What We Believe
We exist to glorify God by helping people to become committed followers of Jesus Christ.
Our Beliefs
Parkside Kent stands under the authority of Scripture in the line of historic Christianity. We regularly recite trusted creeds in corporate worship such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
We affirm these biblical and historic beliefs:
01
There is One Triune God
We believe that there is only one true and living God who is the Creator and sustainer of the universe. He exists eternally in three coequal persons—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
02
The Bible is God’s Word
We believe that The Bible is God’s written revelation of Himself to mankind divinely given through human authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely true, totally sufficient, and completely authoritative for Christian faith, thought, and life.
03
People are Created in God’s Image
We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in his own image and likeness. Accordingly, all men, women, and children are worthy of love, dignity, and respect regardless of matters such as age, race, and gender.
04
People are in Need of Redemption
We believe that through the Fall the goodness of creation and humanity has been corrupted by sin. All people have disobeyed God willfully through sin; thus inheriting both physical and spiritual death and the need for redemption. All human beings are born with a sin nature and into an environment inclined toward sin. Only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ can we be rescued from our sin and restored in relationship to God.
05
Jesus is both Lord and Christ
We believe that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. He is one person with two natures, the only mediator between God and humanity. He is the eternal Son of God who became human for us and for our salvation. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the Cross as a substitute for mankind, was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will one day return.
06
Jesus is the Only Way of Salvation
We believe that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. No other religion, belief, or person can reconcile God and man. He alone can provide forgiveness and eternal salvation. By his willing and perfect sacrifice on the cross, he took the punishment our sins deserve. He died as our substitute, fully satisfying God’s justice on our behalf.
07
Salvation is by Faith Alone
We believe that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior, as a person repents of sin and receives Christ’s forgiveness and eternal life. This means that the gospel, the good news of salvation in Jesus, is a message that requires a personal response. Salvation is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. This salvation is the gift of God that comes by grace through faith not on the basis of human works. All the redeemed are secured in Christ forever.
08
The Church is Christ’s Body
We believe that the Holy Spirit places all people who put their faith in Jesus into one united spiritual body, the Church. This one, holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic church is the first fruit of the new creation. Christ is Lord and head of the church. The universal church is displayed in local church bodies who gather in his name to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all nations. In addition to its gospel message, the local church is distinguished by its ordinances, its discipline, and its great mission.
09
All Christians Have the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, the unseen yet active personal presence of God in the world, who unites believers to Christ, regenerating them, making them new creatures, and adopting them into God՚s family. Everyone who is in Christ has the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit, believers are gifted, renewed, and sanctified.
10
Christ Will Return
We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth. When Christ returns, he will judge both the saved and unsaved. We believe in the bodily resurrection. Those who have trusted Christ will receive a glorified body and dwell forever with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth. Those who have not trusted in Christ will spend eternity in hell, the place of everlasting punishment.