What We Believe

Before time began, God existed in relational community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God didn’t create humans because He lacked something only we could fill. It was from the overflow of His eternal and loving relationship that God created mankind in His image to experience relationship with Him.

Unfortunately, mankind rejected God, choosing self-rule and sin over His love. We tried to be the center of our own lives - defining good and evil for ourselves, disobeying God, and breaking our perfect relationship with Him. As a result, creation itself and our very lives fell into brokenness and shame.

As fallen beings, there is nothing we can do to earn, achieve, or scheme our way back to God. All of us have fallen (Romans 3:23) and the weight of sin is death (Romans 6:23). However, God was not content to allow our relationship with Him to remain broken (Romans 5:8). In His love, God took the first step towards us and offered us what we could not have claimed for ourselves. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God extended unreasonable grace to us, restoring us in relationship with God and one another if we accept through faith this gift of redemption.

Just as God created us through, in, and for relationship with Him in the beginning, God promises to restore us as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus’s resurrection restores us to the purpose and relationship that God created us for. The Bible says that through Jesus, you are a new creation with a new heart, new desires, and a renewal of the identity and image you had before your brokenness set in. Not only does God redeem you, He also invites you to be a part of His dream to restore and redeem people, systems, communities, and even creation itself!

We believe that there is one God and that by Him all things are created. This Creator of the heavens and earth exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal (Genesis 1:1, 26; John 1:1-2, 4;24; Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:5-6).

Jesus is the eternal and second person of the Trinity. Though fully divine, He became fully human. He was born of the Virgin Mary and lived a sinless life. He was crucified for our sins, and through His resurrection, freed all people from the power of sin and death. He will return again, ushering in the eternal Kingdom of God, though this Kingdom is also present as we abide under the rule and reign of Jesus in our lives. All who respond to the work and teaching of Jesus by a personal belief that issues forth in personal obedience to Jesus and His teaching will live forever with Him (Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1, 12:44-45; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 4:15; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The Holy Spirit is the eternal and third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit continually draws men and women closer to God. Being marked by the Holy Spirit as children of God, we are encouraged, transformed to be more like Jesus, convicted of sin, and empowered to serve others (John 14:16-17, 16:5-15; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 5:22-23).

The Bible, Old and New Testaments, is supernaturally inspired, preserved across time and delivered to us. It is useful for instruction. It is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

All people are created in the image of God and are the pinnacle of God’s creative work. Man was created to have fellowship with God, but became separated in that relationship through the fall, where we attempted to take God’s place on the throne of creation; defining good and evil for ourselves. As a result, man cannot be reconciled to God through his own efforts or merits; our only hope of redemption is Jesus the Christ. Every person, from conception to death (regardless of age, gender, race, sexual identity, or affiliation) possesses dignity and immeasurable worth and is worthy of respect and love - including pre-born children, elderly individuals, those with disabilities (physical, mental, or otherwise), and those marginalized by society.

We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus the Christ alone. There is no other way to salvation and reconciliation with God than through Jesus. Salvation occurs when we recognize and confess our sin and rebellion against God, placing our faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins. Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned through any work or effort.

The Church is not a building, but a local community of Jesus followers unified by Jesus being our centering element. It is committed to partner with Jesus in His work to restore people, systems, and communities to the imagination (Imago) that He had for us/them. The Church is not perfect, because it involves imperfect people. But, Jesus is perfect and is the true head of the Church. The Church is not made up of “ministers” and “congregation,” but each of us are given gifts and passions by God to redeem our communities and equip people to become more like Him.

Scripture teaches that salvation comes through faith alone by God’s grace alone through Jesus Christ alone. Because of this, we do not practice “sacraments” that have a role in saving our eternal souls. We do, however, participate in many of the same practices typically called “sacraments” as a part of our relationship with Jesus. We call these “ordinances,” because we see them ordained by Jesus in Scripture. Altitude Church recognizes three ordinances: Baptism, communion, and foot washing.

Altitude Church, as it has been historically tied to the Church of God Movement since 1887, has advocated for ordained women in all roles of ministry, including that of Lead Pastor and eldership, since our beginning. We recognize the debate that causes some branches of the Christian faith to allow only male leadership. However, we see ample evidence in Scripture where women were appointed and anointed by God to such roles.