Statement of Faith
At Emmanuel Christian Centre we unite around the beliefs of historic, biblical Christianity which also align with the Evangelical Alliance Basis of Faith. Although some concepts may seem complex for new believers, this page can serve as a helpful resource for those who want to know our foundational evangelical position and practice. More than anything we want you to know God is real, He is holy, He is love, He is Lord, He transforms lives, He brings peace and there's a great future for those who follow His ways. 

Church Polity
Emmanuel Christian Centre (ECC) is an independent church, which means it is governed locally rather than being controlled externally by a national denomination. This frees us to grow in our understanding of doctrine and to make local spirit-led decisions relevant to our community. However, our independence locally does not mean isolation from others in the Church which Jesus is building (Matt. 16:18). We are accountable to some external bodies to ensure good-standing in the Faith, to maintain an evangelical Christian foundation, to endorse those in ministry and for financial transparency. Decisions made locally are through a board called the Church Council who work within the limits of a written Constitution. 

 

In practice, ECC operates a variation of congregational polity where governance is delegated to the ministers of the Church Council working with the elders and deacons, all of whom are elected from the congregation. As in many other autonomous and free churches, day-to-day leadership and overall responsibility is vested in the Senior Minister of the Church Council who is an accountable office-holder. The Senior Minister is accredited and annually reviewed by an external body, they are to maintain continual training and credentials, and they must cooperate with the Church Council. To maintain autonomy, probity and impartiality, we purposefully do not have all the ministers of the Church Council accredited or affiliated with one or the same organisation. Bishopric is local rather than at regional level. All ministers, elders and deacons at ECC are to meet the biblical qualifications found in 1 Tim. 3:1-11, Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Pet. 5:1-4.

 

We also have church membership. This is because the Church Council is legally accountable to members for financial reporting and an annual statement of charitable objectives. Anyone is welcome to be part of our congregation, but only ECC members have the right to vote on specific areas such as holding general meetings, agreeing the accounts and issues of church discipline. We do not believe that being a member of ECC is salvific or an essential criteria of the Faith, but membership is helpful administratively and for accountability both ways. Being a member of Jesus' universal Church is the most important! The devotion, faithfulness and belonging of Acts 2:42 is the model for members. 
 
ECC itself is a member of the Evangelical Alliance, the oldest and largest evangelical unity movement in the UK. Churches in Communities International (CIC) acts as an accrediting body to ensure good-standing through an accountability structure recognised within the Free Churches Group. CIC is not a denomination because it works with independent churches, meaning each CIC church may function differently according to the community they serve, within the scope and tenets of evangelical Christianity. As with almost all credible UK churches, ECC is registered with the Charity Commission for fiscal transparency.

 

Baptism

We teach and practice believers’ baptism by full immersion in water (credobaptism). The word baptism itself means to dip, immerse or submerge and has no other use. We actively encourage all to be baptised in obedience to Christ’s ordinance when they profess faith in Him, count the cost of following Him, and turn to God through Him (Acts 2:38). Baptism signifies and symbolises cleansing from sin, dying to the old life and being raised to a new life in union with Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). In response to the grace of God, we believe each person should make a personal decision at a suitable age. This may include older children who call on the Lord if they also demonstrate saving-faith (Acts 2:38-39). Baptism is usually undertaken in a nearby lake or our main hall pool. We also believe that Jesus is the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5). 

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Communion (The Lord's Table)

Taking communion in the form of bread and wine (grape juice) is a continued sign of God’s fellowship with us, a reminder of the price that Jesus Christ paid and a call to remember His return (1 Cor. 11:24-26). The bread is symbolic of Jesus' life and body, and the wine is symbolic of His blood which ratifies the new covenant (John 6:48-51, Matt. 26:28). We believe it should be taken regularly by all who, after personal reflection, are in right standing with Jesus and His Church (1 Cor. 11:28-29). There is no 'supernatural' change to the bread and wine itself but we do believe Jesus is with us by His Spirit. As an ordinance received by faith, it unifies God’s people and ought to demonstrate this when taken. For some not to participate is part of our church discipline because it signifies broken communion with Christ and/or His Church (1 Cor. 11:27-32, 2 Thess. 3:14).

