Calvary Chapel Ann Arbor

Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only to their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to divisions in the Body of Christ.

The Bible: We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is the inspired, infallible Word of God.

The Trinity: We believe that God is eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

God the Father: We believe that God is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign Creator of all things and that He is perfect in every way.

Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the payment for our sins by His substitutionary death on the cross, was raised bodily from death, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and ever lives, making intercession for us.

We believe in the personal, visible, and pre-millennial second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth and that His return can take place at any time.

Salvation: We believe that all people are, by nature, separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit, forgiven of all sin, and becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.

Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine person, not an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin, baptizes individuals into the body of Christ, distributes spiritual gifts, empowers believers, gives guidance/understanding, and intercedes for believers. In order to live a powerful and fruitful life, each believer is instructed to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit -- constantly yielding/surrendering to Him and thus abiding in Him. The clearest evidence of the fullness of the Spirit is the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.).

Spiritual Gifts: We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are valid for today if exercised within Scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love so that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and that without love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.

Sovereignty and Free Will: We believe in both the sovereignty of God and in the personal responsibility of humanity. God is the initiator of all good things and people are responsible to respond to Him. Thus, we do not embrace the positions of extreme Calvinism (sovereignty) or extreme Arminianism (free will) since they force conclusions that disregard a Biblical balance. The believer in Christ is both secure in his/her faith and responsible to live a life of faith.

Love: We believe that the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's agape love, which is greater than any differences we possess and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

Worship: We believe that worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship. In addition, we believe that worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give great place to music in our worship. Furthermore, we believe that worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us in how He should be worshipped. Finally, we believe that worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshipping Him.

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