our values & beliefs
Here's what you can expect us to teach and practice.
Our vision
We are one church made up of multiplying house churches who:
know JEsus,
become like him,
& Bring others along with us.
Our core values
While each of our house churches have their own unique style and format, we all agree on a set of core values that help create a shared culture across all our locations. These are the principles you can expect to see promoted and acted upon throughout our network.
01
The authority of
Scripture.
Everything we do and teach is to be in line with (and never contradicted by) by the 66 books of the Holy Bible. Every teaching, every prophetic word, and every “new idea” must stand up to the scrutiny of the entire Bible. Where Scripture allows for differing views, we too allow for differing views. But where Scripture is clear (when properly interpreted through sensible “hermeneutics” and “exegesis”), we believe that it is the final authority on matters of life, godliness, mission, ministry, conduct, relationships, and more. (2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:16)
02
Every believer is
a minister.
Jesus said that “everyone” who believes in Him would do His same works (and even greater!). And according to the prophet Joel, God’s Spirit is equally given to men, women, adults, children, rich, and poor. No one is exempt from the privilege of ministering to people because all the cultural “dividing walls” are removed in Christ. All of our house churches are deliberately interactive and offer ample opportunities for everyone to share, discuss, pray, and minister to each other. (John 14:12, Joel 2:28, Galatians 3:28).
03
A family-oriented
model of ministry.
While there are many different and valid ways of organizing a church, we feel that the healthiest way is to operate like a family. Disputes and disagreements are handled with the mutual understanding of long-term commitment to one another and the expectation that “you will see this person again.” Authority and leadership positions are granted relationally through faithfulness, service, and earning the trust of others. Elder people are honored and loved as our own family members. Generosity and kindness are extended to each other when someone is in need, just as we would care for our own family. (Galatians 6:10; 1 Timothy 5:1-2)
04
The active
presence of God.
Theologically, God is everywhere, but there are times when God takes specific action in a given time and place. We believe that God is with us all the time (whether or not we feel His presence and whether or not He does anything attention-grabbing), but we also believe that it is healthy to desire experiences with Him-in-action. Whenever we gather together—whether in our house churches, our large gatherings, our events, our leadership meetings, on the streets, or anywhere else—we expect that God is going to reveal Himself in a powerful way and do something to impact our lives and the lives of those around us. Jesus promised that as Spirit-empowered believers, we would witness Him in action wherever we go. We desire and aim for a sustained experience of interacting with our very real and alive God—both as a church and as individuals. (Acts 1:8; John 14:12; Mark 16:15-20)
05
Authenticity and
honor.
Part of honoring Jesus is honoring His Body, and every believer around us is part of that Body. To dishonor His Body is to dishonor Him. So our culture is to purposefully honor, encourage, and lift up one another (including other churches) as part of expressing worship to the Lord. The other part of this is that we’re all real with one another. When honor is based on who Jesus is and not based on our perfection, we feel free to be honest about our own imperfections, allowing our fellow believers to pray for us, encourage us, and help us in our weaknesses. Furthermore, this perspective keeps our honor genuine (instead of being mere flattery) because we’re actually honoring Jesus in each other (rather than simply pretending that we’re all worthy of something we’re not). (Romans 12:9-10; John 12:26)
06
Passionate
faithfulness.
Real faithfulness transcends emotions and earthly circumstances. We are a people who serve Jesus and love each other—not because it’s easy or because it’s always fun but because it’s who the Holy Spirit has made us to be in Christ. But even though we may not always feel passionate or joyful, we choose to honor the Bible’s commands to “rejoice in the Lord always” and to “never be lacking in zeal.” We choose to be faithful because Jesus is faithful, and we choose to be passionate in all we do because Jesus is worthy of so much more than we could ever give. (Romans 12:11-12; Colossians 1:28-29)
07
Generosity, hospitality,
and compassion
Our faithfulness and passion go beyond service in the church and extend to our careers, finances, and families. We encourage and prioritize debt-free living so that we are free to give generously, to fund the advancement of the gospel, and to help one another in times of need. And since we have such a central focus on house church ministry, hospitality becomes all the more important to the fabric of our faith, serving one another and caring for one another in our homes as one would care for family, even when it seems inconvenient. (Romans 12:13; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; 1 Peter 4:9)
08
Training, equipping,
and sending.
