Statement of Faith

The Light Church 514 is a multicultural, multigenerational church dedicated to encouraging people to find their identity in Christ as well as their gifts, talents, and callings to build up the Church. We believe true inner healing comes from finding our identity in Christ and is not something we can accomplish on our own. To this end we provide quality, intimate worship and doctrinally-sound Bible teachings about the character of God, encouraging individuals to submit to God’s will and to exercise what they learn in their daily lives. We aim to equip each person as a disciple of Jesus Christ and encourage them to fulfill the Great Commission and Great Commandment.

Triune God

We believe in the Biblical triune God, who has lived in eternal relationship as three distinct individuals since the beginning: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—each equal in power, authority, and glory, and with the same divine qualities.

Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:4

"God the Father"

We believe that God the Father, as the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own plan and grace and that He is the Creator of all things. He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption as the universe's only absolute and omnipotent Ruler. His fatherhood encompasses both His status as a member of the Trinity and His connection with humanity. He is Father to all humanity as the Creator, but He is the exclusive spiritual Father to believers. All things that happen have been decreed for His own glory. He maintains, leads, and governs all creatures and events at all times. In His sovereignty, He is neither the author nor the approver of sin, nor does He absolve moral, rational beings of their responsibility. He has mercifully chosen those whom He would have as His own from the beginning of time; He saves from sin those who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes Father to His own upon adoption.

Psalm 139:1-16, 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:11; John 5:17

"God The Son"

We believe Jesus is the Son of God, equal to God the Father. He lived a sinless human life in complete obedience to the Father as the second Adam, born of the virgin Mary. All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been handed to Him by the Father. Knowing this, the Son died on the cross to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice for all human sin. After three days, He resurrected from the grave to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to the heavens and will return as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will judge everything in perfect righteousness at the end of time. He intercedes for us before the throne of the Father as our perfect High Priest.

Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14, 15; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4; Romans 1:3, 4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Titus 2:13; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:23-26; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Heb 7:25 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He dwells within every believer at the time of salvation, baptizing them into the body of Christ, sealing them, and ensuring their full redemption. He provides the Christian with power for living by opening our hearts and minds to understand Scripture for long-term spiritual transformation. We have communion with God because of Him. In prayer, he intercedes for us and leads us in the path of righteous living before God.

2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:1

"Scripture & Authority"

Scripture, we believe, is God's Word for all people. We believe the original manuscripts of the 66 books of the Old Testament and New Testament are inerrant, infallible, and written by the Holy Spirit through divine inspiration. Scripture cannot be changed. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any way. It is the final authority on all Christian doctrine and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5

"Salvation"

As a perfect sacrifice, Jesus suffered and died on the cross. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, bearing our pain and suffering. His death appeased God's wrath against our sin. By grace, through faith, those who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior and believe in their hearts that he rose from the grave, receive the free gift of salvation and adoption as children of God. We can have eternal life through him, life to the fullest, in this world and the world to come.

Romans, 5:1, 6:23, 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 2:8. 9; John 1:12, 5:35-40, 10:27-30, 14:6; Philippians 1:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26.

"Church & Community"

The church is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. The church is the bride of Christ and Jesus is the Bridegroom. We believe in the local church as well as the universal church. The local church is where believers gather to worship. It is a place where we can show the love of Christ to believers and nonbelievers alike. Church members are to use gifts and talents, which are from God, to serve, encourage, love, and evangelize to others. Church is the place to worship the triune God and to equip the saints for ministry. Church is not a building but a gathering of believers.

1 Timothy 3:1-8, 1 Peter 5:1-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Romans 6:1-6; Luke 22:14-20

Communion & Baptism

"Humanity"

We believe that all humans are made in God’s image, therefore, all humans are valuable and should be respected. God created humans male and female. Humans are the supreme object of God’s creation. But through the fall of Adam, all humans became sinners in nature and in practice. As a result, sin separated mankind from God. The wages of sin is death, both physically and spiritually.

Genesis 1:22-23; Genesis 1:25-27; Genesis 2:15-16; Romans 3:10-12, 22-23; Romans 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-3