Calvary Chapel At The Cross is a non-denominational church. We seek to emphasize the spiritual unity of all true believers. It shall be the policy of this church to give preeminence to the preaching of the gospel, to studying of the Word of God, and to exalting the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to identify the church as conservative in theology, and evangelical in spirit we set forth this general statement of fundamental beliefs:
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 the division of the body of Christ.
We believe 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.
We believe worship of God should be Spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
We believe worship of God should be Inspirational. Therefore, we give great place to music in our worship.
We believe 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 on how He should be worshiped. We aim to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be personally applied, leading that person to a greater maturity in Christ. We teach both expositionally and topically.
We believe worship of God should be Fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshiping Him.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God and inerrant in the original writings.
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return in power and in glory.
We believe that lost and sinful man must be saved, and that man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are unsaved unto the resurrection of damnation.
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We await the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ with His saints to rule the earth, which will be personal and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God’s Word, regular fellowship, participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion.
We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture for the revelation of God’s nature and His plan for man. We avoid any man-made theological systems that go beyond the Biblical revelation, as they tend to divide the Body of Christ. (EG: “positive confession”)
We believe in the universal Church, in the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the Church: 1) baptism, and 2) the Lord’s Supper. We believe in baptism by immersion and communion, both of which are open to all believers in Jesus Christ.
We believe in the laying on of hands for the sending out of pastors and missionaries, and in conjunction with the anointing of oil by the elders for the healing of the sick.
We believe that church government should be simple rather than a complex bureaucracy and we depend on Jesus as our Head and the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on man’s fleshly promotion.
We believe that the Bible clearly teaches that spiritual gifts are for the edification of the body and that they are to be exercised in love. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless. In our services, we focus on a personal relationship with God through worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word of God. We do not practice speaking in tongues during worship or while a Bible study is in progress because we do not believe that the Holy Spirit would interrupt Himself. God is not the author of confusion. These gifts are encouraged in more intimate settings (Example: afterglow services and small groups where their benefit can accomplish the purpose for which they have been given – the edification of the body of Christ).