The Church has endured severe division throughout the centuries over non-essential issues. We don't want to get caught up in this frenzy of splintering relationships; our core beliefs are for the purpose of fellowship and unity.
Here's a brief overview of the core beliefs of Christianity:
The Bible is the divine revelation of God to mankind.
It is our fixed source of authority for faith and conduct, without error. It is endurable for all generations and cultures.
God is eternal.
Having always existed outside of time and space, a single Being consisting of three, interrelated Persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the Eternal Son of God.
Conceived by The Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, The One who ultimately restored mankind from sin, raised from the dead and is seated with the Heavenly Father.
The Holy Spirit is present to make people aware of their need of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is present to empower the believer to live their destiny in following Jesus.
Mankind is made in the spiritual image of God.
Mankind is fallen from innocence due to willful choice to do wrong, destined for eternal separation from God, but is provided an opportunity to be reconciled through Christ. Mankind is invited to accept Christ, repent of sin and get a fresh start.
The Church is The Body of Christ.
It consists of all Christians on a three-fold mission of reaching up, reaching in and reaching out.
The future is hopeful for those prepared for the imminent return of Christ; followers of Jesus look forward to eternal life with God.
Lifehouse Church is an inter-denominational church. "Inter-denominational" simply means we partner and receive accountability from the Lifehouse Church Network. We have the same cause, values, statements of faith, and shared discipleship systems. The Network does not restrict or control individual churches. In essence, we have support and accountability without a denominational agenda.
Therefore, our leadership structure and decision-making process is fairly unique. Here is a brief overview of the policies and processes:
The structure of leadership and decision-making is streamlined:
We want people to have fewer meetings and more opportunities to engage in real ministry. We are trading committees for teams — simply, a fluid group of people who have common ministries and desire to advance God's Kingdom together. We are trading paralyzing bureaucracy for action-oriented ministry conducted by those empowered with both responsibility and authority. As a result, the people and the pastors are giving up certain areas of control — the people yield control of leadership to the pastors; the pastors yield control of the ministry to the people. The people minister; the pastors administer. The pastor leads the people who are ministering; he does not control the ministries.
Those doing ministry make ministry decisions:
Those who implement are also the decision-makers. Thus, Lifehouse Church is a staff-led church rather than a board-led church. At Lifehouse Church, we are trading an American form of government for a governing structure that more closely resembles the structure found in the book of Acts. At Lifehouse Church, we are passionate about healthy growth, not tedious maintenance. We are avoiding organizational machinery and investing our time, energy and money into ministry and people.
The Lead Pastor is surrounded by ministry advisors:
The pastor recognizes pastoral leadership within the church. To provide advice and support to the pastor, both an Eldership team and a Business Management Team have been established. These individuals lead both spiritually and administratively within Lifehouse Church. They function much like a presidential cabinet. They are to be individuals that fit the Biblical criteria for an elder or a trustee.
Accountability of Leadership:
As in the book of Acts, there are pastors of pastors – those gifted with an apostolic anointing. Rather than a church board scrutinizing the calling and fruit of the pastor, there is an apostolic leader and district superintendent charged with the stewardship of his ministerial credentials and oversight of leadership. These apostolic pastors of the pastors are in relationship with the pastor of the church, and meet regularly with him. They also are available for an appeal if members of the congregation detect moral, ethical, or theological variance.
Affiliations:
• ARC (Church Planting)
• Potomac Ministry Network
• Reach North East
• Church Multiplying Network (CMN)
• Lifehouse Church Network