Our Beliefs

Salvation - The Bible teaches us clearly that every man is a sinner and therefore is in need of salvation.  In order to obtain that much needed salvation, the only thing necessary is for a sinner to acknowledge his guilt before God and receive the sacrifice that Jesus Christ has already made on the cross as the atonement for his sins.  A sinner does not need to do any good works, keep the commandments, be baptized, or make any other attempt at saving himself.  Eternal life is a free gift requiring nothing more than a sinner willing to receive what has already been prepared for him through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Romans 3:23; John 1:12; Hebrews 10:10-14; Romans 5:11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 1Corinthians 1:17; Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:28; Romans 4:5; Romans 6:23; Romans 3:24)

Baptism - The Bible teaches that after a man has been saved by grace, he should be baptized through immersion in water.  There are no instances in the scriptures of anyone being sprinkled for the purpose of baptism, and therefore we reject that as a proper baptism.  Likewise, there are no instances of infants being baptized in the Bible, and therefore we consider that utterly useless and heretical. (1Peter 3:21; Matthew 3:16; Acts 8:38)

Eternal Security - The Bible teaches that once a man has been saved by grace, then he is not able to lose his salvation.  Every saved person is kept by the power of God, not through their good, moral lives.  It's clear that there are consequences for a believer who sins after he has accepted Christ, but nowhere does it say that he ceases to be a child of God.  After being born again, that believer is and always will be in the family of God.  (John 10:27-28; Hebrews 12:6; Hebrews 13:5; John 6:37; Romans 8:38-29; Titus 2:13; 1Peter 1:5)

Witnessing - The Bible teaches that all saved people have been given the word and the ministry of reconciliation.  It is one of our primary duties as the people of God to go into all the world and preach the gospel.  Throughout the book of Acts, the disciples consistently preach the gospel at every turn.  Per their example, we believe that a church which does not place the same emphasis on winning the lost is not a Biblical church. (Mark 16:15; 1Corinthians 9:16-17; Acts 1:8; Acts 8:4; 2Timothy 1:7-8)

Tongues - The Bible teaches that there are two kinds of tongues found in the New Testament.  The apostles were granted the miracle of other tongues, which served as a sign for the unbelieving Jews to whom they were ministering.  There are also unknown tongues which are mentioned and explained in great detail in 1Corinthians 14.  Whereas the miracle of other tongues is no longer found in the church today, the gift of diverse tongues (languages) is still applicable.  An unknown tongue is simply a language that the speaker knows, but the hearers do not, and therefore the language must be interpreted so that the church can be edified.  If all of the rules of 1Corinthians 14 are followed, then we do not forbid anyone to use these diverse tongues in our assemblies.  The Bible does warn us about babbling tongues and therefore we completely reject and condemn the usage of such nonsense.  (Acts 2:4; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1Corinthians 14:22; Ecclesiastes 10:11)

Women Preachers - The Bible teaches that women are to keep silent in the churches.  This does not mean that a woman cannot preach, only that she cannot do it in the church.  We encourage all of our female members to preach the gospel to as many lost souls as possible.  Based upon the clear teaching in the New Testament, we will not however allow a woman to preach or teach in one of our church services.  (1Corinthians 14:34-35; 1Timothy 2:12; Acts 21:9)

Scriptures - The Bible teaches that the scriptures are the sole authority on which any person is to rely, without contradiction from any kind of the traditions of men.  Because there has been so much confusion caused by translators trying to constantly update and correct the scriptures, it is necessary that we make clear that we believe, use, and accept only the King James Version of the Bible as the true scriptures in English.  We also believe that any Bible in any language which agrees with the King James Version is accurate and can be considered the literal words of God.  In Chichewa, we currently use the Buku Lopatulika with the reservation to correct it only where it differs with the King James Version in English.  We do encourage all of our members who only know Chichewa to read, study, and memorize verses from the Buku Lopatulika every day. (2Timothy 3:16-17; Mark 7:7-9; Isaiah 29:13; Romans 4:3; Romans 11:2; Galatians 4:30; John 12:48)

Denominational Cooperation - The Bible teaches that saved people are expected to mark anyone or any group that is teaching contrary to the doctrine clearly laid out in the New Testament.  We therefore reject the philosophy of ignoring doctrinal differences so that everyone can fellowship together and "get along".  Real unity is found by everyone submitting to the same final authority, that being the scriptures.  We have no intentions of persecuting anyone for whatever he or she believes.  We recognize that everyone is free to believe and practice as they wish.  This does not mean however that they are right in what they believe and practice.  It's our desire to lovingly and zealously stop the mouths of false teachers/preachers and warn any man or woman of the dangers of false doctrine.  (Romans 16:17-18; 2Corinthians 4:4; 2Corinthians 11:13-15; John 8:44,55; Matthew 23:33; Titus 1:9-11; Titus 3:10; 2Peter 2:1-3; Acts 20:28-31; 2John 10-11)