What We Believe

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." - A.W. Tozer

What We Believe

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
- A.W. Tozer

What we believe shapes how we live. The doctrines below are the core convictions of Christchurch Miami - the foundational truths Scripture teaches and the historic Reformed Christian church has confessed for centuries. They are not a wall to keep people out. They are a foundation a faith family can build on, ask hard questions from, and stand on when life gets hard.

We stand with the historic Christian creeds - the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed - and confess the Westminster Confession of Faith. The doctrines below are summary statements; the full confessional standards we hold are linked at the bottom of this page.

Core Beliefs

Scripture

We believe the Bible is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God's truth, infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice. Scripture is sufficient - we do not need to add to it, modernize past it, or edit around it. The Bible can take any honest question.

Bible references: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119 · Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter I (Of the Holy Scripture)

God

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible. He is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable - the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God we worship is the God who spoke creation into being, who walked in the garden in the cool of the day, who became flesh in Jesus, and who is, even now, holding all things together by the word of His power.

Bible references: Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:3 · Westminster Confession, Chapter II (Of God, and of the Holy Trinity)

Revelation

God has revealed himself to us through his son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God, the holy Scriptures, and through all of creation itself. Jesus is the clearest picture of God we will ever see. The Scriptures are the authoritative record of who God is and what He has done. And creation itself - every sunrise, every birth, every starlit sky - points back to the Maker. We do not need to chase God; He has been revealing Himself the whole time.

Bible references: John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20

Mankind

Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creation. To be human is to bear the image of God. Every person - born and unborn, young and old, well and ill, friend and stranger - carries intrinsic worth because they are made in the image of the Creator. There is no such thing as a person who does not matter to God.

Bible references: Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:15; Psalm 8

The Fall

When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time. Sin is not a category mistake. It is the inheritance of every person born into a fallen world. We feel its weight in our anxieties, our broken relationships, our cycles of regret, the way the news reads on a hard week. Honesty about sin is not pessimism - it is the doorway to grace.

Bible references: Genesis 3; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12

Salvation

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior. Salvation is found in Christ alone. This is the heart of the gospel: that God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Salvation is not earned by being good enough, religious enough, or trying hard enough. It is given - freely - to anyone who trusts Jesus. Grace is bigger than the worst thing you have ever done.

Bible references: John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 4:12

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is fully God - the third person of the Trinity. When a person trusts Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells them, convicting them of sin, conforming them to the image of Christ, and empowering them to live a life of love, holiness, and witness. The Christian life is not lived alone or by sheer willpower. The Spirit helps us pray, understand Scripture, and follow Jesus across every season of life.

Bible references: John 14:26; John 16:13; Romans 8; Galatians 5:22-23 · Westminster Confession, Chapter X (Of Effectual Calling)

The Church

The Church is meant to be the visible body of Christ, sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is not a building, a brand, or an event. It is the people of God, gathered to worship and scattered to live on mission. We belong to a church because Jesus loved the church enough to die for her. The local church is where the gospel takes root in real lives, real families, and real cities.

Bible references: Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:11-16

Baptism

Baptism is a sign and seal of God's covenant grace - a visible picture of being united with Christ in His death and resurrection, cleansed from sin, and welcomed into the visible church family. Baptism does not save a person by itself; salvation comes by grace through faith. But baptism points to and confirms the spiritual realities only God can accomplish. As a Reformed church, we practice both the baptism of believers and the baptism of covenant children.

Bible references: Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:11-12 · Westminster Confession, Chapter XXVIII (Of Baptism)

Communion (The Lord's Supper)

Communion is the meal Jesus gave His church. It is a remembrance of His sacrifice, a participation in His body and blood by faith, and a preview of the great feast of the redeemed in the Kingdom to come. We celebrate communion regularly at Christchurch as a faith family - believers who trust Christ, recognize their need for His grace, and come to His table together.

Bible references: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 22:19-20 · Westminster Confession, Chapter XXIX (Of the Lord's Supper)

Resurrection

Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth. We believe Jesus' bodily resurrection is the central historical event of the Christian faith. Because the tomb is empty, anything is possible. Death is not the end. Suffering is not the final word. The Christian hope is not vague optimism - it is the promise of a resurrected King who will come again to make all things new.

Bible references: 1 Corinthians 15; Acts 17:31; Revelation 21:1-5 · Westminster Confession, Chapter XXXII (Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead)

Want to Learn More?

If you have a question about what we believe - about Scripture, salvation, the Trinity, baptism, communion, or what it means to be Reformed - we would love to hear from you. There are no off-limits questions and no judgment for asking.

→ Email us at hello@christchurchmiami.org or plan a visit - Sundays at 11 AM at 8485 SW 112th Street, Miami, FL 33156.

Where Our Confession Stands

Christchurch Miami subscribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms - the historic confessional standards of the Reformed tradition. These documents express in full what we summarize here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Christchurch Miami Reformed?

Yes. We stand in the historic Reformed Christian tradition. We subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. We hold to the five solas of the Reformation - salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, on the authority of Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

What does PCA mean?

PCA stands for the Presbyterian Church in America - a denomination of Bible-believing Reformed churches founded in 1973. The PCA holds to the historic Westminster Confession of Faith and is committed to the inerrancy of Scripture, the preaching of the gospel, and the planting of new churches. Christchurch Miami belongs to the PCA's South Florida Presbytery.

What does Christchurch Miami believe about baptism?

We believe baptism is a sign and seal of God's covenant grace - a visible picture of being united with Christ. As a Reformed PCA church, we practice both the baptism of believers (who profess personal faith) and the baptism of covenant children (the children of believing parents). Baptism does not save by itself; salvation comes by grace through faith.

What does Christchurch Miami believe about communion?

Communion is the meal Jesus gave His church. We celebrate communion regularly at Christchurch as a faith family - believers who trust Christ, recognize their need for His grace, and come to His table together. Communion is open to all believers in Jesus.

Does Christchurch Miami affirm the Westminster Confession?

Yes. The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms are the confessional standards of the PCA - and Christchurch Miami subscribes to them. They express in full what we summarize on this page.

What is the Christchurch Miami statement of faith?

Our statement of faith is the page you are reading. It summarizes our convictions about Scripture, God, Revelation, Mankind, the Fall, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Baptism, Communion, and the Resurrection - rooted in the historic Reformed Christian tradition and the Westminster Confession of Faith.