about us

WHAT DOES CALVARY BELIEVE?

In our Bulletin, we have the statement about Calvary Chapel that is embraced by most Calvary Chapel’s.  In truth, it is more of a statement of our intention on a Sunday morning, but it gives us a good beginning:

01. what we believe

Calvary Chapel is a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Our greatest desire is to know Christ and to be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations, as such. We opposed only to the emphasis of non-biblical teachings that divide the Body of Christ.  We believe the true basis of Christians fellowship is God’s love, which is great than our differences.   Without His love, we have no right to say we are Christians.


WE BELIEVE worship of God should be spiritual.

Therefore:  We remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.


WE BELIEVE worship of God should be inspirational.

Therefore:  We give a great place to music in our worship.


WE BELIEVE worship of God should be intelligent.

Therefore: Our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching the  Word of God that He might instruct us how He would be worshiped.


WE BELIEVE worship of God is fruitful.

Therefore:  We look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation  that we have truly been worshiping Him.

02. VISION FOR CALVARY CHAPEL OF ROSWELL

A Vision can be defined as the guiding principles - the goals behind an endeavor.  Jesus summed it all up in two simple, but profound principles " . . " 'You shall love the LORD your God . . "And . .You shall love your neighbor . ..'"(Mat 22:37 39)    It is based on these two commandments where we feel the vision for Calvary Chapel of Roswell is found.  In an illustrative way - this is found in a picture of a tree - Rooted in the Lord  and Fruitful for the Lord ( which is why we have this tree in our logo).


ROOTED IN THE LORD


Planted in Him - Jer 17:7-8, Eph 3:17

Central to all we are as Christians and as a church - is to be in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore each believer's relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the central theme and goal of everything we do. 


We seek to emphasize Calvary Chapel as little as possible and Jesus Christ as much as possible.


Growing in Him -Col 2:6-7; Acts 2:42

We must seek to grow and maintain our Root system in the Lord


We want to seek to grow in the Lord and in a personal, real, experiential relationship with the Lord – knowing Him more and more.  We believe that all mature believers will be pursuing knowing Christ more and more (Phil 3)


Therefore we place major emphasis in Calvary Chapel on the Word of God, Fellowship, Communion, and Prayer (Acts 2:42)


The Bible needs to be continually focused on, in all areas.  Our attention will not be given to ideas of men…but God’s Word


Fellowship is key – thus we seek to constantly encourage all to be actively in fellowship.   Jesus had a group of 12 that He surrounded Himself with.  It is often in such a small group that we find this key element of the Christian life, thus we seek to encourage small groups.


Breaking of Bread, Communion is vital as it constantly fixes our focus on the work of Christ on the Christ.  We do not believe that taking communion is redemptive or “magical” in any sense – but is “remembering” Him and what He did.  Therefore we seek to offer communion every week to this fellowship, although in different venues and means.


Prayer is where the church began, in a prayer meeting in Acts 1-2.  Prayer is a central key to the life or the church and of every believer.  Therefore we offer prayer meetings weekly and seek to encourage believers to grow in their personal prayer lives constantly.   


FRUITFUL FOR THE LORD


Strengthening Believers - Eph 4:11-16, 1 Cor 12

In the picture of the tree - this is seeking the health of the tree, if the tree is not healthy - it will not produce fruit, or very limited fruit


In many ways this is the primary mission of the church - it builds those who have been rooted in Christ, so that they naturally produce fruit.  In other words, a healthy tree will be a fruitful tree.  If one is not fruitful, it is not healthy.  So our aim is to make healthy believers, knowing that will make fruitful believers. 


Eph 4 pictures a healthy believer and church this way:

- coming to the unity of the faith – in agreement with the faith, the truth – holding fast to it

- knowing the Son of God – personally, experientially

- Growing in maturity

- Growing more and more Christ like in character and deportment   

- Not carried about with false teachings that blow through the church

- Speaking the truth in love

- Each part ministering to each other – knowing, and serving in our spiritual gifts and ministry Jesus has given each of us.


Reaching the Lost

Natural outgrowth of a healthy tree is to reproduce.  In every healthy piece of fruit, seeds can be found with the potential of planting more trees


We believe that a healthy church will reproduce – not necessarily by forced evangelism in services – but by Christians reaching out in the lives they are living, being witnesses wherever they are (Mat 28:19-20)


As a church, we believe that this practically calls us to a priority on missions (Acts 1:9, Matt 28:19-20)

03. STATEMENT OF FAITH

A statement of belief is important and hopefully helpful – yet it is impossible for it to be all inclusive.  In a simple way, the Bible is our statement of belief – we believe everything it says – and it is our guide, foundation and direction.   Yet, in part because of the multitude of errors out there, it is helpful to articulate a few key points of beliefs.


WE BELIEVE the BIBLE to be the only inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. The Bible, made up of both the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, fully inspired, without error in the original manuscripts, and are the infallible rule of faith and practice.   We put this first in our statement, because the Bible is our guide and governs all else that we believe.


WE BELIEVE that GOD is one, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  There is one living and true GOD who created all, upholds all, and governs all.


WE BELIEVE in JESUS CHRIST, in His deity (that He is God, fully), in His Virgin Birth; in His sinless life; in His miracles; in His teachings,  in His vicarious, atoning and substitutionary death through His shed blood; in His bodily resurrection; in His ascension to the right hand of the Father;  in His perpetual intercession for His people, and in His personal, visible return in power and glory.


WE BELIEVE in the HOLY SPIRIT who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ for ministry.  We believe the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.  We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, and that believers can and should look for His filling of their lives continually.  We believe in all the Biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit, practiced and governed by God’s Word. 


WE BELIEVE that all PEOPLE are sinners by nature and choice and therefore, are under condemnation; that God regenerates by the Holy Spirit, those who repent of their sins and  confess Jesus Christ as Lord.  We believe BOTH in the Sovereign election of God and the responsibility of man in salvation. 


WE BELIEVE in the universal CHURCH, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head, and all regenerated persons are members. 


WE BELIEVE that CHURCH GOVERNMENT should be simplistic, rather than a complex bureaucracy, and that we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead rather than on fleshly promotion (Acts 6:3; Eph. 1:22).  We believe the Biblical key to church government is character of the leaders as is stressed repeatedly in the scriptures. 


WE BELIEVE in the RESURRECTION of both the saved and the lost: those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, and those who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation. We Believe in the personal, visible return of Christ to the earth and the establishing of His Kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.


WE BELIEVE that BAPTISM and THE LORD’s SUPPER are two ordinances that Jesus gave to the church.  Therefore, we hold to the practice of water baptism by immersion and the regular taking of Communion. We do not believe that either of these practices is essential for salvation, but that they serve as a demonstration of our living faith in Christ.


We Believe in what is termed the Apostles Creed as embodying the fundamental facts of Christian faith.