We endeavor to draw all of our doctrine explicitly and exclusively from the Bible. We regard the following doctrines as essential, but in addition to these there will be many non-essential doctrines on which we’ll have a perspective (also derived from Biblical conviction). Non-essential doctrines are important but not crucial to a believer’s walk with God, therefore we will not allow. Non-essential doctrines to take priority over those doctrines we see as explicit and essential.

The Trinity

There is one God, the Creator of all things, who is eternally self-existent—one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While each member of the Trinity has different functions, each shares every divine attribute and is equal in power and authority. Father, Son and Holy Spirit together reveal perfect community.

God The Father

God the Father is holy and perfect. He is all-powerful, always good, always faithful and ever reaching out to us with the good news of His grace through His Son Jesus Christ, through whom He offers us redemption and eternal relationship. He is the perfect Father who is never changing in His love, compassion and grace for us, always longing for humanity to be restored to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son.

God The Son

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary. He is fully “true man” and fully “true God,” and He is the only one who can reconcile us to God the Father. He lived a perfect sinless life that we could not live and was crucified on the cross, where He paid the price for our sin and our shame—the very things that separated us from God. He died for us, was buried, and was resurrected that we may have eternal life. He is the Head of His Body, the Church, and in all things He has preeminence. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father where He rules and reigns as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who will soon return to make all things new.

God The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is fully God. He guides us into all truth and reveals to us God’s righteousness, convicts us of our sin and of the coming judgment. He assures us of our salvation, comforts us, guides us and sanctifies us. The church, from the beginning, was birthed in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and of His power. His Presence and power, manifest in numerous ways including signs, miracles and wonders, is available and needed just as much now as it was at the birth of the church. Therefore the Holy Spirit gives gifts to all believers to build up His church, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives is seen as they obey Him and live lives yielded to Him. He is the one who enables us and empowers us to live supernatural lives displaying God’s power and love.

The Bible

The Bible is God’s word revealed and given to us. The scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in their original writing are fully inspired by God and without error. We accept them as the full and final authority for faith and life. We believe that God reveals Himself and still speaks today but has given us the Bible to test and approve what His will is. Because Scripture is inspired by God it is always relevant to life and experience in truth and in love.

Humankind

God created us in His image to enjoy eternal life and relationship with Him and with one another. God’s plan was for us to rule and reign with Him and to fulfill His Kingdom here on earth. However, Adam and Eve sinned, and that sin separated them from God and brought the curse of sin and death into the world that is inherited by all of humanity. Because of this original sin all human beings inherit a sinful nature that results in actual transgression and personal, individual guilt. Mankind is now separated from God—spiritually dead, lost, facing eternity without God, desperately in need of salvation.

Salvation

There is only one way of salvation, only one way to restore our relationship with God and to deal with our sinful nature and the sin that separates us from Him. That singular way is through Jesus Christ and His blood shed on the cross for our forgiveness. All who repent of (turn away from) their sin and trust Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit and become children of God. This salvation is by faith alone and grace alone apart from our deserving or accomplishment. It is a free gift from God, but each person must accept the gift and place their faith in Jesus Christ by believing in Him in order to receive it and experience eternal life. The gift of salvation, made possible through Jesus, is what we refer to as the Gospel.

Eternity

God created us to live forever and His desire is that we experience eternal life and communion with Him. Based on our response to Jesus Christ in this life we will either spend eternity with Him in heaven or separated from Him in hell. Soon Jesus Christ is coming back again, as He promised, and there will be a resurrection from the dead. Both believers and unbelievers will be resurrected. The redeemed (believers in Jesus) will receive the eternal blessedness of the presence of God, while the unredeemed (unbelievers) will suffer eternal banishment from God as a result of rejecting His offer of salvation through Jesus.

The Church

All those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ have been redeemed by Him and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and they together form the Church. Jesus is the head of the Church and all who follow Christ are called to be a part of a local church where they, together with other believers, advance the Kingdom of God and carry on the ministry of Jesus.

Church Leadership

Anthem Church is a non-denominational, autonomous local church where Jesus is the head and Chief Shepherd who leads His church through a team of ordained elders. Biblically, elders are responsible for church government (i.e. setting direction, establishing doctrine and if necessary executing discipline), oversight, leadership and pastoral care. Elders, in turn, appoint various deacons to shepherd those entrusted to their care and assist in various aspects of church life and growth. Anthem Church relates to and partners with an apostolic team called New Covenant Ministries International for the purpose of discipling and equipping believers in Jesus to grow in maturity in following Him.

Although the Bible is clear that men and women are created equal in the image of God, full equality does not mean complete “sameness”. Goodness and beauty is uniquely represented in each gender, which profoundly reflects and glorifies God. Because God gives leadership in the church on the basis of grace, calling, spiritual gifts, obedience, and character, both men and women can and should lead, preach, and minister within the church. This ensures a more robust ministry of love and grace than one gender can sustain alone.

