Beliefs

What does Resurgence believe about primary issues?
We are first Christians, second Evangelicals, and third Missional.

1. We are Christians, which distinguishes us from other world religions (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism) and cults (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism). Therefore, we adhere to both the Apostles' and the Nicene Creeds.

2. We are Evangelicals and in agreement with the National Association of Evangelicals' statement of faith listed below:

• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
• We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. We are Missional:

• We believe that churches and Christians should be faithful to the content of unchanging Biblical doctrine (Jude 3).
• We believe that churches and Christians should continually reform their ministry methods to most effectively reach the changing cultures(s) to which they are sent by God as missionaries (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
• We believe that Christians and churches exist for the redemption of both people and cultures in an effort to have everyone and everything subject to God.
• We believe that the continual planting of new churches is part of God's plan to reach new peoples, new cultures, and new subcultures.

What does Resurgence believe about secondary issues?
There are certain issues about which committed believers may disagree. Issues such as mode of baptism, operation of spiritual gifts, forms of church government, worship style, and eschatological distinctions are points of discussion and cordial debate but not division in Resurgence. This means that, while varying leaders in Resurgence may have strong opinions on various secondary matters, we seek to discuss these differences in a way that honors the biblical commands to love one another so that people are both informed and edified as Jesus has prayed for us in John 17. Resurgence's desire is to deepen our love of Jesus and bring others into a right relationship with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father.

What does Resurgence not believe?
To help clarify our beliefs, we believe it may also be helpful to declare what we do not believe. In stating who we are not, we do not seek to attack those who disagree with us, but rather distinguish ourselves so that it is clear who we are, as well as who we are not. However, we are willing to dialogue with and befriend those who disagree with us as the lines around theology are not the boundaries of our friendships.

• We do not believe that any form of revelation is superior to the 66 books of the Old and New Testament because they alone are the inerrant Word of God and our highest authority.
• We do not believe in Open Theism because we believe that God is sovereign over all of history.
• We do not believe in atheistic evolution because we believe that God created the heavens and the earth as well as man and woman with particular dignity as His image bearers.
• We do not believe in naturalism because we believe that miracles, Satan, demons, and other supernatural phenomena are real and subject to God.
• We do not believe in the essential goodness of human nature because we believe that our first parents sinned against God and that everyone since is a sinner by nature and choice.
• We do not believe in feminism because we believe that men should responsibly lead homes and churches with sacrificial love like Jesus Christ.
• We do not believe that salvation is possible apart from Jesus Christ because sin can only be forgiven through His sinless life, substitutionary atoning death, and literal physical resurrection.
• We do not believe in salvation after death because death is followed by judgment and conscious eternal life either in heaven or in hell.
• We are not polemicists who believe that it is our task to combat every false teaching but are passionate about preserving the integrity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.