentecost, Holy Spirit Baptism or Second In-filling is the promise of the Father, given by Jesus after His ascension, to empower the Church to supernaturally communicate the gospel throughout the whole earth (Acts 1:8, 14:3; Mark 16:20). When a believer receives the baptism in the Holy Spirit, Scriptural precedent demonstrates that he has both the potential and probability of experiencing various manifestations such as Scripture-based prophetic experiences, unknown tongues, and other visible outward signs (Acts 2:1-18, 8:14-18, 10:44-46, 19:6;  Luke 11:13).

The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and use (I Corinthians 12:4-10, 28).

Sanctification is the ongoing process of being set apart for God, characterized by our yielding to God to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. A lifestyle of developing righteousness and holiness is the evidence to all men that Christ’s Spirit lives within us (I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18; Romans 8:29, 12:1-2; Hebrews 12:11).

The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Christ’s 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 (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; I Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-28; Ephesians 4:1-16).

A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in: evangelizing the world, the worship of God, the building of the body of believers into the image of Jesus, and meeting human needs with love and compassion (Mark 16:15-20; John 4:23, 24; Ephesians 4:11-16; Psalms 112:9; Galatians 2:10, 6:10; James 1:27).

Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus and is included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. Healing is a provision of Christ’s atonement on the cross and is given as a sign which is to follow believers (Matthew 8:16-17; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; III John 2; Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Mark 16:17-18).

We believe that, as part of Christ’s work of salvation, it is the Father’s ultimate will for believers to become whole and healthy in all areas of life:

• Spiritually (II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10).
• Mentally and Emotionally (II Timothy 1:7; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3).
• Physically (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:17; I Peter 2:24; Romans 8:11).
• Financially (Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; II Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19).
• Sexually (I Corinthians 6:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:3-7; Ephesians 2:1-7; Colossians 3:5-7).

These promises do not negate the experience of trials (John 16:33), and the presence of trials does not imply any sort of spiritual inferiority. These promises are merely a plan by which God receives glory and man receives wholeness - whether received in this life or the next.

Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His kingdom. This will occur at a time undisclosed by Scriptures (Revelation 1:7; Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 24:30, 36;  26:63-64; I Thessalonians 4:15, 17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8). The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years.

There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not a follower of Christ will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake of fire, which is the second death (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20, 20:11-15, 21:8).

We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (II Peter 3:3; Revelation 21-22).

Heaven is the eternal dwelling place of all who believe in Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:1; I Peter 1:4; Hebrews 11:16; John 17:24; Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34).

After living one life on earth, those who have rejected Christ will be judged justly by God and sent to Hell, where they will be eternally tormented together with the devil and the fallen angels (Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 25:41-46; Daniel 12:2; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8; Mark 9:43-48; Matthew 10:33).

We believe that God has created sexual parameters for all mankind through His word (I Thessalonians 4:3-7; I Corinthians 5:11, 6:9-10; Colossians 3:5). Sexuality is to be shared in the context of holy matrimony between one man, born as a man, and one woman, born as a woman (Hebrews 13:4; I Corinthians 6:15; Romans 1:26-27; Matthew 19:4-6). God empowers all believers with the power to transform their desires to His standards (Philippians 2:13, I Corinthians 6:11; Colossians 3:7) for the ultimate purpose of joy. Accordingly, this Church, its pastors, staff, and members will not participate in same-sex unions or same-sex marriages, nor will its property or resources be used for such purposes.  Common law marriages are not recognized.