At Southside Church, We Believe . . .

Statement of Faith

• We Believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God.
• We Believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• We Believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, the miracles He performed, His atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His bodily ascension to the right hand of the Father in heaven, and His personal return in power and glory at His second coming.
• We Believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of lost and sinful mankind. The sinner is brought to an awareness of the need for salvation through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Salvation cannot be gained by human effort, but only through God’s grace in the redemption He provided in Jesus Christ.
• We Believe that repentant believers in Christ should be baptized in water by immersion, in obedience to Christ.
• We Believe that through sanctification by the blood of Christ and the Word of God, one is made holy.
• We Believe that the present, active ministry of the Holy Spirit guides the Church and by whose indwelling and empowerment, we are able to live godly lives and render effective service to God and others.
• We Believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

Vision & Values

Southside Christian Fellowship exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ who glorify God by following Christ daily.

We are guided by five core values:                                                                      

Biblical Integrity

Biblical integrity points to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture to guide all that we do. We truly believe that the Bible is the complete revelation of God to His people and as such, we believe Scripture should guide all that we do as a church. The central theme of Scripture is the Christ-centered, redemptive message of the gospel and it’s implication for all of life. We are committed to the clear and accurate communication of God’s Word in a way that exalts Christ, expounds the gospel, ministers grace, and urges obedience. As leaders, the pastors, and elders of Southside humbly strive to stand, not on their own authority, but on the authority of Scripture. This value is reflected in the steady diet of biblically-rich expository preaching and also in the way we lead small groups, govern the church, and counsel.

Spiritual Vitality

We are committed to individual and corporate life that is alive with the fruit and power of the Holy Spirit. One of our key convictions about the Christian life is that the gospel is not just the way into the Christian life but the source of power for the whole Christian life. Therefore, the deep implications of the gospel must be continually rediscovered and applied to all of life. Religious and legalistic efforts at changed behavior only result in sin management, not heart-deep transformation. True spiritual vitality is only experienced as we continually turn from the idols of our hearts to find our life in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in directing believers to the fullness of Christ and of God is a familiar theme in worship, teaching, and preaching.

Ministry

We are committed to a team model for ministry and organization that equips and empowers every member and leader. We believe that every member is to play an active and important part of doing the work of the ministry. Many normal, ongoing needs for encouragement, visiting, practical and spiritual help, accountability and exhortation are best cared for as believers minister to one another, whether through friendships, small groups, or ministry positions. This does not mean that the pastors and elders are not actively engaged in these labors, but rather that they see a significant part of their ministry to be equipping the members of the church in their individual ministries through encouragement and practical help.

Creativity

We are committed to forms of worship and ministry which, without compromise, will creatively blend the contemporary and traditional to best reach and reflect our generation and culture. The principles of God’s Word do not change, but new forms of worship will, and should, continue to develop in our generation and culture. In fact, change of worship forms/manners is to be expected as believers strive to communicate God’s unchanging Word and express their worship of God in an effective manner. Christians should seek to have a positive and open attitude toward both the old and traditional and the contemporary and innovative. All things should be evaluated in light of the implications of the gospel and the mission of the church.

Growth

It is appropriate to adopt a goal of ongoing growth based on the convictions that God has called us to keep on making disciples. We are committed to being a missional church, a church working together, to bring lost people into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and to maturity in Christ, as disciples who bring glory and honor to Him. Every believer is called to committed involvement in reaching others for Christ. Our desire is not that we would grow to be a mega-church, but that we would see growth in the Kingdom of God. Therefore our mission will be best served by becoming a movement of small group ministries dedicated to multiplying themselves many times over, having a common set of values, distinguishing each as true followers of Christ. We are part of the Church of God of Prophecy, Cleveland, TN.