Beliefs
The Bridge Community Church
an independent, Biblical church
What We Believe
We believe…
…that Jesus Christ, while existing as the Son of God, is also God; he is co-equal with the Father. Since we are an unholy people and God cannot coexist with unrighteousness, accepting Jesus’ gift of grace with a trusting faith (a belief in Him, a relationship with Him, a knee and a will bowed to Him – Ephesians 2:8-9) is the only access point to eternal life. Jesus lived a sinless life, was born of a virgin, was crucified on a cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, was raised from the dead in a physical resurrection, ascended into heaven, and will return again to claim His kingdom . This is an essential, absolute truth. This focus on Jesus and His plan of redemption makes us Gospel-centered.
…that the Holy Bible is the perfect, inerrant Word of God and that true believers are called into faith by its truth and then transformed by its teaching and authority. We base all that we do by the standards set forth in scripture which was written by God through inspired human authors. This is an essential, absolute truth.
…that the God of the Bible is the one and only true God. He is a living and active Spirit, — perfect in justice, grace, and love. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He rules as He chooses and deserves all glory, honor, enthusiastic worship, and obedience. He is the one creator of all things, and he made man distinctive by creating him (man) in His image. The Bible is clear that this one and only God is revealed in three eternally distinct persons. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal yet distinct within the Holy Trinity. We do not claim to comprehend this completely, but agree to apprehend it, believe it, and relish it. This is an essential, absolute truth.
…that the Holy Spirit draws lost people to Christ and equips and empowers believers to live a new life in a holy fashion. In John 16:9 Jesus tells us that when Holy Spirit arrives, he will convict of three things: 1)SIN, this guilt communicates our need for Christ; 2)RIGHTEOUSNESS, empowering us to live a life of victory while Christ resides with the Father; and 3) JUDGEMENT, not a popular 21st century notion but necessary for right living. Releasing the power of this Spirit is necessary because although we are saved by grace, our struggle with our sin nature, Satan, and the world is still a daily fight. We have human responsibility to go to war with sin. We agree this fight makes putting on the Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6) a daily necessity. Salvation is of God, for God, and by God through His mercy and grace, but we must respond in repentance and belief. “Repent and believe the Gospel.” Mark 1:15
…that God never intended us to face this struggle alone, so he gave us partners in the endeavor. Alongside other believers in missional cell families, in our public and private worship in the local church, and through mentorship, the Holy Spirit transforms us into Christ’s image and blesses the new creation with the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 which are love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He also gifts us and calls us to serve His church with those gifts.
…that there are not two experiences in our Christian life – a call to salvation and later a call to discipleship. Jesus said, “Throw down your nets and follow me” to the original disciples and he makes the same request today to every believer. The call to believe and to committed discipleship occur simultaneously; therefore, Bridge members view their commitment to God, family, and the church as their highest priority. The Bridge does not expect perfection, just a willingness to commit to a powerful Spirit-driven life.
… that disciples at The Bridge are encouraged to meet together regularly in worship; to be ministers and missionaries in a cell family; to serve one of our five ministries on a consistent basis based on the spiritual gifts and talents that God has given you; to set a aside a private prayer and Bible time; to give back God’s resources for the cause of the Kingdom; and to give of our God-given talents wherever necessary.
…that our strategy of weekly commitment to our 3 C’s will bring about strong discipleship and a strong church. They are:
CELL
Because the Christian life is lived out with people, the distinguishing vision of The Bridge includes the Biblical notion that every believer is to be in community with 6-24 other believers in an intimate missional small group called a “cell family.” Once a person has gotten into right relationship with Jesus Christ, it is the immediate duty of the church to help that new believer into this new family that will be the main source of discipleship, care, fellowship, and mission. All members of The Bridge will commit to being active in a cell family. Acts 2:42-47
CONTRIBUTE
The Bridge expects its members to weekly CONTRIBUTE in 3 areas: 1) Service — We place a high value on the extraordinary gifts that God brings to each believer. Basically, our church is one gigantic ministry team allowing each person to glorify God with these gifts; therefore, every member is expected to serve others in one of our five ministries. – 1 Corinthians 12 & Romans 12:1-8; 2) Finances – We teach that giving is a weekly commitment based on a percentage of gross income (recommend tithing as a starting point). 1 Corinthians 16:2; 3) Mentorship – Each member should be mentoring someone in the faith while also being mentored.
CELEBRATION
The Bridge will celebrate (worship) the magnificence of God’s extraordinary love, grace, and mercy with tremendous enthusiasm. We come together to lift his name above every other name and thank him for the fabulous victories that we see through our cells and our calls. We believe that God will honor this by attracting very talented people to lead us in this celebration. Every worship celebration has the following goals: 1) to come into the presence of God in a fresh and unique way; 2) to create an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit can work to create change in our lives by the revealing of truth from the Holy Scriptures; 3) to motivate all attending to take the next step at The Bridge (Alpha, SOG, CFT, Covenant Membership Steps, CA, Missional Cell Family, GAP Team, BK Team, Youth Team etc.) whatever that might be.