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The Bible

For public teaching and consistency throughout the church, we use translations of the Bible closer to formal equivalence rather than functional; typically the New King James Version (NKJV) with occasional references to the Amplified Bible (AMPC). We believe this decreases the tendency to read from translations which are heavily biased towards the theological prejudice of the translators. We are not opposed to reading various reputable translations for personal edification, recognising that early manuscripts were written in the common language. For comparison in common English we recommend the New Living Translation (NLT) as a dynamic equivalent text. Paraphrases and translations by one person should be received cautiously. We do not believe that English translations are inspired or inerrant in the same way as the original Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek texts, but we do believe the Word of God can be communicated through reliable translations (by the Holy Spirit).

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By the term 'Bible' we mean the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and New Testaments which are recognised by the historic Protestant confessions. We recognise that a limited number of the books known as 'the Apocrypha' may be helpful for historical insight, but we do not affirm them as inspired and therefore are not part of the Bible. The term 'the Bible' is synonymous with the term 'Scripture' and we believe 'all Scripture is given by inspiration of God' (2 Tim. 3:16). Please read the Prima Scriptura section below. 

Ecumenism
We believe Jesus' prayer for unity is too powerful to disregard (John 17:21) and that's why we have taken the view that we can work together with sincere believers and biblically-minded churches for the sake of the gospel in specific areas. We cherish 'unity of the Spirit' until we reach 'unity of the faith' (Eph. 4:3 & 13), but we balance that with a prayerful consideration to be holy and to stand for the historic Christian faith as revealed in Scripture (Matt. 24:35, 2 Tim 3:16, 1 Pet. 1:16-17). As a member church of the Evangelical Alliance, our doctrinal stance is based on what is considered the authentic, mainstream evangelical position. Therefore, we cannot enter formal working relationships with churches or denominations that adopt a progressive divergence from essential doctrines of the Faith. We wholeheartedly seek spiritual unity, love and Christian fellowship with those who affirm biblical truth and call on the Lord with a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22, 1 Pet. 1:22). 

Holiness and Sanctification
We believe in the new birth of those who receive the gospel of Jesus Christ (Eze. 36:26-27, John 3:3, 2 Cor. 5:17). We also recognise that each one must work out their salvation with reverence and humility (Phil. 2:12). On accepting Jesus’ gift of salvation a believer is justified by God, then there is a process of sanctification subsequent to the new birth which is wrought by submission to the work of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16, Heb. 10:14). Therefore, we believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit who empowers obedience and holiness, which is characterised by a life of continual growth towards that holiness and to overcoming sin (Col. 1:9-10, Eph. 4:13, 1 John 5:4, Rev. 3:5).

 

None of this equates to earning salvation which is solely by grace through faith; it's about each person surrendering in faith daily to the grace and power of God (Eph. 2:8-9, Phil. 2:13, 1 Cor. 15:10). No one can boast in their own efforts because Christian growth is by God's power as we trust His promises and walk by His Spirit (Rom. 6:12-13 & 8:12-13, Gal. 5:16). Therefore, there is an ongoing victory to be found in Christ in this life. We also believe that sanctification results in demonstrable good works and spiritual fruit (John 15:8, Gal. 5:22-23, James 2:18-26, 1 John 4:8).

