City Hill Fellowship’s Statement of Faith
Who Are We?
We are bible-believing church
We believe in the infallibility and authority of the bible.
We hold the Bible as the final authority in all things in the governance of our church.
We will look at our beliefs more in-depth later, but our doctrinal beliefs are classically reformed.
We are a church that exists to reach the lost
We are a Spirit-Filled Church
We believe in the gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit. We believe they are vitally important for today, and that they have not passed away – I Corinthians 12-14.
We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit – Acts 2, 8, 10, 19 (see Bible study in appendix - p. 15-18).
We are a New Testament Church
When we say “a New Testament Church” we are speaking of a conviction, not an organization. We are speaking of a set of beliefs of how to do church, but not any particular affiliation.
Also, people use different terms to describe these churches; New Testament church, pilgrim church, restoration church, etc. Whatever term we use to describe them, we are talking about churches “which endeavors in their meetings, order, and testimony to make the Scriptures their guide and to act upon them, as the word of God, counting them as sufficient for all their needs in all their circumstances” E. H. Broadbent
As a New Testament Church, we believe:
The teaching given by the apostles to the first Christians contained principles of permanent validity.
The actual history of the first churches in the time of the apostles is recorded in such a way as to provide a permanent pattern for the churches, as in the book of Acts.
All revival and restoration have been due to the desire to return to these patterns and principles in the New Testament.
There has never been a generation without simple local congregations of believers existing whom succeeded in maintaining these principles and patterns.
This pattern is so clearly delineated in the scripture that churches of this character spring up in fresh places among believers who do not know that disciples before them have taken the same path, or that there were similar churches in their own time in other parts of the world.
Typically, these churches are free from ritualism, traditionalism and overt formalism.
The simplicity of the New Testament church model makes it adaptable to all mankind in all places and cultural settings.
We are an “Antioch” Church
Definition: The Antioch church pictured in Acts 11-15 was a church-planting, missions hub with a strong team of “five-fold” men working together to spread the gospel. The flavor of the church was characterized by strong prophetic and apostolic ministries, potent worship, emphasis on prayer and fasting, embracing a diversity of people, and flowing in the grace of God.
It’s expression at CHF:
1. Church Planting / Apostolic
CHF is home to a church planting team (apostolic team) led by Jim McCracken, primarily in the MN/WI region (see church directory for a list). CHF also belongs to a network of churches which we call TrueBridge.
2. Missions / Outreach
Historically, the church has devoted around 20% of its general budget to missions. We have ministry partners all around the world, and support various missionary endeavors - Christine Erickson oversees Missions & Outreach.
3. Training leaders
CHF has trained over 150 leaders over the years to do all kinds of gospel work, from pastoring to church planting to missions, and we’re looking to accelerate our training even more.
4. Conference center
The church has hosted many conferences over the years, for our own in-house purposes, as well as conventions for TrueBridge and to citywide events.
5. Prophetic
CHF has had a strong history of prophetic ministry, from the pulpit to networking with other prophetic ministries in order to build up our members through the gift of prophecy.
God
We believe in the one true God described in the Bible; a God who has revealed Himself as three separate persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), yet is always the great I Am. We believe that God always was, that He doesn’t change along with His creation, and that His purposes are eternal and knowable as we seek after Him.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus is not simply the son of God, but is truly God the Son. We believe He came to earth to fulfill the promise of the Scriptures, to show us how to live, and He ultimately took our sins upon Himself, died a criminal’s death and rose again to provide the needed reconciliation between God and man. We believe He is alive today, ministering to the hearts of man and advocating for His faithful ones before the Father. We believe He will come again in His time to further fulfill the Scriptures and God’s eternal plan.
The Holy Spirit
Jesus promised His followers that He would send His Spirit to empower, comfort and lead them as they lived their daily lives. The Holy Spirit works to show unbelievers their need for salvation, and when someone gives their heart to God, He comes and lives within them. We also believe that the Holy Spirit is living and active, and witnesses truth to us by speaking the things on God’s heart into our own.
Salvation
We understand that God created the human race to have a relationship with Him, but that relationship was broken when sin entered the world. We believe that human nature is inherently sinful, but that Jesus came to provide the living sacrifice necessary to cover our sins. By giving your life to Him (being "born again"), individuals come under the covering of His salvation.
The Bible
At City Hill Fellowship, we recognize that the Bible is the Word of God. We teach that it is truth, and not merely a collection of inspirational stories. Instead, we view the Scriptures as an accurate source of God’s perspective on human events throughout history, and an innerant source of His wisdom and will, delivered through chosen men who were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit. That means it is the final authority regarding matters of faith and life, and is not superseded by any other source.
The Church
The New Testament teaches us that we are to gather together for prayer, worship, teaching and other elements of the communal aspect of a Christian life. Anytime people who have received salvation through faith in Christ get together, you’ve got a church meeting. At City Hill, we believe that we can best grow in faith by learning from and supporting each other in our walk with Christ, so we actively encourage people to not only attend, but get involved in various "church meetings." In addition to Sunday morning services, we offer small groups to fit most every interest and lifestyle, as well as a variety of outreach and ministry opportunities.
Our Mission
We see our mission in pretty simple terms: love God and serve Him by loving and serving His people. That means telling people about their need for salvation and how Jesus has made a way for them. At City Hill, we want to equip people to be able to confidently spread this good news in their neighborhoods, at school or work and throughout the entire earth. We want to help people manage the tough situations in life by using the tools God gave us in His word, and we want to show the love of Christ in practical ways, every day. That is why our tagline is: City Hill Fellowship – A Heart for God and People.