WHAT WE BELIEVE

We define what we believe through these elements:

CORE VALUES   |  OUR DOCTRINE 

Core Values

Summit Point Church declares six core values as the biblical priorities for all ministries run within the church.

In humility and honor, we …

1. PREACH BOLDLY... proclaiming the truth of God clearly and practically

Nehemiah 8:8 // “They read from the book … clearly … and they gave the sense” 

2. WORSHIP AUTHENTICALLY... celebrating the person of God passionately and completely

John 4:24 // "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 

3. PRAY DEPENDENTLY... approaching the presence of God fervently and expectantly

1 John 5:14 // "This is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us” 

4. WITNESS COURAGEOUSLY... sharing the gospel of God wisely and respectfully

1 Peter 3:15 // “Be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you … with gentleness and respect" 

5. GATHER PURPOSEFULLY... engaging the people of God transparently and hopefully

Hebrews 10:19-25 // “…let us draw near … let us hold fast … let us consider how to stir one another up" 

6. PLANT STRATEGICALLY... building the church of God locally and internationally

Acts 14:21-23 // “Preached the gospel to that city … strengthened souls … appointed elders … prayed” 

Our Doctrine

GOD

We believe in the only true God (John 17:3), who is the Creator (Revelation 4:11) Sustainer (Hebrews 1:3), Redeemer (Titus 2:13-14), and Ruler of all things (Psalm 97:1). In Him “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He is the perfect, sinless God of truth, and He is always just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4). Ultimately, He will judge the whole world (Psalm 9:8). 

THE TRINITY

We believe God has no beginning and will never have an end (Deuteronomy 33:27). He is one being (Deuteronomy 6:4) in three coexistent persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). These three persons have precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections; and each are worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 4:3-4). While the three persons of the Trinity are equal in nature and glory, they each execute roles that show order and submission, in complete unity.

GOD THE FATHER

We believe God the Father is the first Person of the Trinity and has ultimate headship in this world (John 14:31; Romans 8:27). He leads according to His sovereign will (Isaiah 45:7). His wisdom and knowledge are unparalleled (Romans 11:33-36). The Father exercises His position of sovereign leadership over creation, providence, and redemption (Colossians 1:17; James 1:17; John 6:44-45).

GOD THE SON

We believe Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Trinity, eternally God’s Son (John 1:1; Hebrews 1:2-3). He is the perfect revelation of God in the flesh (John 14:8-9; Hebrews 1:3). He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18-25). He is, therefore, fully God and fully man—a complex combination of two natures in one glorious eternal being (John 1:14; John 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:16). Jesus died, rose again, ascended into the heavens, and is now seated at the Father’s right hand, where He intercedes as High Priest for all those saved (Ephesians 1:20-21; Hebrews 7:24-25; 1 John 2:1-2). He will physically return to reign as King of Kings for all eternity (Revelation 19:11-20).

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, and His ministry is primarily to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit does this as He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Also, at salvation, He causes a sinner to be born again to new life (Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3), baptizing the new believer into one body of which Christ is the head (1 Corinthians 12:11-13). The Holy Spirit sanctifies, seals, fills, guides, instructs, comforts, equips, empowers, permanently indwells beginning at salvation, and bestows spiritual gifts to the believer for Christ-like living and service (Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 4:11-12; Romans 8:9-17; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-5; Galatians 5:25; Hebrews 2:1-4; 2 Corinthians 12:12).

We believe the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit will not cease until Jesus returns and ushers in perfection (1 Corinthians 13:8-12; Revelation 20:1-6). Until then, each believer is blessed upon salvation with one or more gifts, and no one gift is given to all (1 Corinthians 12:28-30). We do not take a firm position on personal prayer languages, but Summit Point Church does not encourage the public use of “sign gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:19). Instead, we depend upon the complete sufficiency of scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17) and seek to emphasize the “more excellent way” of love as well as zeal for the more edifying gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31).

THE BIBLE

We believe God revealed Himself and His gracious plan of salvation in the 66 books of the Old Testament and the New Testament (2 Timothy 3:14-15). These books were written by human authors under the supernatural inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21), and they were entirely true and without error in their original writings (John 10:35; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 6:18). As God’s Word, the Bible is sufficient to equip each person to be able to live in a godly way, both in thought and action (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Psalm 119:97-104; Psalm 119:160). 

MAN

We believe that, by His spoken word, God created all that exists with order and purpose (Colossians 1:15-16; Genesis 1:1-25). This includes human beings, as the greatest of His creationwhom God created in His own image and for His own glory (Genesis 1:26-31). He created them male and female (Genesis 1:27). Mankind was originally made in innocence, but Adam and Eve trampled on God’s glory by sinning against Him. Because of this, they received the punishment of physical and spiritual death (Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 6:23). Man’s fallen sin nature is now passed to every human being through male headship; however, this is not true for Jesus because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not man (Romans 5:12). Thus, all mankind, except for Jesus, is now sinful, has trampled God’s glory, and is in need of a Savior (Romans 3:10-19).

