What We Believe

There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 5:48, & Matthew 28:19

Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness, and peace.

Philippians 2:6-11, Luke 1:34-38, 1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 2:9, Romans 5:9, Acts 2:23-24, Hebrews 8:1, & Matthew 26:64

The Holy Spirit is a divine person, sent to dwell, guide, teach, empower the believer, and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

John 14:15-18, John 16:13, Acts 1:8, John 16:7-11

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 the Christian faith and practice. 

2 Peter 1:20-21 & 2 Timothy 3:15-16

Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God; he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment; and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss. 

Genesis 1:27, Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, & Revelation 6:1-14.

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. 

It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving the power for holy living and effective service. This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion. 

Titus 3:4-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Acts 1:8, ROmans 6:1-14, Matthew 8:16-17, & James 5:13-16

The church consists of all those who believe in 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, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all the nations. The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the witness, preaching the gospel to all the nations. 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.

Ephesians 1:22-23, Matthew 28:19-20, & Acts 2:41-47

There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgement.

The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal, visible, and premillennial. This is the believer's blessed hope and is vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service. 

1 Corinthians 15:20-23, John 5:28-29, Hebrews 10:37, Luke 21:27, & Titus 2:11-14

Community Church is an accredited member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance
(www.cmalliance.org). In June 2023, the Alliance presented a proposal to its voting delegation
to allow women to be licensed and ordained as “pastor” and “reverend” as a matter of practice.
This proposal was passed and has been adopted by CMA. The CMA has also accepted that if
a member church does not desire to uphold this provision, they are still welcomed to retain full
membership. Community Church does not agree with the adopted proposal, however,
Community Church is grateful for the Alliance’s position of unity even in disagreement. This brief
position paper serves to reflect our views as Community Church and why we are in
disagreement with the Alliance on this issue.

As with other Biblical concepts, the idea of male leadership can be challenging and difficult to
understand; this is due to our inherent sinfulness and the influence of our society and culture.
However, a right understanding of God’s creation and the roles of men and women are
important in how we know the Lord, understand his creation, participate in the activities of the
church, and order and know our own selves. In this document, we’ll provide a brief outline for
understanding the Lord’s plan for governing his church and provide a brief outline of our
church’s position regarding male and female roles and leadership.

Due to our reliance on the Bible alone as the sole rule of our faith and practice, we understand
that there is an inherent hierarchy that runs throughout the Scriptures. As a rule (meaning not
without an occasional exception), we see that the triune God is described in male language and
that he is the ultimate authority in the universe. We also see that people are called to imitate
God in this, and that the church, as well as the home, also reflect this pattern. As we study
through Scripture and attempt to understand God and his character, we must ensure that we are
viewing the whole Scripture rather than seeking proof texts.

There are a number of Biblical texts that specifically address the issue of male leadership in the
church. While many of these have different or varying interpretations, they should be addressed
in any comprehensive discussion of this topic. Some of those Scriptures are as follows:
● 1 Timothy 2:1-15
● 1 Timothy 3:1-7
● Ephesians 5:21-33
● Genesis 3:16
While there are more, these and others like them support the general narrative of Scripture that
God has ordained an order and hierarchy which best reflects his character and brings us into a
deeper knowledge of who he is.

Our current cultural moment is not only pressing hard against Christians but, specifically in the
case of male leadership, is openly hostile to structures or patterns that could be construed as
elevating men above women. This pattern of thinking has also been applied within the Church -
in areas such as worship, fellowship, discipleship, and even Bible study. We believe that our first
order of concern must be to pursue God and understand what pleases him (I Timothy 2:3-4 and
Romans 12:1-2). Regardless of the cultural pressure, we must seek to know the character of
God and uphold his will.

In studying this issue, our elder board has come to the following determinations regarding our fellowship as a church and as a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination:
● We believe that God has ordained the forms of male and female as an expression of
himself, as he is self-described in Scripture and seen in the Trinity - the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. We believe that God has chosen to be identified with the male gender and
that, as believers, we are bound to his revelation as revealed in his Word.
● We believe that maleness and femaleness are God’s good gifts to us, that they are
assigned by God from all eternity and discovered by us upon birth, and that our
identification as male and female are inseparable and consistent with our physical sex
and sex organs from birth. Furthermore, we believe that the sex and gender that God
has assigned to us is unchangeable, and that it will follow us our entire lives, regardless
of our physical or mental condition, even into the afterlife.
● We believe that Jesus Christ is God and came to earth to live and die as a man and that
the church, as his bride, will be united to him in heaven, forever. We agree that these
designations are intentionally determined by God for our good - so that we would know
him and know ourselves.
● We believe that God has ordained that, while equal in value as people made in the
image of God, men and women have different roles in God’s world/economy so that they
have distinct and complementary responsibilities in God’s society. Both are to glorify God
with their God given talents, and that these skills do not exist where God does not
approve of them.
● We believe that God has provided a variety of roles for both men and women, and that
he has ordained that churches be led by male elders and male pastors. Furthermore, we
believe that men are designated and required to fulfill the Scriptural roles of elder and
pastor as indicated in 1 Timothy 2:1-15
● We believe that where men and women are married, that men are God’s designated
spiritual head of their family and are required to love their wives in the same way that
Christ loves his church.
● We believe that women are to submit to men as to the Lord and are required to follow
their husbands as their husband submits to Christ.
● We believe that neither husband or wife should be disobedient to the Lord in either their
headship or submission and instead are called to follow Christ in all things.
● We believe that God’s plan for men and women is designed to display God’s glory and
communicate gospel truths to his children; this is a means of grace to believers that is meant to incite us to worship and it is meant to draw unbelievers into union with the Lord
Jesus Christ.

In light of the above, the elders of Community Church have the following affirmations and
denials related to male/female roles in the church:
● We affirm that only men should be licensed and ordained as pastors and elders in our
congregation.
● We deny that women should be called as pastors or elders.
● We affirm that all men and women are equal in their very being in the eyes of God in
Christ.
● We deny that a “complementarian” view implies that women are less valued to God or
the church than men.
● We affirm that we must work diligently to disciple both men and women to embrace,
enjoy, and live out their God given roles in both church and society.
● We deny that women are not called to be disciples and disciplers, as we each have
those responsibilities to one another.
● We affirm that God has gifted women through the Holy Spirit in ways that will bring him
glory and honor and bring others to the saving knowledge of Christ.
● We deny that only men are to be used in presenting the gospel to the world.
● We affirm that women are called to be spiritually submissive to their Christian husbands.
● We deny that submission implies that men can lord over their wives or in any way be
abusive to their wives as these would be outside of the character of God.

We are grateful for the privilege of wrestling through this matter together and sharing our united
voice. We, the pastors and elders, pray that the entire body of Community Church continues as
one, worshiping, praying, and growing in God’s Word.

Christian and Missionary Alliance Statement in Women in Ministry