Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of Crossroads Church - WI based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
God
Trinity:
God is the perfect and all-powerful creator and sustainer of the world. He has always existed and will always exist in an equal and harmonious community of three persons in one essence: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; John 15:26).
Father:
God the Father is the Father of Jesus, his only Son, and the spiritual Father of all who believe in Jesus (John 20:17). He is the creator, sustainer and ruler of the universe (Hebrews 11:3; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 103:19).
Son:
God’s only Son is Jesus (John 1:14). He became a man through a virgin birth, miraculously uniting his divinity with his humanity (Matthew 1:18-25). He lived on earth for 33 years, was crucified on a cross (a form of capital punishment used by the Romans), and came back to life three days after he died (1 Corinthians 15:3–6). He now sits at God’s right hand and is waiting to come back to judge and rule the world (1 Peter 3:22).
Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Since Pentecost (described in the Bible in Acts 2), he primarily convicts people of their sin to restrain the effects of evil, bears witness to the truth, brings new life to those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus, leads and comforts God’s children, and empowers God’s children to live rightly (John 16:7-15; Galatians 5:22-23).
God is the perfect and all-powerful creator and sustainer of the world. He has always existed and will always exist in an equal and harmonious community of three persons in one essence: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; John 15:26).
Father:
God the Father is the Father of Jesus, his only Son, and the spiritual Father of all who believe in Jesus (John 20:17). He is the creator, sustainer and ruler of the universe (Hebrews 11:3; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 103:19).
Son:
God’s only Son is Jesus (John 1:14). He became a man through a virgin birth, miraculously uniting his divinity with his humanity (Matthew 1:18-25). He lived on earth for 33 years, was crucified on a cross (a form of capital punishment used by the Romans), and came back to life three days after he died (1 Corinthians 15:3–6). He now sits at God’s right hand and is waiting to come back to judge and rule the world (1 Peter 3:22).
Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Since Pentecost (described in the Bible in Acts 2), he primarily convicts people of their sin to restrain the effects of evil, bears witness to the truth, brings new life to those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus, leads and comforts God’s children, and empowers God’s children to live rightly (John 16:7-15; Galatians 5:22-23).
Humanity
Our Struggle:
God created human beings in his image with the power and responsibility to choose between loving and obeying him or rejecting and disobeying him. He intended us to choose him, but ever since Adam and Eve voluntarily disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, we have all been born with an evil disposition. We consistently reject, disobey and betray God and are justly condemned for our actions (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:10-12, 23).
Our Hope:
Because he loves us, God sent Jesus to voluntarily die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. He experienced the full condemnation that we deserve for our sin. When we admit our sin, turn from it, and trust that we are saved through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we are no longer condemned or separated from God. We are also able to stop sinning by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. God promises we will never again be separated from him (John 14:6; Acts 2:21; Colossians 2:11-15).
Our Future:
We are all immortal, which means we will live forever. Those who trust in Jesus will live forever with God in a new heaven and earth unstained by sin after Jesus returns (1 John 3:2). Those who don’t trust Jesus will live forever separated from God and experience the full condemnation that we deserve for our sin (Revelation 21:1-8).
God created human beings in his image with the power and responsibility to choose between loving and obeying him or rejecting and disobeying him. He intended us to choose him, but ever since Adam and Eve voluntarily disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, we have all been born with an evil disposition. We consistently reject, disobey and betray God and are justly condemned for our actions (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:10-12, 23).
Our Hope:
Because he loves us, God sent Jesus to voluntarily die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. He experienced the full condemnation that we deserve for our sin. When we admit our sin, turn from it, and trust that we are saved through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we are no longer condemned or separated from God. We are also able to stop sinning by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. God promises we will never again be separated from him (John 14:6; Acts 2:21; Colossians 2:11-15).
Our Future:
We are all immortal, which means we will live forever. Those who trust in Jesus will live forever with God in a new heaven and earth unstained by sin after Jesus returns (1 John 3:2). Those who don’t trust Jesus will live forever separated from God and experience the full condemnation that we deserve for our sin (Revelation 21:1-8).
Church
Church (The Body of Christ):
The people who trust in Jesus are part of the global and local Church, also called the body of Christ. As a local church, we voluntarily join together to worship God, receive instruction from the Bible, celebrate baptisms, take communion together, and submit ourselves to discipline. As the global Church, we live out our mission by sharing the gospel with all people, showing kindness to the disadvantaged and neglected, and bringing justice to broken institutions and systems (Colossians 3:12-17).
Communion (The Lord's Supper):
We take communion in obedience to Jesus’ command to eat and drink in remembrance of him. We eat bread and drink grape juice as a representation of Jesus’ body and blood to remind us that Christ died for our sins and that we are united with him and the church (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). Anybody who is in right relationship with God and one another can join us in communion, regardless of denomination.
The Bible:
The Bible consists of sixty-six books divided into the Old and New Testaments. It was inspired by God and has no errors in its original manuscripts. In it we can learn the truth about God, human nature, and salvation. It is the ultimate authority in the church (2 Timothy 3:16).
Baptism:
Baptism is a visible sign and symbol of trusting in Jesus. Being immersed temporarily in water demonstrates a union with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection (Acts 2:38-41). Only those who trust in Jesus are baptized.
The people who trust in Jesus are part of the global and local Church, also called the body of Christ. As a local church, we voluntarily join together to worship God, receive instruction from the Bible, celebrate baptisms, take communion together, and submit ourselves to discipline. As the global Church, we live out our mission by sharing the gospel with all people, showing kindness to the disadvantaged and neglected, and bringing justice to broken institutions and systems (Colossians 3:12-17).
Communion (The Lord's Supper):
We take communion in obedience to Jesus’ command to eat and drink in remembrance of him. We eat bread and drink grape juice as a representation of Jesus’ body and blood to remind us that Christ died for our sins and that we are united with him and the church (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). Anybody who is in right relationship with God and one another can join us in communion, regardless of denomination.
The Bible:
The Bible consists of sixty-six books divided into the Old and New Testaments. It was inspired by God and has no errors in its original manuscripts. In it we can learn the truth about God, human nature, and salvation. It is the ultimate authority in the church (2 Timothy 3:16).
Baptism:
Baptism is a visible sign and symbol of trusting in Jesus. Being immersed temporarily in water demonstrates a union with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection (Acts 2:38-41). Only those who trust in Jesus are baptized.