SALVATION

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ lived a sinless, perfect life (1 Peter 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He then died a sovereignly planned yet unwarranted death on a cross, and three days later, He victoriously rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:2-3). Jesus is alive! His sinless death has the ability to replace our sinful debt (Hebrews 9:12-14). People are saved when they admit their own sin, believe Jesus died and rose from the dead, and confess Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord by giving Him control of their life (Romans 10:9-10). This salvation is not based on good works, but rather on faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Each person who receives Christ as personal Savior is redeemed by the Son (Galatians 3:13), adopted by the Father (Romans 8:15), and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). This makes salvation eternally secure as a complete work of love by the full Godhead (Romans 8:37-39). Therefore, the salvation experience involves the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. This complex relationship is resolved in the depths of the wisdom and mysteries of God (Romans 11:28; Deuteronomy 29:29). However, we will always point to God’s sovereignty as playing a primary role, for if God is not sovereign over all, He is not sovereign at all.

SATAN, DEMONS, SPIRITUAL WARFARE

We believe Satan was originally created as an angel, with great responsibility and beauty (Ezekiel 28:16). He and one third of the angels fell from glory when, through pride, they chose to worship self (Ezekiel 28:17; Revelation 12:3-4, 7-10). Satan works in this world as a tempter (Matthew 4:3), an accuser (Revelation 12:9-10), and the father of lies (John 8:44). He and his fallen angels (demons) seek to blind the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4) and, like roaring lions, attack believers (1 Peter 5:8). We as believers battle the satanic forces by first submitting to God in worship and confession, and then by resisting the demonic lies whispered into our soul (James 4:7-8). Ultimately, Satan and all His demons will be defeated by Jesus Christ and will be thrown into Hell forever (Revelation 20:1-3; Revelation 7-10; Revelation 14-15).

THE CHURCH

We believe there is one Universal Church, also called “the body” of Christ that is made up of all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 4:4-5; Matthew 16:18). The Scriptures command all believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances (baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to make disciples of all believers (Ephesians 5:23; Romans 12:1; Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Matthew 28:18-20). 

We believe a local expression of the Universal Church exists wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command. Each local church is to be led by godly men who serve as elders, deacons, and pastors (1 Timothy 3:1-13; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Ephesians 4:11-12). We are excited to have any and all serve within the church as the handiwork of God given for good works (Ephesians 2:10; 4:10-11). We do ask that women serve in any role within the church that is not limited by scripture—roles that involve authority over or teaching men (1 Timothy 2:12-14). The church’s members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ (Ephesians 4:16). 

We believe there are two ordinances given by God for the church to practice as a reminder of His great work in our lives. All who are saved by God through faith afterward are to be baptized by immersion, celebrating the life they have in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:1-4; Acts 8:9-13). In addition, believers are to take part in communion as a symbolic remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The body of Christ is represented by the bread, while the blood of Jesus spilled at the cross is represented by the drink (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

MISSIONS

We believe the purpose of missions is to introduce the world to the greatness of Jesus Christ and His loving sacrifice. We seek to partner with Jesus in building His one universal church by helping to establish local expressions of that church wherever He so blesses (Matthew 16:18). Our call is to see individuals saved, churches built, and Christ glorified (Matthew 28:18-20).

MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND SEXUALITY

We believe marriage is a commitment between one man and one woman, and it is meant to be for life (Genesis 2:18-25; Romans 7:2). Marriage is intended as a deeply fulfilling human relationship, but it is also a model of the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). While marriage is intended to be life long, it is understood that there are some circumstances where divorce may be appropriate. We at Summit Point Church will only assist a couple in divorcing under the two listed Biblical causes: marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 19:1-9), and an unbeliever choosing to leave the believer (1 Corinthians 7:12-15). In all other situations, we will seek to come alongside and lovingly hold each spouse accountable to their proper actions and responses.

As a follower of Christ, we take all of our sin before our God with humble submission and confession (1 John 1:9). This would include any sexual interaction outside of a one-man, one-woman marriage (Romans 1:26-27; Ephesians 5:3). While we as a church submit willingly to our civil governing authorities, we ultimately submit “as to the Lord” so we will always give scripture the preeminence in making decisions in areas such as marriage and sexuality.

THE LAST DAYS        

We believe that Jesus Christ will personally return to this earth to establish His physical kingdom (Revelation 19:11-21), where He will reign for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-10). He will then reign in a New Heaven and New Earth for eternity after that (Revelation 21:1-4). His promised return gives the believer great hope for an eternal life with God and with all others who believe (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 

We believe in the last days, there will be a bodily resurrection of all mankind, both of those who believe in Jesus and of those who do not (Revelation 20:4-5). At the final judgment, those who refused to believe in Jesus while on this earth will be separated forever from the glory and love of God, instead residing in a place of eternal torment (Matthew 13:49-50; Mark 9:47-48; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8). This place of separation is called Hell (Luke 12:5). In contrast, believers, in their glorified bodies, will live forever in the glorious presence of God in all His glory and love as they celebrate, worship, and serve Him (Matthew 8:11; Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7). This place of eternal, glorious relationship with our God is called the New Heaven (Revelation 21:1-4).