WHO WE ARE &
WHAT WE BELIEVE

NHCC is committed to the principles of our Christian Church heritage. While we are in fellowship with over 5,000 other Christian Church / Church of Christ congregations worldwide, we are not governed by any body or denomination; rather, we recognize Jesus Christ alone as head of the Church, and choose local church leadership according to Biblical qualifications. Our heritage stands behind these reminders:

• In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love.

• We are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.

• We follow no creed but Christ.

Specifically, NHCC embraces the phrase "Connect, Grow, Serve" to embody our vision and mission, understood as follows:

CONNECT:

...with God through His Word.

...with one another authentically.

...with those who have yet to encounter Jesus.

GROW:

...increasingly independent in feeding ourselves.

...increasingly dependent on Jesus as the life-giving Vine.

...increasingly reproductive in making disciples.

SERVE:

...one another above ourselves.

...the hurting, lacking and marginalized in our midst.

...God through His church.

The following principles are not intended as a test of fellowship, but are simply meant to affirm our belief in key Biblical doctrines. We offer this document as a framework to help unify our faith community under the authority of Christ and His Word, and to equip us in our mission. While faithful, Bible-believing Christians may disagree upon finer points of theology, we believe Christians can and should agree on the following:

  • God is the One true God, Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three co-equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

    (1 Corinthians 8:6, Matthew 28:19-20, Ephesians 4:4-6)

  • We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, fully God and fully man, co-equal with the Father. We believe in His virgin birth, His perfect sinless life; His miracles; His vicarious and atoning death on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins; His bodily resurrection; His ascension to the right hand of the Father in Heaven where He dwells as our High Priest and Advocate, and in His personal and imminent return to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Matthew 3:17, 1 Peter 1:19, 2:21-25, Matt 1:18-23; 28:1-6, Acts 1:9, John 2:9; 4:46; 5:5, John 14:13, Acts 1:11, 1 Thess. 4:14-18)

  • We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, co-equal with the Father and the Son, whose guidance and gifts enable us to live God-honoring and Christ-centered lives. He is present in the world to make us aware of our need for Jesus Christ, and present in the life of every Christian to equip the Church and serve others (John 14:26, 15:26-27, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4:10-11)

  • The Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God, written by human authors under guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is God-breathed and useful for teaching, correcting and training in righteousness, alone serving as the authoritative basis for our faith and practice (2 Tim. 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21).

  • We believe that human beings are the supreme object of God’s creation, created in His image and deeply loved by Him. We believe we were created to have a close and personal relationship with God. Yet as humans we defied God, choosing to go our own independent way, and because of this were separated from Him by our sin. We believe that Christ’s sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross satisfied God’s holy justice. Only by trusting in Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. We believe that the New Testament gives us the following pattern for salvation, and we practice this pattern for membership:

    • Hear the gospel message (Romans 10:17)


    • Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord & Savior (John 3:15-16)


    • Repent of sin (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 17:30)


    • Confess Christ as God's Son (Matthew 10:32, Romans 10:9-10)


    • Choose to be baptized through immersion (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 6:1-8)

    • Love should be the distinguishing trait of all Christ followers (John 13:35).

    • The mission and commitment of the church, as well as each follower of Christ, is to make disciples, where our church community and our very lives are an invitation to experience the saving grace of Jesus (Matthew 28:19,20, Romans 1:17, 2 Peter 3:18, Acts 2:42).

    • Remembering Jesus by celebrating Communion weekly is both scriptural and appropriate (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 20:7, Luke 22:19).

    • We believe in the resurrection from the dead of the saved as well as the lost; the saved for eternal life in God's presence and glory; the lost for eternal separation from God (Mat. 25:31-32, Rev. 20:4-15, 1 Cor. 15:51-52).

    • We believe that Christian marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God and is the spiritual and physical union of one man and one woman (Mt. 19:4-6, Heb 13:4).

    These statements of faith do not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. As stated above, the Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of humankind, is the sole and final
 source of all that we believe.