Silver Creek Community Church

We believe that God is the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of all that exists; that God alone is in charge and in control of our lives and our destiny - not ourselves, or others, or luck, or fate, or chance – but our all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present, loving, faithful, merciful Heavenly Father.

We believe that God exists in the form of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three in one, one in three, a mystery beyond our finite human understanding.

We believe that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, took on flesh and lived among us for a time; that he was born of the virgin Mary, truly and wholly God and at the same time truly and wholly human.

We believe that Christ voluntarily went to the Cross to atone for the sins of the world – paying the price for our sins, though he himself was without sin; that he died and was buried; that he descended into hell; that on the third day, by the power of the Father, he was raised from the dead and ascended back into Heaven, where even now he sits at the Father's right hand, interceding on behalf of believers.

We believe that Christ will return again some day in glory; that he will defeat the devil and his demonic forces; that he will then judge the living and the dead - with those whose names are not found written in the Lamb's book of life being banished to the everlasting torment of hell - but with those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life being ushered into heaven, where they will dwell with God, and praise God, and serve God forever.

We believe that salvation comes by Grace alone, through Faith alone in Christ alone; a process that begins with God's initiative of grace to us, the regeneration of our hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit, convicting us of our sins and producing in us the faith to believe in and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior;

We believe that our salvation decision is only the beginning of the story of God working in our life, that throughout our lifetime the Holy Spirit continues to work in us and through us, conforming us more-and-more to the character and conduct of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in a lifelong process that will never be complete this side of heaven.

We believe that salvation is a personal faith decision, but one that is lived out in community with other like-minded believers, who support us and hold us accountable, helping us to grow in our faith. Toward this end, we believe that each believer is given at least one spiritual gift, by the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit directs, for the sole purpose of building up of the Body of Christ and furthering the Kingdom of God.

We believe that every believer, at the moment they accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, are given the power and presence of the God's Holy Spirit; that they are given in that moment, all of the Holy Spirit they will ever have or need – we deny the idea of a second baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

As a ministry of the Reformed Church in America, we also accept the following three confessional statements as faithful and historic witnesses to Holy Scripture, and aids to our understanding of God's Word. These three confessions are also referred to as "The Standards of Unity."

The Heidelberg Catechism. Formulated during the Reformation, and still important as a teaching tool in many churches, it has had by far the most formative influence on the life of the Reformed Church. Written in a question and answer format, and divided into 52 Lord's Day weekly readings, its basic purpose was to teach children and new converts the fundamentals of orthodox Christian doctrine. Contained with the 129 Questions & Answers are teachings on The Lord's Prayer, The Ten Commandments, and The Apostle's Creed. The catechism can also be divided into three main sections entitled: Guilt – Grace – Gratitude or Sin – Salvation – Service.

The Belgic Confession. Written in the sixteenth century by Rev. Guido de Bres, a pastor and itinerant preacher in southern Netherlands, it was intended to persuade Philip II of Spain that Reformed believers did not hold heretical views, but were in fact, good orthodox Christians and loyal citizens. Rev. De Bres hoped to convince King Philip to stop the persecution of Protestants in the lowlands. Writing while imprisoned for his faith, De Bres was himself martyred in 1567. The confession is divided into 37 "Articles" and is structured like many other systematic theologies of the time, save for its unique inclusion of teachings that deal with such topics as the marks of the true church, civil government, the offices of the church, the sacraments, and the last judgement.

The Canons of Dort were formulated in 1618 to resolve a dispute among Dutch theological professors on the issue of divine sovereignty in the work of salvation. The canons are divided into five main points, each of which are further divided into positive and negative parts. The positive part is an exposition of Reformed doctrine on that particular issue, while the negative part serves to repudiate the corresponding errors. The five main points of teaching in this confession are often referred to as the "Five Points of Calvinism" and form the backbone of Calvinistic theology.