THE CHURCH

Name. The name of this Church shall be "Grace and Peace Christian Church"

Denomination. No denomination.

Purpose. To make disciples of the nations.

Polity. This Church acknowledges Jesus Christ as its head and finds its guidance in matters of faith and discipline in the Holy Scriptures, interpreted by the Divine Spirit through reason, faith, and conscience.

THE UNDERLYING FAITH OF THE CHURCH

Overview. This Church claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to understand, express, renew, and make this faith its own.

This Church recognizes the Bible as the sufficient rule of faith and practice and holds that living in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ is the true test of fellowship. Each member shall have the undisturbed right to follow the Word of God according to the dictates of his/her conscience, under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. The following Covenant, therefore, is not a test but an expression of the common agreement which unites the individual members into one body.

Statement of Faith.

"We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus Christ, and Our God, and to your deeds we testify:

"You call the worlds into being, create persons in your own image, and set before each one the ways of life and death.

"You seek in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

"You judge people and nations by your righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.

"In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior, you have come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to yourself.

"You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the Church of Jesus Christ, binding in Covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

"You call us into your Church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be your servants in the service of others, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

"You promise to all who trust you forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, your presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in your realm which has no end.

"Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto you. Amen."

(Note: The preceding statement of faith was recommended by the Executive Committee of General Synod in 1982, and affirmed by General Synod in 1983.)

Scripture. Our Beginnings. It is the responsibility of Christians, both as individuals and together, to study the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is the highest overt authority available in matters of faith, purpose, and the life-style of the Church. We are not concerned with literal, orthodox, or final interpretations of any passage. We seek the major themes of God's message and revelation to us. We hunger to find and understand the living dialogue and confrontation which God wishes to have with us through the events, persons, and proclamations in the Bible. Most of all we seek the meaning of salvation, of Jesus life, death, and resurrection as it is presented in the Scriptures, and as it applies to us.

Theology. Our Response to God. We have no formal creed. No single set of words shall be used as a test of any person's faith. Each person is responsible for his or her own beliefs, and the formation and shaping of a life to go with those beliefs. The Statement of Faith found in this document is indicative of the areas we consider basic to Christian Faith and Life, and of the foundations on which we essentially agree. The Statement itself is not intended to limit or define in any complete or final way.

This is not to imply that we take our faith or our beliefs lightly. It is to state that we take them too seriously to limit any person's spiritual path to any other person's language or experience. We seek unanimity in spirit in matters of belief and purpose through the sharing of every member's authentic search for and experience with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit and Prayer: Our Faith. We are of the conviction that God has a specific plan for each person's life which can be found and followed, however haltingly and imperfectly, in obedience to the guidance and insights which come in prayer. We hold this conviction to be true of the Church as well as of each of its members. Therefore it is our purpose to attempt to find and follow the Holy Spirit's leading, both individually and together. The Holy Spirit out-ranks Scripture, even as the Holy Spirit has always preceded and inspired it.

Government. Our Life Together. We mean to keep clearly in mind in all our meetings that the will of the Spirit of God is the thing we seek more than human opinion, worldly success, or the dominance of our own ideas or desires.

The World. Our Life With Others.

We seek to express in actions the love God has shown for us.

We have no desire to claim now, or in the future, that we know the totality of God's truth. We wish to be faithful to that which God reveals to us without conclusions one way or another about what God may be asking of or revealing to others.

We respect and affirm all other groups that profess and try to act in the light of the Christian Faith, and we will cooperate with them whenever that seems in accord with God's guidance for us.

We further respect and affirm the convictions of those who sincerely believe in other religious faiths and who conscientiously search for and/or experience some portion of God's truth. We will seek friendly dialogue, for mutual understanding and enrichment. We will share that which is true in our experience, and ask others to do the same for us as we seek to grow in love for all people, as God through Jesus asked us to do.

We seek to minister to, to witness to, and to convert all persons who are hungry for or open to the revelation, love, and salvation of God in Christ. We do not seek members already active in other churches.

We shall be obedient and responsible to the civil authorities of Mexico, and participate in its structures and processes according to the dictates of our Christian conscience. We recognize that the inherent rights of free people before God, and the granted rights and privileges of our stay entail a responsibility for us as long as we live here. We will endeavor to relate our lives as Christians to our lives as members of the Mexican community.