At Shannon Oaks Church We are a group of Christ followers who are learning to act justly with kindness to all, to love and extend mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.

GOD

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

BIBLE

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

HUMAN CONDITION

• We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. All human beings are sinners, alienated from God, and under His just and righteous judgement. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled, and renewed.

JESUS CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

THE WORK OF CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

THE CHURCH

We believe that the church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The church is manifest in local churches, whose membership is composed of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated both baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. When celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these expressions both confirm and nourish the believer.

THE WALK OF THE BELIEVER

We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

RESPONSE AND ETERNITY

We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God will judge the world, assigning the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in heaven to the praise of His glorious grace.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to talk about the Gospel without making earthly death the focus. In fact, the Gospel has more to do with life than it does death...much more! In short, through Jesus (and only through Jesus), we have access to everything we were created for.

Through Jesus, 

• We become fully-loved, fully-accepted children restored to their true and perfect Father
• We become completely and eternally forgiven for our rebellious ways of trying to do things our way
• We become rightly entitled to the blessings of Heaven
• We become victoriously empowered by the Holy Spirit to live by faith, not by sight
• We become purposefully reconnected to God's family

We can't attain these things from God on our own, even on our best day. It is God's gift to us only through the life, death, burial, resurrection and spirit-outpouring of Jesus Christ. To speak of the Gospel only in terms of "what happens to you after you die," diminishes the work of Jesus, the gift of God and the purpose for a believer. There's so much more! Is this the Gospel you've believed in?