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1.Developing Disciples - Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 6:1; Acts 14:21-22; 18:23 We will let the Holy Spirit work through us to
develop fully devoted followers who will experience the grace of God, spiritual growth, the use of gifts, good stewardship,
gathering with other believers and a going out mind-set.
2. Small Group Based - Acts 2:2, 41-47; 5:42; 8:3 We believe that the church must be experienced in smaller units, so
that issues of the application of Biblical truth, accountability for spiritual development, active use of spiritual gifts
and ministry toward others can be developed to its maximum potential in each believer.
3. Relationship Oriented - Hebrews 10: 24-25 Not program oriented.
4. Contemporary Styled - 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23 There is a need to be culturally relevant to the world around us. Our
desire is to create a receptive environment where we can communicate the gospel of Christ. We take a flexible approach to
our methodology while maintaining the traditional authority of God's message.
5. Community Minded - Matthew 5: 13-17; Acts 5; 12-16 We will build relationships with non-believers to win them to Christ.
While we are to be separate from the world's influence, we are not to be isolated.
6. Gift Operated - Matthew 9: 37-38; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-14 Each believer is supernaturally gifted to serve
in the body of Christ. It is our duty at Brightside to help believers discover their gifts and provide opportunities to serve
in the specific areas God has equipped them.
7. Multiplication Focused - Exodus 18; Acts 20:17-38 An effective church is not all based on the skill of the pastor
or the quality of programs, but on the ministry of the believers. Brightside is committed to individual discipleship and the
corporate vision for church planting.
What We Believe
Holy Scriptures
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, consisting of 66 books which constitute the Old and New
Testaments, the Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, the complete and unalterable special revelation of God and
our final authority. Matthew 5:18; Mark 12:36; I Corinthians 2:13; II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:20,21.
Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical
in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19,20;
Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; II Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3.
Person and Work of Christ
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived
by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and lived a sinless life. He came that He might reveal God and redeem sinful
man. Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35; John 1:1,2,14; 10:30; Acts 18:28; Colossians 2:9. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice in providing an unlimited
atonement for the sins of the whole world and our justification is verified by His literal physical resurrection from the
dead. Acts 17:2,3; 26:22,23; Romans 3:24,25; I Corinthians 15:4; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; I Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; I John 2:2.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where He intercedes for the
believer. Acts 1:9,10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; I John 2:1,2.
Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead who in this present age convicts the world of sin, righteousness,
and judgment; who regenerates and baptizes into the body of Christ those who believe; and who indwells and seals them unto
the day of redemption. Job 33:4; Matthew 28:19; John 3:3-7; 7:37-39; 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; Romans 5:5; 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16;
6:19,20; 12:12-14; II Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30. We believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine
Teacher who guides believers into all truth and it is the duty of believers to be filled with, and to walk in, the Holy Spirit.
The biblical walk of the believer is an actual participation in the very life of the Lord Jesus in the believer and not simply
some external imitation of Him. John 14:16,17; 15:26; 16:13; II Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-10; I
Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9.
Creation
We believe the triune God, by a free act and for His own glory, without the use of existing materials or secondary causes,
brought into being -- immediately and instantaneously by the word of His mouth -- the whole visible and invisible universe.
Genesis 1:26; Exodus 20:8-11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 104:25,26; Isaiah 40:21-31; John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:16,17.
Total Depravity of Man
We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God; in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became
alienated and separated from God; and man is totally depraved and unable to save himself. Genesis 1:26,27; 6:5; Psalms 14:1-3;
51;5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18,22,23; 5:12-19; 8:6,7; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12; 4:17,18.
Necessity of the New Birth
We believe that, because of one's separation from God due to sin, no one can enter eternal life unless born again, which comes
about by receiving a new nature imparted by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Isaiah 64:6; Luke 13:3; John 3:5,18,36;
Galatians 2:19-21; 6:15; Ephesians 2:8,9; Philippians 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:4; James 1:19.
