What We Believe:
A Foundation in Christ
Commitment to Jesus Christ is foundational to everything we do at First Congregational. Our ministry is built upon seven consistent tenets of the historic Christian faith that are captured in our Church Covenant. These central affirmations define us as a Body, explain our motives, and support our purpose and our vision. They sum up our worldview, express our devotion to God, and provide the framework within which we carry out our work. Apart from them, it is not possible to grasp the full significance of our multifaceted ministry.
These seven tenets are the summation of the statement of faith we call the Covenant of the First Congregational Church of Chester:
· We believe the Bible to be the unchanging, mistake-free Word of God.
· We believe in One God, found in the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
· We believe that Jesus Christ is God, who humbled Himself and became a human being for our sake…He lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, rose from the grave to have victory over death, rules from Heaven today, and will return again for His church.
· We believe that the only way to eternal life with God is through faith in Jesus Christ.
· We believe that when Jesus left to return to Heaven He left us the Holy Spirit who lives within us and ministers to us in power.
· We believe all people will live forever, those who accept Jesus will have eternal life in Paradise with Him, and those who do not will experience eternal separation from God in Hell.
· We believe in the unity of all believers, in all places, across all times in the fellowship of the Church