The Journey

I believe in God, the Father
Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

We at The Journey adopt this creed as an anchor of our faith in the inspiration of Scripture.

1. We believe in the historic Christian faith, reflected in these statements:

   • About God.

     God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, having all power and majesty. God exists as the Trinity, in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God passionately desires relationship with us and towards this end continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning, and service.

     Genesis 1:1; John 14:6-9, 15-17 and John 16:7-15; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 4:9-10

   • About Jesus Christ.

     God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for the sins of us all. He was buried, rose again from the dead, and ascended to heaven, and has promised to return again as King of kings and Lord of Lords..

     Colossians 1:13-23 and Colossians 2:8-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Matthew 22:36-40; John 14:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; Acts 10:42-43; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

   • About the Holy Spirit.

     The Holy Spirit, sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ, teaches, comforts, and empowers us, giving each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity, interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character, and love among Christians.

     Romans 5:5 and Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 3:16; Ephesians 4:3-4, and Ephesians 5:18; John 14:26 and John 16:7-14

   • About the Bible.

     We believe that God speaks to us in the Bible, and that it is our privilege to seek to understand God´s message and apply it responsibly to our lives. The Bible is our standard in all we say and do. We believe that God´s unchangeable Biblical message ought to be presented in relevant and contemporary ways, free of religious jargon and understandable to the people of our community.

     Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Hebrew 4:12; 2 Peter 1:16-21 and 2 Peter 3:14-18; Psalm 19:7-11 and Psalm 119:9-16; Joshua 1:7-8; Acts 17:11

   • About Salvation.

     All people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to live in a vital relationship with God. However, through our sin (failing to live by God´s moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God and we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship, spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. However, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationships with God and others, through Christ´s death on the cross, a perfect act of redemption for each of us. Salvation comes to people on the basis of God´s grace through their faith in Jesus alone. They receive the free gift of forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting of their sin and believing in Jesus Christ. Good works and a holy life, although totally unable to save anyone, are the natural product of repentant, believing people.

     I Peter 2:24, 3:18; Romans 3:9-28, Romans 6:23, and Romans 10:9-10; John 3:16 and John 5:24; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8; James 2:14-26

2. We believe in teamwork.

   We work in lay-led teams, which are in turn governed by a board called the Leadership Team. We seek to exercise and respond to leadership in a Scriptural manner, and to work in partnership with one another.

   Matthew 23:8-11, 18:15-17; Luke 22:24-27; 1 Corinthians 16:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:1, 17-23; Hebrews 13:7,17

3. We believe in responsible financial stewardship.

   We encourage people to handle their finances discreetly, honorably, and responsibly, and to practice regular and generous giving.

   Matthew 6:19-21, 24, 33; Malachi 3:10-11; 1 Corinthians 9:7-14, 16:1-2; 3 John 5-8; 2 Corinthians 9:5-12; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18

4. We believe in community.

   We express our strong value of community by seeking to reach out and connect with a diversity of people. We want to be personal and caring in a world that is increasingly fragmented and impersonal. We are not afraid to be vulnerable, human, and honest with each other. We believe our spirituality fulfills rather than denies our humanity, and we believe this approach strengthens community.

   John 15:12; Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:3-18; Galatians 6:1-5, 10; Colossians 4:5-6; 2 Timothy 4:1-5

5. We believe in unity among Christians

   The Journey recognizes diversity among Christians in nonessential areas. We do not press for uniformity in these areas, but rather encourage people to search the Scriptures, seeking balance, mutual understanding, humility and love. Additionally, we seek to respect one another´s differences without a quarrelsome, arrogant or divisive spirit, and to return continually to the great commandment, to love God and one another.

   1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Romans 14:1-15:7, 16:17; 2 Timothy 2:14-17, 23-26; James 3:13-17; Philippians 2:1-5