According to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Jesus has placed some people in the church for the purpose of training and equipping other believers in five key areas: Apostolic ministry, which is to represent Jesus, to blaze trails for the Gospel, and to be sent into the world as a messenger with a mission; Prophetic ministry, which is to discern what God is saying for others and then articulate it to them in a meaningful way, often calling them into their own fellowship with God; Evangelistic ministry, which is to tell people the good news about Jesus and what He has made possible for their lives, including demonstrations of His love and power in Jesus’ name; Shepherding ministry, which is to care for one another, keep watch over one another, aid in the spiritual growth of one another, and integrate lost sheep into the flock; and Teaching ministry, which is to imitate Jesus in a way that verbally and experientially educates believers and unbelievers in who God is and how to interact with Him. We actively look for people who are specifically called by the Lord to train us in these ways so that we can “all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13; Matthew 28:18-20)
09
Transformation from
small to large.
Our desire is to transform the culture of our region to become more and more like the Kingdom of God. This can only happen if we are effectively bringing Jesus’ transforming power to the lives of individuals and families. Our house churches embrace the culture of God's Kingdom in order to influence the lives of individuals, families, and eventually the culture of our cities and region. Therefore, the majority of our energy is focused on personal evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship, knowing God’s Kingdom will gradually increase to produce the large-scale transformation God desires. (Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 13:31-33; 2 Corinthians 5:16-20)
10
Faith and the supernatural intervention of God.
We believe that the world around us is, by default, in a fallen state. Without the “super-natural” intervention of God, the natural course of things is entropy (breaking down, falling apart, death, destruction, etc.). But God has chosen to partner with His children in positively influencing the world around us. Through simple trust and dependence on Him—a faith that is grown through relationship with Him—we are able to see the devil’s work dismantled and the kingdom of God established. When we pray and when we obey the Lord’s direction with faith in our faithful God that He will follow through, we are blessed to see the supernatural intervention of God imposed upon the natural course of things. Prayer, obedience to Jesus, and faith in Him produce real, miraculous results. (1 John 3:8; Matthew 6:10)
11
Vital empowerment from
the Holy Spirit.
Even though Jesus commanded His disciples to “go into all the world and make disciples,” He also commanded them to wait where they were until they had been “clothed with power from on high.” While it is possible to do great things in our own God-given strength, Jesus intends for us to be empowered and emboldened by His Spirit to do greater things than even He did when He walked the earth. If we are going to succeed—along with all believers—at fulfilling Jesus’ commission to us, then we must consider vital what He considered vital and seek to receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We do not support a culture of elitism but simply encourage every believer to prioritize seeking the empowerment of God for the sake of missional success. (Luke 24:49; John 14:12; Acts 1:4-8)
12
Lifestyle evangelism and purposeful outreach.
We believe Jesus has called us to two forms of reaching out to the world around us: (1) lifestyle evangelism and (2) purposeful outreach. Lifestyle evangelism is the practice of looking for opportunities in daily life where we can share the good news of Jesus with people in our regular spheres of influence. This could be in our own households, at work, at school, on the streets, in stores, or anywhere we may find ourselves in the normal course of life. But if this is the only form of evangelism we ever practice, some of us may never find ourselves among the poor, the drug addicts, the homeless, or other people who may never cross paths with us but need the Gospel just the same. Therefore, we need to also engage in purposeful outreach to people in places where we might not otherwise go to reveal the life and love of Jesus. As a church, we practice and encourage both forms of evangelism, scattering the seeds of God’s good news wherever we can. (Ephesians 4:1; Romans 10:14-15; Matthew 10:7-8)
13
Global
missions.
While the bulk of what we do centers on our own local area, we refuse to neglect our ultimate calling to “go into all the world.” Therefore, we regularly support foreign missionaries and even send teams and individuals from our own church to nations around the world where their gifts, ministries, testimonies, and experiences will be valuable to the people of those places. Every official house church in our network helps to support at least one foreign missionary, and our church is purposeful about proclaiming the heart and message of global missions on a regular basis. (Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15; Philippians 4:16-19)
14
Unity in the
family of God.
Christian unity begins when we are united with Christ. We don’t look at each other to decide where to compromise; we look at Jesus to become more like Him. The more in union we are with Christ, the more in union we are with each other. This requires a denial of self and a growing surrender to the Holy Spirit. Such unity starts in our personal relationships and extends to our house churches, our network, and even to our fellowship with other churches who are also growing in union with Jesus. Our house churches are not isolated gatherings but are part of a global family of Jesus-followers who are shining His light in the world. (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:14–16)
Our beliefs
As an Assembly of God church, we agree to teach the AG’s “Statement of Fundamental Truths,” which can be read here. The following Statement of Faith is our own simplified position, which we ask all Mission-Partners to agree on as we work together with the same message and vision.
