upcoming events

Beliefs & Practices

Thank you for taking the online survey, these results will be included in the 2011 PCOS Annual Report. Plan to attend the Annual Congregational Meeting and pot-luck dinner on Sunday, Feb. 26, 5:30pm, meeting begins at 6:30pm. We will discuss the results of this survey and plans for 2012. Childcare is provided.

Haven't taken the survey yet? Click here and share how PCOS ministers to you, your family and the community.Survey ends Sunday, Feb. 19, 11pm.

The Core Beliefs of PCOS:

The Triune God: We believe that there is only one true, living, sovereign, holy, and eternal God. He exists in three co-equal persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - each being a distinct person but all of one essence with all possessing the same nature, perfection and attributes. The triune God is the creator and sustainer of all things, the source of all truth, and is worthy of worship, confidence and obedience. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Genesis 1:31)

Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, performed many miracles, shed His blood on the cross as a payment for the sin of all humanity, died, resurrected in the body, ascended to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for humanity. Jesus will return literally, visibly, and personally in glory and power. (John 1:1-3, 14, Matthew 1:18-25, Philippians 2:5-9, Colossians 1:15, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Acts 1:11)

The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is God, co-equal and co-existent with the Father and the Son. He is our Divine helper, convicting us of sin, regenerating and sanctifying us so that we might transform the world. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and empowers every believer to live a godly life. (John 14:16-19, 16:7-15, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Romans 8:9, 11, Titus 3:5)

The Bible: We believe that through the Holy Spirit, God inspired and directed human beings to craft the entire Bible, all 66 books of the combined Old and New Testaments. The Bible is the infallible rule of faith and life and without equal in its authority for all humanity. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Humanity: We believe that in the beginning, God created humankind, male and female, in His image as the capstone of God’s creation. Humanity was created with the ability to live perfectly for God’s glory. Because we are created in His image, our humanity, under the direction of His Word, helps us to know God. (Genesis 1:17, 31).

Sin: We believe that sin is rebellion against God and any desire of conformity to His law. The whole of the earth has fallen under the curse of humanity’s sin. All have been born sinful and therefore have lost their ability to live for the glory of God have and brought the curse of death and misery into the world. (Genesis 3:1-24, Romans 3:10-23, 5:12-21, 6:23)

 Salvation: We believe the salvation of a fallen humanity is foremost a work of God’s free grace, eternally determined from before the foundations of the earth were laid. This free gift of God’s grace, apart from human works, is made possible only by the work and life of Jesus Christ and made effective by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.(Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Church: We believe that the church is the body of Christ and the family of God. Jesus is the Head of the Church and she exists as His bride for the purpose of demonstrating the character of God to the world. As the Father sent the Son into the world and the Son sent the Spirit, the Spirit sends the Church into the world. Every Church is subject to mixture and error. God will preserve His Church against the sinful and evil powers of the world. (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Hebrews 10:25).

 Eternity: We believe humanity was created to exist forever. Human beings will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union with God through salvation. At death, the soul is separated from the body and rejoined at the resurrection of all who have ever lived. Some will be resurrected to eternal death devoid of God’s grace and some to eternal life. At the resurrection, the Heavenly City, New Jerusalem, will descend with Jesus Christ and perfect and renew the cosmos for all eternity. (Daniel 12:2, John 3:16, 2:25, Romans 6:23, Revelation 21:1-4).

Good Works: We believe that our necessary repentance from evil to good works is the product of salvation rather than the cause. Repentance is the fruit of the Holy Spirit living within us and we are unable to do any true good apart from Him. Good works are the privilege of the child of God to mold His creation and reveal His character to the world.(Ephesians 2:10, Luke 18:19, John 17:23) 

The Core Practices of PCOS:

KNOW
Glorious Worship: The purpose of worship is to ascribe all praise, honor and glory to the Triune God. We shall bend our knee only to God and therefore we will not worship any person, style, music or building. Worship is our invitation to know Jesus and so we will endeavor to approach our Lord in Spirit and in Truth, knowing that all we say or do is to be to the glory of God so that reverent worship may permeate every moment of our lives. (Psalm 100:3, 1 Corinthians 10:31, John 4:24, Exodus 20:4-6)

 Overflowing Joy: Our life together in Christ is to be marked with joy. Joy is not circumstantial but comes about through obedience to God. Joy is the mark of a confidence in the love of God. As the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, we are to be joy-filled, with praise of Jesus’ work on our lips. Stumbling, we are made blameless from sin, and our joy overflows into a world made miserable from sin and death. (Psalm 100:1-2, John 15:11, Galatians 5:22, Jude 1:24)

Love of God’s Word: The infallible Truth of God’s Word is to saturate our heads as well as our hearts. All Scripture is useful for teaching, showing us our sins, and for training us to be all that the Father has made us to be. The love of God’s Word helps us know peace, gives us courage, blesses us, makes us wise, and fills our spirit with life. (Psalm 119:97, Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16, Deuteronomy 28:1-2)

GROW
Devoted Discipleship: We are to grow daily in Him, Jesus Christ who is the head of the Church, through obedience to His will. God’s grace and love come afresh every morning and His expectation for our lives is that we grow consistently in love of God and neighbor by experiencing His presence in a time devoted to daily prayer and Bible study. (Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 9:23, Matthew 22:36-40, Ephesians 4:15)

Holy Spirit Dependence: We are the dwelling place, the temple of the Holy Spirit of the Living God.  Jesus asked the Father to send the Spirit as a helper for His people so we might be renewed, set free from the flesh and transformed into a vessel for great works in His name as the Spirit fills us. God has poured out His Spirit upon all flesh, so we must consistently look for His work in the world in surprising places. (Psalm 139:7, Joel 2:28, John 14:16-17, Galatians 5:16-17)

Transforming Relationships: The Church is made of people transformed by a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus uses relationships with other believers to help us grow into His likeness. Together, we hold in common our concerns and joys and join together to become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ is not learned but is caught from other believers as we strive together to know Christ. (John 1:14, Acts 2:44-47, Ephesians 2:22, Hebrews 3:13)

SHOW
Humble Stewardship: God is the owner of all.  He has made us to be stewards of His Creation.  We will work both individually and corporately, with grateful and generous hearts, to use for His purposes that which He has entrusted to us. We will endeavor to practice the tithe, believing the tithe creates spiritual abundance. (Psalm 24:1, Acts 2:45-46, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Malachi 3:10)

Passionate Evangelism: The coming of Jesus into the world to redeem us from sin is good news that demands a telling. The people privileged to see and live in the light of Jesus should be passionate and persistent in sharing with all who have ears to hear that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Proclamation is the work of the believer. Salvation is the work of the Spirit. (Psalm 105:1, Romans 1:16, Matthew 28:20, 1 Peter 2:9)

Personal Mission: Jesus sends us out of our comfort zone and fills us with the Holy Spirit to build His Kingdom in our community, nation and world. Using our homes, our families, our vocations, and every God-given resource He has placed in our hands, Jesus bids us to choose to serve Him daily, wherever we find ourselves. We are His witnesses to our neighbors, our city, our enemies and even to the ends of the earth. (Genesis 12:1-3; 2, Joshua 24:15, Acts 1:8, Psalm 67)