About Love Gospel Church
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We are passionate about correctly representing the heart of God to people, so that people can see Him as He truly is, and not as religion has often portrayed Him. Our mission is to help people find a personal connection to God's heart - a connection that transforms and empowers them. Religion demands that we perform and keep score. But the gospel says, "It is finished." God's heart is open to us right now because of the perfect work of Christ on our behalf. We help people enter into abundant life now through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We live purposefully in the New Covenant, where we come to genuinely know and love God... because He first loves us!
Love Gospel Church, in Apache Junction, Arizona, is a non-denominational, full gospel community church preaching the gospel of grace and the finished work of Christ. Pastor Mike Harding is a graduate of Rhema Bible Institute and a member of Rhema Ministerial Association International. Love Gospel Church is also a participant in the Global Legacy network of Bethel Church. We have a dynamic children's ministry called the Discovery Zone and an active youth ministry called Impact Youth. Come visit us soon!
What Do We Believe?
The Bible is the inspired Word of God.
Our God is One, but manifested in three persons- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam's transgression and fall, sin came into the world.
Salvation is the gift of God to man through faith in Jesus Christ.
The New Birth is necessary to all men, and when experienced, produces eternal life.
Baptism in water, by immersion, is a direct commandment of our Lord, and is for believers only.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift and is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues.
We believe in sanctification, which is living a life of holiess.
Healing is the privledge of every member of the Church today provided through Jesus' death on the Cross.
Jesus will return and "... The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air..." (1 Thess. 4:16-17)
The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is eternally lost and, therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting.
THE SCRIPTURES— The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, we accept as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
THE GODHEAD— Our God is One, but manifested in three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being coequal and co-eternal. (Deut. 6:4; Phil. 2:6). God the Father is greater than all; the Sender of the Word (Logos) and the Begetter (John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:14). The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the One Begotten, and is Himself eternally God, existing with the Father from the beginning (John 1:1; John 1:18; John 1:14). The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal (John 14:16; John 15:26).
MAN, HIS FALL AND REDEMPTION— Man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam’s transgression and fall, sin came into the world. The Bible says “…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and “…There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10; 3:23). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the works of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God (Rom. 5:14; 1 John 3:8).
Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the Law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God (Eph. 2:8–10).
ETERNAL LIFE AND THE NEW BIRTH— The New Birth is necessary to all men, and when experienced, produces eternal life (2 Cor. 7:10; John 3:3–5; 1 John 5:12).
WATER BAPTISM— Baptism in water is by immersion, is a direct commandment of our Lord, and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Acts 8:36–39).
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT— The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent to the new birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance (Matt. 3:11; John 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38,39; Acts 19:1–7; Acts 2:1–4).
SANCTIFICATION— We believe in the doctrine of sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ’s return (Heb. 12:14; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:12–14; 1 Cor. 1:30).
DIVINE HEALING— Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today (James 5:14,15; Mark 16:18; Isa. 53:4,5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24).
RESURRECTION OF THE JUST AND THE RETURN OF OUR LORD— The angels said to Jesus’ disciples, “…This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” His coming is imminent. When He comes, “…The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…” (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16,17).
Following the Tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and together with His saints, who shall be kings and priests, He shall reign a thousand years (Rev. 5:10; 20:6).
HELL AND ETERNAL RETRIBUTION— The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the lake of fire and, therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The lake of fire is literal. The terms “eternal” and “everlasting,” used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the lake of fire, carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the Presence of God (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 19-20).
Statement of Marriage
We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history (“Traditional Definition of Marriage”). Because of the longstanding importance of the Traditional Definition of Marriage to humans and their relationships and communities, and most importantly, the fact that God has ordained that marriage be between one man and one woman, as clearly conveyed in God’s inerrant Scriptures, including for example in Matthew 19:4-6 where speaking about marriage Jesus referred to the fact that “He which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” the Church hereby creates this policy, which shall be know as the “Marriage Policy.”
Under this Church’s Marriage Policy, the Traditional Definition of Marriage is the only definition of marriage that will be recognized or accepted. No elder, officer, employee, servant, agent, or any person, corporation, organization, or entity under the direction or control of this Church shall commit any act or omission, or make any decision whatsoever, that would be inconsistent with, or that could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with, full support of this Church’s Marriage Policy and strict adherence to the Traditional Definition of Marriage rather than any alternative to the Traditional Definition of Marriage.
This Church’s Marriage Policy specifically prohibits acts or omissions including but not limited to permitting any Church assets or property, whether real property, personal property, intangible property, or any property or asset of any kind that is subject to the direction or control of the Church, to be used in any manner that would be or could be perceived by any person to be inconsistent with this Church’s Marriage Policy or the Traditional Definition of Marriage, including but not limited to permitting any church facilities to be used by any person, organization, corporation, or group that would or might use such facilities to convey, intentionally or by implication, what might be perceived as a favorable impression about any definition of marriage other than the Traditional Definition of Marriage.
We believe this Church’s Marriage Policy is based upon God’s will for human life as conveyed to us through the Holy Scriptures, upon which this Church has been founded and anchored, and this Marriage Policy shall not be subject to change through popular vote; referendum; prevailing opinion of members or the general public; influence of or interpretation by any government authority, agency, or official action; or legal developments on the local, state, or federal level.