Salvation and Security
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice
for all people, and all who trust Him are saved by grace through faith in His shed blood, accepted in the beloved, kept by
God's power, and thus secure in Christ forever. John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; 6:36-40,47; 10:27-30; 15:1-3; II Corinthians 5:1,6-8;
Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:5,18,19. We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their
salvation through the testimony of God's Word. John 10:27,28; Romans 8:1,38,39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; 15:1-3; II Corinthians
5:1,6-8; Ephesians 1:13,14; I John 5:13.
The Church
We believe the Church, which began with the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, is the body and bride
of Christ with Him being the Head. It is the spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of the present age, and
is a unique separate group of believers and is never to be confused with the nation of Israel. Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 2:1-13,
32-47; Romans 11:25; 12:5; I Corinthians 12:12-27; II Corinthians 11:2; Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 1:22,23; 4:3-10; Colossians
3:14,15. We believe the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament
Scriptures. Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11.
Ordinances
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ established two ordinances for the Church in this present age. These are believer's water
baptism, practiced by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, observed as a memorial of His death. Baptism is an outward demonstration
of the internal reality of Christ living in the heart of the individual who has participated with Him in His death, burial,
resurrection, and ascension. Baptism is an identification with Christ and a pledge of loyalty to Christ by the power of the
Holy Spirit. While baptism symbolizes the beginning of new life in Christ, the Lord's Supper pictures the continuation of
that new life in Him. Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:12,35-39; 10:47,48; Romans 6:1-11; I Corinthians 1:14; 11:23-34; Colossians 2:12.
We believe the Lord's Supper (communion) is a symbolic ordinance, picturing Christ's body broken for our sins and his blood
shed for our redemption. The Lord's Supper is a memorial observance in remembrance of Jesus Christ. It is to be observed by
those who are true believers in a worthy manner having no grudges against one another, and with a sincere appreciation for
what the Lord has done.
Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men and women, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting
punishment. Matthew 25:46; John 5:28,29; 11:25,26; Revelation 20:5,6,12,13. We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death,
absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul,
and body are reunited and glorified to be forever with the Lord. Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21, I
Thessalonians 4:16, 17; Revelation 20:4-6. We believe the souls of unbelievers are, at death, absent from the body and in
conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne
Judgment and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. Matthew
25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Revelation 20:11-15.
Eschatology: Doctrine of the Last Things
We believe in the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed
ones. We believe that at the end of the seven-year tribulation He will return to earth with the saints in power and glory
to reign for a thousand years. At this time repentant Israel shall be restored to her own land, and God will fully accomplish
His covenant promises to her. Deuteronomy 30:3; Zechariah 12:10; 14:4-11; Acts 15:14-17; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9;
Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-19; 20:1-6.
Personality of Satan
We believe Satan is a created being, the author of sin, the tempter in the fall, the declared enemy of God and man, and the
god of this age. He shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. Job 1:6,7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation
20:10.
Dispensationalism
We believe the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations which define
man's responsibility in successive ages. A dispensation is not a way of salvation, but a divinely ordered stewardship by which
God directs man according to His purpose. John 1:17; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians
1:10; 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24, 25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6. We believe salvation is always by grace through faith
regardless of the dispensation in which the believer may have lived. God's purpose of salvation by grace through faith alone
has always been based upon the substitutionary atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews
11:6; I Peter 1:10-12.
Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ gives the Church evangelists and pastor-teachers. These gifted men are to equip the saints
for the work of the ministry. Ephesians 4:7-14. We believe the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon believers for Christian
service and the edification of the Church. Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11 I Peter 4:10,11. We believe the church age
was initiated through the ministry of the apostles and prophets accompanied by sign gifts to confirm their message. These
sign gifts gradually ceased by the time of the completion of the New Testament. I Corinthians 12:28-31; 13:8-10; 14:1-28;
II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 2:3,4. We believe God hears and answers prayer in accord with His own will
for the healing of the sick and afflicted. John 14:13, 14; 15:7; I John 5:14, 15.
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