We have an expanded doctrinal statement which includes our stances on disputable matters and a list of disapproved teachings. That document can be found here.
The scriptures are inspired by god.
The sixty-six books of the Christian Bible were written by men who were yielded vessels of the Holy Spirit. God inspired every word and protected the Scriptures from the pollution of human will and earthly agendas (2 Peter 1:20–21). It is God’s perfect written revelation of Himself to mankind (Psalm 19:7–9; John 5:39; 17:17). The Holy Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believers to live righteous lives (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
there is only one true god.
There is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5–6). This singular God exists eternally as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He is our Creator (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16), our Provider (Philippians 4:19), our Protector (Psalm 91:1–2), our Helper (John 14:16), our Master (John 13:13), our King (1 Timothy 6:15), and our Friend (John 15:15). He is the only eternal Judge of mankind (Acts 17:31; Hebrews 12:23) and is therefore the one and only authority on morality and life (James 4:12).
jesus christ is god.
Eternally existent as a distinct Person of the triune God, the Son—Jesus Christ—became a human being (John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:6–8). He was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), lived a sinless life while still befriending sinful people (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 11:19), worked mighty miracles (Acts 2:22), was killed by crucifixion, remained dead in a tomb for three days, physically rose to life (1 Corinthians 15:3–4), appeared to more than five hundred people (1 Corinthians 15:6), and physically ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 1:9–11; Hebrews 1:3). Today He continues to intercede for those who believe in Him (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25), and He works alongside the Church, confirming His word by the signs that accompany it (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:4).
Mankind Willfully Chose to Sin against God.
While mankind was originally created innately innocent and good in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27, 31), the decisions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden forfeited mankind’s authority in the earth, the privilege of eternal life, and a personal relationship with God (Genesis 3:1–24; Romans 5:12). Thus sin, death, and evil entered the world (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22); and hell—originally prepared as a destination for rebellious angels—became the default destination of a fallen mankind (Matthew 25:41; Romans 6:23).
Jesus Has Provided the Only Way to Reverse the Effects of Sin.
Just as sin, death, and evil entered the world through one man (Adam), the solution has been brought through the work of one Man—Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12–19; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22). In love, God the Father sent God the Son to conquer sin and restore mankind to fellowship with Himself (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). The benefits of Christ’s work are available to all by grace and are received through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). Through the death of Jesus on the cross, every person has the open invitation to consider his or her old life and sinful nature as having died with Christ (Romans 6:6–11; Galatians 2:20). This positions the believer to partner with Christ in His resurrection—being instantly made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9–11), and rendered faultless and innocent in the eyes of God (Colossians 1:22; Jude 24), while continuing to become more like Jesus in practice day by day (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:29). Furthermore, this opens to the believer the spiritual position of being seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). Through conquering sin and death, Jesus has received all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:5–11; Hebrews 2:9), which He shares with those who abide in Him and obey Him (John 15:4–7; Ephesians 2:6; Hebrews 2:6–11). Through Jesus’s finished work on the cross, we who believe in Him become His representatives in the world (2 Corinthians 5:20). We minister physical healing and spiritual deliverance in His name as we proclaim and demonstrate the gospel of the kingdom (Mark 16:17–18; Matthew 4:23; John 14:12). Believers now have access to eternal life, spiritual authority, and a personal relationship with God (John 17:3; Ephesians 2:18).
Water Baptism is the First Step of Obedience to Jesus.
When Jesus told His followers to make disciples of all nations, He specifically instructed them to baptize these new disciples—immersing them in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Jesus set the example by being baptized in water before entering His public ministry (Matthew 3:13–17). The Apostle Paul describes the beautiful symbolism of going down into the water as one who has died with Christ and rising up to new life, just as Jesus did (Romans 6:3–4; Colossians 2:12). Baptism is the pledge of a clear conscience toward God, confirming a person’s decision to follow Jesus (1 Peter 3:21) and proclaims to the kingdom of darkness that we have been born into a new family (1 Peter 3:19–22; Colossians 2:9–15). We believe any disciple of Jesus can administer baptism according to the biblical model (John 4:2), and we are happy to perform these baptisms wherever water is available—pools, bathtubs, rivers, lakes, and more (see Acts 8:36–38).