 

Prima Scriptura

We believe in the leading and gifting of the Holy Spirit, and we accept divine direction in our lives because we acknowledge Jesus is our literal Lord, meaning Master (Luke 6:46, Acts 2:16-17, Rom. 8:14, Gal 5:16). The Bible also teaches that we can sense the voice of Jesus (by the Holy Spirit), have consistent communion with Him and live out His plan for our lives (John 8:47, 10:27, 14:21-26 & 17:3, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 2:10, 1 John 1:3). God has also given ministry gifts to the Church for teaching and direction (Rom. 12:7, Eph. 4:11, Heb. 3:17), as well as prophecy, dreams and visions (Acts 2:17-18, 1 Cor. 14:30-31).

 

Therefore, we adopt a form of the prima scriptura doctrine, which means that canonised Scripture is primary and regulates all other sources of divine revelation; i.e. any other form of interpreting God and/or His will is primarily subject to, verified against, and corrected by the rightly divided written Word of God (John 14:26, 2 Cor. 10:5, Gal. 1:8, 2 Tim. 2:15 & 3:16). We believe that Scripture can only be rightly divided by agency of the Holy Spirit and not merely by personal experience, natural reason or human tradition (Prov. 3:5, Rom. 8:6-8, 1 Cor. 2:14, Col. 2:8). In that sense, The Bible is the 'supreme court' of discernment over personal revelations that come through fallible human beings (Rom. 12:2, 1 Thes. 5:19-21, 2 Tim. 3:16, 1 John 4:1, Rev. 2:2). In agreement with the Evangelical Alliance, we believe in submitting all we do and are to the authority of the Bible. We do not endorse novel insights, new ideas or sinful practices which are contrary to the revealed Word of God in Scripture (Rom. 16:17-18, 2 Cor. 11:13-15, 1 Tim. 6:3, 2 Tim. 4:3-4, 2 Pet. 2:1-3).

Spiritual Gifts
As continuationists, we believe in the operation of spiritual gifts which are not learned skills or inherited talents, but rather particular gifts received by grace (Rom. 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:4-11 & 28-31). The gifts are to be used for the edification of the Church and for the glory of God (1 Cor. 12:4, 1 Pet. 4:11). Each believer is given at least one gift either at salvation, by the laying on of hands, or in response to earnestly seeking them, but only as God chooses (Rom. 1:11, 1 Cor. 14:1, 2 Tim. 1:6, 1 Pet. 4:10). We do not believe that there is any particular gift which a believer must manifest to validate their salvation or to prove they are baptised in the Holy Spirit.

Distinctively, we believe that spiritual gifts should be subject to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, as He showed by example in only doing what He saw the Father do (John 5:19 & 30). Gifts themselves are not necessarily a sign that someone is mature or that they truly know Jesus (Matt. 7:21-22). That said, each believer is responsible for stirring up, exercising and cultivating the gift/s within them as led by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:4-8, 1 Cor. 12:31, 2 Tim. 1:6).

 

Spiritual gifts are not to be mimicked or abused, which means they are for the building-up of the Church, to be used in love and subject to discernment. Their use must follow biblical guidelines and order where applicable. The gifts are not esteemed greater than growing spiritual fruit or maturing in love, and therefore we do not promote the seeking of charismatic encounters over consistently walking in the Spirit (John 15:8, Acts 8:18-21, 1 Cor. 12:31-13:1-3,14:1-33, 1 John 4:1-8). While we recognise that God may grant a variety of gifts as He chooses, we are circumspect about hyper-charismatic manifestations which do nothing to build up the Church (1 Cor. 14:12, Gal. 5:25, 1 Thes. 5:19-21, 1 John 4:1).

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Note:

These distinctives are not a comprehensive overview of all our beliefs and practices. Any of our beliefs are based on the best light or insight we have been granted at any given time. We are open to change should the Word and Spirit confirm that in our fallibility we have not discerned correctly. In areas of Chistian doctrine which we have not yet reached a clear view on, we will lean to a conservative and evangelical position to mitigate moving beyond the truth of Scripture and/or God's order. This would typically be in line with the Assemblies of God USA positional papers on which our Constitution was founded, while prayerfully considering the views of other denominations associated with the Wesleyan Holiness Connection.