About Hope Covenant Church
Hope Evangelical Covenant Church is a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church, with denominational headquarters in Chicago. Check out the web site at http://www.covchurch.org/cov
We are congregational in polity - elected members of the church serve on Church Council and are responsible for church operations. Major decisions are voted upon by the membership. Our pastors are ordained or licensed by the Evangelical Covenant Church and are under the care and discipline of the regional ministerium and the national Board of Ministry.
We are a "non-creedal" church in that we do not require recitation or compliance with a long list of doctrinal statements. However, we do "affirm" these five basic Christian principles which we hold to be foundational and a valid description of what we in the Covenant believe.
We believe in -
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The centrality of Scripture, the Old and New Testaments to be the authoritative word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine and conduct.
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The necessity of new birth in Christ. We are "evangelical" in that we believe salvation from sin and hell comes by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.
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The church as a fellowship of believers. Membership, characterized by participation in the ministries of the church, is by confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ and is open to all believers.
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The ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers and guides the church. It provides gifts to its members to accomplish the will of God through the church.
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The realm of freedom in Christ. He delivers us from the power of sin and moves us into a new experience of abundant life. This freedom creates an environment which allows for difference of opinions in doctrine, interpretation, practice and expression within the context of Biblical guidelines and historical Christianity.