Our Beliefs

STATEMENT OF FAITH

At Valley Forge, we appreciate our heritage as Free Will Baptists yet our first allegiance is to Jesus Christ and His worldwide Kingdom.  Our members come from many diverse backgrounds yet we are unified on matters that pertain to the essentials of Christianity.  We agree with the ancient theologian who said, "In essentials, unity; In non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity."

WE BELIEVE …

OUR MISSION and purpose is to LOVE God and others, LEARN Christ-like Discipleship, and LIVE a Spirit-filled abundant life.

GOD is the one true God existing in three Persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  These three, referred to as “The Trinity” are one, having the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and worthy of the same worship, reverence and obedience.

JESUS CHRIST is the Virgin-born Son of God who lived a sinless life, performed great miracles, shed his atoning blood and died on a cross for our sins.  He overcame death with a bodily resurrection, ascended back to Heaven victorious, and will return for His Church in power and glory!

HOLY SPIRIT is God’s only Agent or “Comforter” with the attributes of God and comes to each believer at salvation.  His continued indwelling and filling enables the Christian to live a Godly life with conviction, direction, ministry, purpose, and power!

THE CHURCH is more than a building.  It is founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ and is part of “His body” comprised of local churches and Christians all over the world.  We believe the local Church is God’s design for getting His Kingdom work done through worship, discipleship, fellowship, serving, and evangelism.  

THE HOLY BIBLE is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God.  Therefore, we emphasize the preaching and teaching of God's Word from Genesis to Revelation believing the gospel of Jesus Christ can change our world!   

MAN was created in the image of God but sinned and fell through disobedience.  The entire human race shares in man's lost and sinful nature, unable to earn our own salvation and re-establish our relationship with God.  

SALVATION is a relationship with God offered to all through the atoning work of Jesus Christ.  It is an individual and personal experience of faith with God that we are told to work out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).  Lost and sinful humanity can only be saved by true repentance from sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Salvation is a gift of God by His grace alone.  

EVIDENCE:  The person who has truly been born again will have a changed life, a continuance of faith, and a good Christian witness with works pleasing to God that glorify Him!   Works don't save us but they are evidence that we are saved.

RESURRECTION:  Jesus Christ overcame death, hell, and the grave by evidence of a bodily resurrection.  Because of Christ’s Resurrection, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected with judgment following.

ETERNITY:  The soul of man will live forever because God breathed on them.  We believe those persons who die in their sins without Christ (lost) spend eternity in Hell separated from God and those persons who die with their sins forgiven (saved) through Christ spend eternity with God in Heaven.

SANCTIFICATION: Those whom God has accepted in Christ are sanctified or set apart by His Holy Spirit to do a work for God.

BAPTISM is a first step of a new Christian after salvation and is an outward showing of an inward change.  Baptism in water by immersion is a demonstration of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and is symbolic of the believer’s spiritual “death to sin, burial in Christ forgiveness, and resurrection to a new, truly changed life. 

COMMUNION is an ordinance regularly practiced by the Christian to remember the broken body and shed blood of Jesus which allows us to have forgiveness and fellowship with Christ. 

TITHES AND OFFERINGS are commanded in the Old Testament and endorsed by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 23:23) along with the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 16:2).