The following are the core beliefs of Kalamazoo Community Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each of Whom possess equally all attributes of deity and the characteristics of personality. In the beginning God created out of nothing the world and all the things therein, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness. By His sovereign power He continues to sustain His creation. By His providence He is operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive purposes. (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 90:1-2; Luke 3:21-22; John 8:42-58; Colossians 1:15-20)
God has revealed himself to us through his son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God, the holy scriptures, and through all of creation itself.
Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations.
When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time.
The central purpose of God's revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Himself. Originally created to have fellowship with God, man defied God, choosing to go his independent way. He was alienated from God and suffered the corruption of his nature, rendering him unable to please God. The fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals since have suffered these consequences and are thus in need of the saving grace of God. The salvation of mankind is, then, wholly a work of God's free grace, not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness, and must be personally appropriated by repentance and faith. When God has begun a saving work in the heart of any person, He gives assurance in His word that He will continue performing it until the day of its full consummation. (Genesis 3; John 3:1-16; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 John 5:1-11)
The corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that all believers become members of His body, the church. There is one true church universal, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of baptism and communion, fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world. Wherever God's people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church. Under the watch care of elders and other supportive leadership, its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ. (Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:1-16; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 4:10-11)
Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth. The entirety of the Christian faith rests on the event that is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus then appeared to many people, including his own followers, and they wrote it down. Jesus resurrection put the "pin" in what he came to do in offering forgiveness for sins and eternal life for all those who follow him.