Communion is a valuable component of any church meeting.
The Lord’s Supper—also known as communion or the Eucharist—is a regular practice in nearly all of our meetings. We observe the Lord’s Supper as a celebration of our sharing in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), a recognition of our equality and unity with each other (1 Corinthians 10:17), a memorial of His suffering and death (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25), a spiritual participation in His body and blood (1 Corinthians 10:16), and a proclamation of His death, resurrection, and promised return until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). In our meetings, all who have repented and trusted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are warmly invited to participate after examining their own hearts (1 Corinthians 11:27–29). Communion is often a time of reflection, confession, surrender, forgiveness, and celebration of what Jesus has done for us, and we consider it a necessary practice for a life of obedience to our Lord.
The Holy Spirit baptizes and empowers believers for service.
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity and dwells within every believer in Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19). He gives spiritual gifts to all according to His own discretion (1 Corinthians 12:11), including such ministries as physical healing, administration, prophecy, discerning of spirits, hospitality, tongues, interpretation of tongues, generosity, leadership, working of miracles, service, and more (1 Corinthians 12:7–10; Romans 12:6–8; 1 Peter 4:10–11). Every believer should eagerly desire spiritual gifts and be open to the Lord ministering through them in any way He sees fit (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1). While it is true that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside every Christian at conversion and can grant gifts to anyone, the Book of Acts proclaims a secondary experience of general empowerment, granted by the Holy Spirit, that every believer should desire and seek (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4–8; 2:1–4; 8:14–17; 19:1–6). This empowerment is not necessary for salvation, but Jesus presented it as a prerequisite for obeying His commission to make disciples (Acts 1:4,8; Luke 24:49). This empowerment gives Christians enhanced boldness (Acts 4:31), supernatural ability for ministry (Acts 1:8), and a form of fellowship with God that cannot otherwise be experienced (1 Corinthians 14:2,14–18). The supernatural sign of speaking in tongues—vocalizing in a language unknown to the speaker as he or she yields to the Spirit’s prompting—accompanies this empowerment (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6) and serves as an ongoing reminder that we carry a gospel for all nations and are called to do the impossible through partnership with God. This empowerment is available to all believers and should be diligently sought (Acts 2:39), but we neither promote nor allow a culture of elitism as though this empowerment were a personal achievement or an indication of special spiritual status above others.
Jesus Christ will return, leading to a victorious eternity.
While Jesus presently sits at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3; 10:12), He has promised that He will return for His pure and spotless Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:25–27; Revelation 19:7–9). Jesus will come on an unknown day at an unknown hour—when least expected (Matthew 24:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:2). Therefore we must be diligent and alert—awaiting His return, pursuing personal and Church-wide holiness, and doing all we can to reach others with the good news of His salvation (Matthew 24:42–44; Hebrews 12:14; 2 Peter 3:11–14). When Jesus returns, both the righteous and wicked will be raised to life for a final judgment (John 5:28–29), and we who are still living will be caught up with them, also receiving new, resurrected bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17). All those who have rejected Jesus or lived in opposition to Him already stand condemned and will be cast into the Lake of Fire (John 3:18; Revelation 20:11–15; 21:8). Only those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ and persevered in faith, conforming to the image of Jesus, can be certain of their salvation (Matthew 24:13; Hebrews 3:14; Romans 8:29–30; 1 John 4:17). Together in faith, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1; 2 Peter 3:13). There will be no more death, no more disease, and no more suffering (Revelation 21:4). Satan and all his cohorts will be irrevocably gone (Revelation 20:10). And we who were faithful to Jesus in this life will experience, along with all the saints, the joy of living in eternal relationship with God and each other on the new earth, having new physical bodies and fully expressing who we were always designed to be (1 Corinthians 15:42–54; Philippians 3:20–21; Revelation 21:3). The good things God has planned for us in this eternal world are beyond our wildest imagination (1 Corinthians 2:9), but we know they will be perfect expressions of our good and loving God.
Additional policies
Find our full doctrinal statement with our stances on disputable matters here.
Women in ministry
Roots Church supports women in ministry. Women are eligible to serve at all levels of leadership in our organization, including our board, Senior Leadership Team, and various volunteer positions. We have female house church pastors, and we belong to the Assemblies of God fellowship, which grants ordination credentials to men and women.
Resources for further information:
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Theology Matters // Women in Ministry (video)