WHAT WE BELIEVE

OUR DENOMINATIONAL INFO

-Affirmations

The Evangelical Covenant Church is:

+ Evangelical, but not exclusive
+ Biblical, but not doctrinaire
+ Traditional, but not rigid
+ Congregational, but not independent

At our best, these streams find generous expression in our six affirmations:

+ We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
+ We affirm the necessity of the new birth.
+ We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
+ We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.
+ We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
+ We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.​​​

EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP CHURCH'S STATEMENT OF FAITH
As members of the Evangelical Fellowship Church we believe:
 

1. in the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testament, as the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts; and that these are the supreme and final authority in faith and life (2. Tim.3: 16)
 

2. in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as professed in the
Apostles' Creed, namely:

We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins: the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
 

3. that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned, and is thereby separated from God and unable to save himself from condemnation,

4. that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him and repent are justified through His shed blood,
 

5. In the present high priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ; and in "that blessed hope" His personal, imminent and future return to earth.
 

SACRAMENTS AND PRACTICES

1. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
As an assembly of believers we regularly observe the ordinance of the Lord's Supper because it was instituted by Christ himself, as a memorial feast, a confession of faith in Christ and an expression of anticipation of His second coming to establish His eternal kingdom. In and with the bread and wine we receive the glorified and invisible body and blood of Christ which He gave for us for the forgiveness of sins. By humbly asking for his forgiveness, the
Lord's Supper becomes a visible means of grace. (Matt 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:24-26)

2. The Sacrament of Baptism
Evangelical Fellowship Church affirms that Christian baptism is an outward sign of God's covenant in which He offers the benefits of Christ’s redemption and graciously bestows the washing of regeneration and newness of life to all who believe (Tit. 3:5). According to Matthew 28:19-20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” there are no restrictions as to age, sex, or race. Evangelical Fellowship Church practices infant and adult baptism and offers a baptism
preparation course for young people and adults.

3. Dedication of Children
The Old and New Testament speak of consecration of children (Ex. 13:2. “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.” Luke 2:22-23. “When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him
to the Lord [as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be
consecrated to the Lord’]”). Because Jesus himself blessed children, Evangelical Fellowship Church supports parents who wish to dedicate their children to the Lord. (Mark 10: 13-16. “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples
rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”)

4. Confirmation
Confirmation is the affirmation of the Baptism received as an infant. Parents baptize their children based on the practice of the early Christians who baptized their entire households,
e.g. Lydia (Acts 16:15), the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:33) and Stephanas (1. Cor. 1:16).

The parents promise to pray for the child, to bring them up in a Christian environment and to teach them to love, obey and honor God. Confirmation is a means by which young people now have the opportunity to grow in understanding God’s grace. Confirmation is a tool that helps them along the
life-long process of living in close fellowship with Christ, and a reminder that he gives us spiritual life, forgiveness of sins and makes us his children. It also provides the opportunity to make a personal public profession of faith and a lifelong pledge of faithfulness to Christ. However, Confirmation is meaningless without proper biblical instruction and the basic teachings of Christianity which provide the knowledge necessary for growth toward
Christian maturity.

(Deut. 11:18-22 ”Fix these words of mine in your heart and
minds...Teach them to your children to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways and
to hold fast to him”.)

The Bible, Christian hymns and the Catechism of Martin Luther lay a
foundation on which young people can build in order ‘that they may have life, and have it to 2 'the full’ (John 10:10b). Evangelical Fellowship Church offers such a course of instruction for a minimum of one year to pre- and early teenaged children in order to prepare them for
Confirmation. This course of instruction is also open and beneficial to those young people who desire to be baptized. Confirmation or Baptism will take place at the end of the course and the young people are encouraged to become active, non-voting members of the congregation.