Therefore we do not simply permit, but expressly value, the presence of both men and women in various facets of church leadership, however, just as in a family where the government or leadership rests upon the man as husband and father, so to does the government or leadership of a local church rest upon the man as an elder / overseer / pastor (see Eph 5). In line with that, only men can be ordained as elders, however if married, he is called together with his wife to function "in team".

Sexual Ethic

The Word of God calls all who follow Him to a sexual ethic in which sex is reserved for the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, i.e. a “one flesh” union between two sexually different people from different families. Everyone—regardless of sexual practice and / or orientation—is created in God’s image, and is loved radically by Him with inherent dignity, value and worth. Therefore, regardless of sexual practice and / or orientation, Anthem Church welcomes all to worship with us. We are both unapologetically aligned with every word of Jesus’ teaching yet uncompromisingly insistent on being a community where those “out-of alignment” with Jesus’ teaching (including sexuality) feel welcome and accepted in our fellowship.

ANTHEM CHURCH’S VISION FRAMEWORK

Our Vision Framework describes who we are as Anthem Church: how we see the world and the world we long to see. It consists of four crucial components: our BELIEF, our BANNER, our VALUES and our ETHIC.

Our Belief

The power and presence of Jesus deeply transforms lives by gifting us with intimacy with the Father and by freeing us from everything that holds us down and holds us back.

This belief, rooted and illustrated in the Bible, is the foundation on which we build our entire vision framework. It is what is true of us in every season — it’s what motivates us and galvanizes us, informing every decision we make. We believe it wholeheartedly, and therefore move towards expressing it and living it out in every aspect of our lives.

OUR BANNER

All of Jesus For Everyone

This is the rallying cry that defines our mission and our ultimate aspiration. We exist to know all of Jesus — not just our favorite parts or the aspects of Him that are comfortable to us. We want all of Jesus — the full expression of who He is. And we want all of Jesus not only for ourselves, but for everyone. “All” means all and leaves nothing out. “Everyone” includes everyone, leaving no one out.

OUR VALUES

These values are the covenants we keep with one another as a church in order to “take up” our Banner. If we want to see All of Jesus for Everyone, we will be a church that holds to these values together. They are imperative statements, meaning they’re intended to guide and to be intentionally pursued:

All of Us For Jesus

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Mt 22:37)

We can’t pick and choose only the parts of Jesus or His teachings that we’re comfortable with. He has made Himself clear: He is not just our savior but our Lord — that means He has the final say over every part of our lives. Joyfully submitting ourselves to Him means individually asking the question, “How am I holding back from loving Jesus with all that I am and all that I have?”

We Abide in God, We Move With God

My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. (Ex 33:14)

We don’t approach God with a formula or with a set of religious rules. God is living, eternal, active — and the Bible teaches us that He speaks to us. Based on the foundation of the Bible, we always ask God what He’s doing among us, among our city and beyond. And that means asking, “How am I actively seeking the presence of God and obeying His voice?”

We Always Remember We Serve The God of the Impossible

Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? (Jn 11:40)

The life of God doesn’t come outside of the power of God. We don’t heal, restore, cleanse or renew. Only God does those miraculous things. But God calls us to partner with Him as He does them! This means we can’t stand idle or be spectators, rather we always ask, “How am I engaging with the faithful God to see Him do the impossible?”

We Are With and For Each Other

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit though the bond of peace. (Eph 4:3)

The Bible teaches that God designed the Church — His people — and that Jesus builds it. What part do we play? We submit to God’s design by honoring one another, assuming the best of each other and fighting for, not with, one another. We keep this mindset by asking, “How am I guarding unity within this local church?”

We Invite Others To Join Us In Knowing Jesus

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes... (Rom 1:16)

God is clear: there is one way to know Him, and that’s through Jesus. There’s one way to abundant, meaningful, eternal life, and that’s through Jesus. Therefore we’re always looking to invite others to know Jesus — because that’s God’s intention for them! Daily we ask, “How does my relationship with Jesus overflow in introducing Him to others?”

OUR ETHIC

Our Values are expressed through our Ethic, which weaves itself through every part of who we are and what we do. These two themes are the vehicles of our expression to others, essentially answering the question, “What does this look like to the world?”

We Get In Order to Give

We are generous, always, with all that we have (time, resources, energy, finances, etc.). When we receive God’s blessing, we know that it is not solely intended for us but rather to be extended and given to others.

Love is the Difference

God's love, always present in us, is the “flavor” of who we are to the world. Jesus Himself said that His love would be the distinguishing characteristic of those who follow Him.