WHAT WE BELIEVE

ECC was founded in 1950 by Pastor AJ Rowden when God spoke to him through the gospel of John saying "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” This became the heart and approach of the community towards God and each other, and remains so to this day. We intimately experience the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit that is at work in a personal way throughout every part of our being. 

THE BIBLE
 

Purpose
We believe the truth that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself revealing his love to us.  It declares His ways and His will for our lives. It reveals God’s desire to be in a loving relationship with His creations.

Authors
We believe the authors of the Bible were ordinary men, living ordinary lives.  They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to record what God said and did. It was written over a 1500-year span covering more than 40 generations.

Inerrancy
We believe the writings of the Bible are free of any errors.  First and foremost, we believe in the inerrancy of the Bible because it was given at the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  And secondly, there are many historical proofs and evidence that support its reliability.

THE FATHER
 

Description
We believe God is a personal being who existed before time and space as we know it.  When Moses asked who He was, He simply replied, “I AM.” He is the one who always was.  We believe God is all-powerful, He is ever-present, He is all-knowing, He will not change, and yet He is a personal God.

Our Relationship
We believe God is a relational God.  He always was and always will be. We believe mankind was created in His image.  That is, the desire to be in a loving and complete relationship. We believe a complete relationship is only satisfied when we are in relationship with God which is our basic human need.

His Plan
We believe God set a plan in motion before the world was created to restore the relationship that was lost between God and man.  This plan was to send His Son Jesus Christ to show us the Father. Jesus also paid the price for our sins by His death and resurrection that put us back in right standings with God.

THE SON
 

Description
We believe Jesus is the second person of the Godhead.  God gives us a window into His heart through His son Jesus Christ.  We believe Jesus was born of a virgin and was God on earth and yet fully human.  He always existed with the Father, and He showed us how to live here on earth.

Promise
We believe Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise of God to save and restore mankind.  We believe God put this plan in motion before He created the world.

Fulfillment
We believe the death and resurrection of Jesus satisfied the wrath of God.  He paid the price for sin once and for all.

Instruction
We believe as a result of the finished work on the cross that sin’s price was paid and death has lost its grip on man.  We believe our response is to believe and accept the work that was done on the cross. To give our lives back to God.

THE HOLY SPIRIT
 

Description
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead.  He was always with God the Father and God the Son. He is active in our world and lives today fulfilling Christ’s promise to send a Helper.

Purpose
We believe His purpose is to make us one with God, to help us become Christlike, to reveal the truth of the Scriptures, to empower us to serve God, and to give our lives meaning and purpose.

Relationship
We believe as we yield to the Holy Spirit, who resides within us, that He will reveal the heart of the Father for our lives.  He will guide us into an intimate relationship with God and a Christlike relationship with others.

Ministry
We believe in the full manifestation of the Spirit as recorded in the New Testament for the common good of the believer and the church. These dynamic manifestations include the infilling, gifts, and fruits of the Spirit.

THE CHURCH
 

Origin
We believe that Jesus’ idea of the church was not brick and mortar.  It was built on the declaration that “He was the Messiah, the true Son of God.”  We believe the church is the people of God, the called-out ones. The building is the place we come together to worship God and fellowship with other believers.

Purpose
We believe the church is Christ’s visible representative on earth, where the people of God, the followers of Christ, can be part of a community to demonstrate the love of God.  We believe part of the church’s responsibility is to fulfill Christ’s mission to redeem the lost.                             

Relationship
We believe the church’s mission is to help meet human and spiritual needs.  Our relationship with God is enhanced as we come together as a community and worship Him.  We believe our relationships with people are to show the love of Christ by helping with emotional, physical, and mental needs.  As well as helping meet people’s spiritual needs such as redemption, grace, and the teaching of the Word of God.

PEOPLE
 

Creation
We believe people were created to be in relationship with their Creator.  God made us in His image so we would enjoy relationship as He does. People are relational beings who are only complete when they find and experience that within their lives.  We believe people are unique and have a special purpose in this world.

Our Design
We believe our design or uniqueness is God-given. We are capable of love, communication, creativity, logic and moral decisions.  We are the workmanship of an almighty Creator. Our lives are fulfilled when we reunite or give our lives back to God.

SALVATION
 

New Creation
We believe that being justified before God, cleansed of sin and experiencing a new life, is a result of God’s grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, who was our sacrifice for sin.  Our spirit is reborn through faith in Christ and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

Purpose
We believe the purpose of the new life in Christ is to glorify God the Father.  It is to reestablish the broken relationship that was lost in the Garden. It is also to share with a dying world the new life they can have in Jesus.

God's Relationship with People
We believe this new life relationship puts us in right standing with God.  It restores the intimate fellowship that was lost in the Garden. It allows us to show God’s love as it was intended.  It allows us to demonstrate the love of Jesus to others.

AFTER LIFE
 

Eternity
We believe in an eternal God and that we are eternal beings.  We believe our spirits will live forever. We believe that after death we will live forever either in the presence of God or in eternal separation from God.  The choice of where we spend eternity is ours to make.

Destiny
We believe in life: we are destined to have struggles, suffering, and death, but that can be changed into blessings, joy and peace, realizing one day we will be home with God for eternity.  We believe Christ will return and give us a new body, restore this earth to a perfect world, and we will live with Him forever.