To describe the Missionary Church
in one word, we are:

COMMITTED

WE ARE A FAMILY OF CHURCHES

Organizationally, we are a denomination, but we really see ourselves as a family of churches.
As a family of churches we realize that we have a unique identity. Others may share in one or more of our traits, but we believe the combination of the following five traits expresses this unique identity of the Missionary Church.
CORE VALUES
PURPOSE
ROOTS
BELIEFS
RELATIONSHIPS

Core VAlues

We are fiercely faithful to core biblical doctrines to ensure that we stay theologically sound. We are not dogmatically exclusive.
We encourage, facilitate, and resource churches rather than direct them. Our goal is to inspire and partner with one another to increase ministry effectiveness.
We are unique in the fact that we allow local churches freedom to minister effectively in their contexts. This is because we are a permission-giving culture, not a restricting one.
We identify, develop, and release leaders. We do not limit God in who he calls to leadership.
We focus more on the mission than the institution. We share best practices with like-minded organizations and partner with them. And we also encourage and support Kingdom endeavors.

PURPOSE

The Missionary Church, in obedience to Jesus Christ her Lord, is committed to being holy people of God in the world and to building his Church by worldwide evangelism, discipleship and multiplication of growing churches, all to the glory of God.

ROOTS

The Missionary Church has a rich theological heritage that serves as a launching pad for aggressive outreach. While our message from the Bible is unchangeable, our methods of communication must change to reach every culture for Christ.
Early leaders had a commitment to the position that the Scriptures were to be the source of doctrine and life. In addition to this commitment to be a biblical church, the theological perspective of the Missionary Church recognizes the contribution of John Wesley’s emphasis on “the warmed heart”; A. B. Simpson’s fourfold emphasis on Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King; the Anabaptist concepts of community and brotherhood; and the evangelical emphases of the lost estate of mankind and redemption through Jesus Christ.
The Missionary Church is a unique blend of the thought and life of a people who have sought to build their church according to the Scriptures with an appreciation for their historical roots.

RELATIONSHIPS

The Missionary Church has productive relationships with a number of other churches, mission agencies, and ministry organizations committed to Scripture and to the cause of Christ in the world.
As a member of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), our people respond generously to appeals from World Relief Corporation (the international assistance arm of NAE) for funds to meet disaster and poverty needs around the world.

SUMMARY OF BELIEFS

God

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three divine persons, equal in power and glory — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the creator and sustainer of all things.
Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of the Father. He is the fully divine, living Word of God who also became fully human — conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. His sinless human life, humble obedience to his Father’s will, sacrificial death and bodily resurrection made sufficient provision for the salvation of all people. In his ascension, he returned to his Father, where he reigns as Lord, Advocate, Great High Priest, and Coming Judge.
Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God, proceeding from and sent by the Father and the Son. He is the personal expression of God’s power — instrumental in all his works. He is the author and illuminator of sacred Scripture. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth, the one by whom we are baptized into the Body of Christ. As the spirit of holiness, he indwells every believer and his Church, purifying and empowering his people for holy living. He guides them into truth, comforts and encourages them, and enables them to fulfill the Great Commission. He produces his fruit in the lives of believers and gives them spiritual gifts for the good of the Church.
BIBLE

We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, true, reliable, and without error in all it addresses. We believe the Bible has been safeguarded by the Holy Spirit and transmitted to the present day without any doctrinal corruption. The Bible forever remains the unchanging and final authority for faith and living.
SALVATION

We believe that Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Salvation is a divine gift given to any who repent and believe. Repentance and faith are the divinely enabled human responses to the grace of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, a sinner must turn away from sin and embrace God — thus appropriating the benefits of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. All who truly believe and receive Christ are fully justified, reconciled to God, born of his Spirit, adopted as his children, and united with Jesus in his death and resurrection. They will one day see him in his glory and be glorified themselves, as God brings his redemptive work to completion.
CHURCH

We believe that the invisible and universal Church is a spiritual body comprised of all believers, both living and dead — over which Christ himself is Head and Lord.
ORDINANCES

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted by the Lord Jesus himself — not as a means of salvation, but as outward signs of the salvation we have by faith. They are the divinely mandated means by which believers publicly affirm their faith in Christ. Water baptism symbolizes the spiritual union that every believer has with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, we believe that the biblical pattern is baptism upon profession of faith in Christ, and furthermore, that it should be administered by immersion whenever possible.