The Bible
The Old and New Testaments, without error as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of all people. They represent God’s only rule of Christian faith and practice.
God
There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 5:48; Matthew 28:19; I John 5:6-10; II Corinthians 13:14
Jesus
Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and died upon the cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. He arose from the dead and is now at the right hand of the Father as our great High Priest.
Philippians 2:6-11; John 1:1,14; Luke 1:35-38; I Peter 3:18; Romans 5:8; Acts 2:23-24; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 4:14-16
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is sent to indwell, guide, teach, and empower the believer; and convict the world of sin. It is the will of God that every believer should live by and be filled with the Holy Spirit, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. The gifts of the Spirit are available to all believers today.
II Corinthians 3:17-18; John 16:13; John 14:16-17, 26; Acts 1:8; John 16:7-11; John 16:5-14
Man, Sin, Heaven, Hell
Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God; he fell through disobedience, causing both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is death or Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life or Heaven. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.
Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; I Corinthians 15:20-23; John 3:16; Revelation 20:15; Romans 6:23
Salvation
Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all people who repent of their sins, confess with their mouth, and believe in their heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.
The Church
The Church consists of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have acknowledged Him as Lord and Savior. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the Gospel to all nations, making disciples.
The local Church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, prayer, fellowship, edification through the Word of God, and the proclamation of the Gospel. It is also where the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are observed.
Water Baptism
The Church practices baptism by immersion, which is the example shown in New Testament Scripture (Mark 1:10; Mark 16:16; John 3:23; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4). The Church, nevertheless, accepts those into fellowship who believe their form of baptism, other than immersion, was sufficient and meaningful before God, because we believe that the motive for baptism is more important than the mode of baptism. The Church adheres to the belief that baptism should:
(a) Be a believer’s baptism (i.e., an event that occurs after conversion) (Acts 2:38, 41); and
(b) Be a public expression of an inward experience of one’s faith in the atoning work of Christ. Thus, one would symbolically declare to the world that they have died with Christ to sin and that they also have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (Matthew 28:19).
The Bible does not give any example of infant or child baptism. It is always a believer’s baptism. The Bible does set the example of presenting children to the Lord (I Samuel 1:26-28; Luke 2:21-40); therefore, the Church encourages child dedication, which is really a dedication of the parents to raise their child in accordance with God’s Word.
Communion
Communion is a symbolic celebration given to the church by Jesus Christ. It was first observed by Christ and His twelve disciples just before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:1-30; Luke 22:1-40). The emphasis was upon remembering what the Lord had done.
In the Old Testament there were a number of feasts to commemorate what God had done for the Israelites; so, too, the Communion (also referred to as the Lord’s Supper) is a commemoration for what God has done for us — a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Christ established Communion as an ordinance of the Church to remember His sacrifice. He has commanded us to carry on this ordinance until His return (I Corinthians 11:23-26).
The elements of Communion are:
(a) The Bread: representing His body, given for our sins (I Peter 2:24).
(b) The Fruit of the Vine: representing His blood, shed to give mankind a new covenant with God (Romans 5:9, Ephesians 1:7).
Both of these elements represent what Christ has done for us through His death.
This Church practices open Communion which means anyone may take Communion as long as they believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
Core Values
The Grove Community Church is also defined by the following four Core Values:
Biblical Truth: We Are Guided and Shaped by God’s Word
Outreach: All People Matter to God
Relationships: All People Matter to Us
Teamwork: We Are Better Together
As a community church, we are a fellowship of Christians who are united on those doctrines that are essential to salvation, and we respect the diversity of views held by our members on those doctrines that are important but not essential. We are a nondenominational church but are dually aligned with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the California Southern Baptist Convention.