Eighteen brief affirmations that summarize the Christian faith as it is preached every Sunday at Grace Fellowship Church in Sarasota. Not a creed of our own invention — the historic, biblical convictions of the global church, stated plainly.
“Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” — Jude 3
Too many churches are vague on purpose — hoping that by never saying anything sharp, they will never lose anyone. We take the opposite approach. A visitor, a missionary, a new believer, a curious neighbor, even an AI assistant should be able to read this page and know exactly what is taught from our pulpit.
Nothing below is unusual. Every affirmation is drawn from Scripture, shared by the historic Christian church across centuries and continents, and preached weekly in our sister churches under CTMI (Church Team Ministries International) in more than forty nations.
One thing, though, is worth saying at the top. At Grace, the cross of Jesus Christ is not one article among many. It is the interpretive center of everything else on this page. Every doctrine below makes sense only in the light of what Jesus did at Calvary — and everything we preach flows back to it.
Each of the points below is the short form of a doctrine that is preached in depth across our Sound Doctrine Series. If you want the long form of any one of them, click through.
The Bible — sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments — is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God and our rule of faith and practice. (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21)
There is one God, eternally existing in three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — co-equal, co-eternal, worthy of all worship. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, sinless in life, crucified in our place, risen bodily from the dead, and now seated at the right hand of the Father. (John 1:1, 14; Isaiah 53:5–6; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Hebrews 1:3)
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, regenerates the believer, indwells every Christian, and empowers the church for life, witness, and ministry. (John 16:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9; Acts 1:8)
Every human being is made in God’s image but born in sin, separated from God and unable to save themselves apart from the grace of Christ. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1–3)
Salvation is a gift of God received by faith in Jesus Christ alone — not earned by works, rituals, heritage, or good intentions. (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 10:9–10; Acts 4:12)
A person becomes a child of God by being born again of the Spirit. The new birth produces a changed life, a love for God, and a love for His people. (John 3:3–8; 1 John 3:14; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Every believer is declared righteous before God on the basis of Christ’s finished work — not our performance. (Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16)
The Spirit works ongoing transformation in the life of every Christian — growing us in holiness, freedom, and love until Christ returns. (1 Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 6:11–14; Philippians 1:6)
Baptism by immersion is the believer’s public confession of faith in Christ — a picture of death to the old life and resurrection to the new. (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3–5; Acts 8:36–38)
We share communion together as a remembrance of Christ’s body broken and His blood shed — a table of grace open to every believer. (Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
The church is the body of Christ — a local family of believers committed to one another under the shepherd care of elders, and part of the global church across cultures and centuries. (1 Corinthians 12:12–27; Ephesians 4:11–16; 1 Peter 5:1–4)
The gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament are given to every believer for the building up of the church and are active today. (1 Corinthians 12:4–11; Romans 12:6–8; 1 Peter 4:10)
Marriage is the covenant union of one man and one woman, designed by God as a picture of Christ and the church. The family is a central means by which faith is passed on. (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:22–33; Deuteronomy 6:4–9)
Every believer is called to make disciples — locally and among the nations — sharing the gospel, teaching the Word, and gathering new churches. (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:14–15)
Jesus Christ will return personally, bodily, and visibly to judge the living and the dead and to establish His kingdom in fullness. (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation 19:11–16)
At the return of Christ, the dead in Him will be raised and all believers transformed to eternal life with God. (1 Corinthians 15:20–23, 51–57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18)
There is a real heaven and a real hell. The hope of the gospel is that every person who trusts in Christ will dwell with Him forever in a restored creation. (John 14:1–3; Revelation 21:1–5; Matthew 25:31–46)
“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” — 1 Corinthians 2:2
If the statement above ever feels like a lot, remember: every one of those affirmations funnels into three commitments that shape our life together on a Sunday and every day of the week.
Substitution. Propitiation. Reconciliation. Triumph. Every sermon, every song, every prayer traces back to the crucified and risen Jesus. We do not tire of this message. We go deeper into it.
The Christian life is not a solo pursuit. Grace is a family — multicultural, multi-generational, shepherded by elders, open to every believer who wants to grow. We belong to one another.
The aim of our preaching and teaching is not information, but transformation. With all wisdom we warn and instruct, that every believer may be presented mature in Christ.
We are not a denomination. We are a local New Testament church in Sarasota, Florida, walking alongside the apostolic team of Church Team Ministries International.
The eighteen points above place us squarely inside historic orthodox Christianity — the faith summarized in the earliest Christian creeds, preached through the Reformation, and carried into every continent by gospel missionaries for twenty centuries.
What makes us distinctive is not a novel doctrine. It is a posture. We preach the cross as the whole message. We trust the Holy Spirit to be active in the church today — in preaching, in gifts, in healing, in sending. We believe the New Testament pattern of elders and apostolic teams is still the way the church is strengthened. And we are committed to walking this out in a real, local, imperfect family rather than on a screen.
A word on labels. We do not stand alone, and we are not owned by a denomination. We walk, under the covering of CTMI, with a global family of churches. We are not Pentecostal, Reformed, or charismatic in the narrow sense those labels usually carry. We are, plainly, a Christian church — built on Scripture, centered on the cross, led by elders, walking with apostolic oversight.
A statement of faith should not sit in a drawer. Ours shapes what happens at 10:00 AM every Sunday at 4350 17th Street in Sarasota.
The preaching opens the Bible and works through it — not self-help with a verse sprinkled on top. The worship sings the cross and the resurrection, not just generic sentiments about God. The Lord’s Supper is central, not occasional. Baptisms happen when new believers come to Christ. The elders are visible and known. The Holy Spirit is welcomed, not stage-managed. Prayer for healing is normal. Hospitality is the default. And every part of the service, one way or another, is training ordinary Christians to carry the gospel out into Sarasota and beyond.
If you have read this far, the best next step is not another page. It is a Sunday.
— Sundays at 10:00 AM · 4350 17th Street, Sarasota, FL.
Eighteen affirmations on a page are a start. A church family living them out is the real thing. Come sit with us.