Statement of Belief

We accept and proclaim the historic truths of the Christian faith including the following:  

God and the Human Race  

  • We hold that the Lord our God is One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that He fulfills his sovereign purposes—in creation, revelation, redemption, judgment, and the coming of his kingdom—by calling out from the world a people united to himself and to each other in love.  

  • We acknowledge that though God made us in His own likeness and image, conferring on us dignity and worth and enabling us to respond to him.  We are now members of a fallen race; we have sinned and come short of his glory.  

  • We believe that the Father has shown us his holy love in giving Jesus Christ, his only Son, for us, while through our sinfulness and guilt, we were subject to his wrath and condemnation; and has shown his grace by putting sinners right with himself when they place their trust in his Son.  

  • We confess Jesus Christ as Lord and God; as truly human, born of the Virgin Mary; as Servant, sinless, full of grace and truth; as our only Mediator and Savior, dying on the cross in our place, representing us to God, redeeming us from the grip, guilt, and punishment of sin; as victor over Satan and all his forces, rising from death with a glorious body, being taken up to be with his Father, and one day returning personally in glory and judgment to establish his kingdom.   

  • We believe in the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment; who makes the death of Christ effective to sinners, declaring that they must now turn to Christ in repentance, and directing their trust towards the Lord Jesus Christ, who through the new birth makes us partakers in the life of the risen Christ, illuminating their minds to grasp the truth of Scripture, producing in them his fruit, granting to them his gifts, and empowering them for service in the world.  

The Scriptures  

  • We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures are inspired, inerrant, and are our highest and only authority for faith and life.  

 The Church and Its Mission  

  • We recognize the Church as the body of Christ held together and growing up in him; both as a total fellowship throughout the world and as the local congregation in which believers gather.  

  • We acknowledge the commission of Christ to proclaim the Good News to all people making them disciples, and teaching them to obey him; and We acknowledge the command of Christ to love our neighbors, resulting in service to the Church and society, in seeking reconciliation for all with God and their fellows, in proclaiming liberty from every kind of oppression; and in spreading Christ's justice in an unjust world until he comes again.  

 

Standards of Christian Conduct 

(For all Released Time volunteers, staff, and employees) 

  • Recognizing that the Biblical doctrines and beliefs summarized in this program’s Statement of Belief  compel certain personal standards of Christian living and conduct, and recognizing that those who would be Christian teachers are held to an even higher standard (James 3:1), I agree, with God’s help, to abide by the following Standards of Christian Conduct during my involvement with this Released Time program (see generally 1 Timothy 3:8–13 and Acts 6:3):  

    • I will regularly attend and participate in worship services at my home church or fellowship;  

    • I will strive to be blameless, having a good reputation, reverent, and not given to slander.  

    • I will strive to be trustworthy, honest, and characterized by integrity.  

    • I will be disciplined and not be given over to worldly temptations including, but not limited to, various forms of addiction or alcoholism.  

    • I will be generous and of a charitable nature with my time, money, and other resources.  

    • I will strive to be discerning and mature in the faith and, to that end, will strive to increase in my own knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures.  

  •  Furthermore, recognizing that marriage is created, defined, and sanctioned by God as the union of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive, covenantal union, and recognizing that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and woman joined in such a marriage, I agree to abstain from any form of sexual immorality including adultery, fornication, homosexual conduct, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, any use of pornography, any attempt to change one’s sex, or otherwise acting upon disagreement with one’s biological sex, all of which are sinful and offensive to God.  

  •  I further acknowledge that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Christ Jesus. We believe every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church. (Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:18-25; Exodus 20:14; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4.)  

  •  Believing that lawsuits or threats of lawsuits between Christian believers and ministries are a matter of grave concern and are contrary to Biblical doctrine and church teaching (1 Corinthians 6:1-7), I agree to submit any dispute between myself and this Released Time program and its affiliated individuals and entities arising from or otherwise related to my involvement and participation in this program are subject to mediation before a mutually agreed-upon mediator or, if none can be agreed upon, one selected by Peace Maker Ministries. The mediation will be governed by the Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation of the Institute for Christian Conciliation (“ICC Rules”),1 which we agree to follow unless an alternative form of mediation is stipulated by the parties. In particular, subject to the more detailed provisions of the ICC Rules, the mediator(s) will attempt to assist us in reaching a voluntary settlement of this dispute through mediation. The confidentiality of the mediation process will be protected, and these matters will not be discussed with people who do not have a necessary interest in them. If a settlement can be agreed upon, the conciliators may, at their discretion, issue an advisory opinion. Neither the opinion nor any communications exchanged in the mediation process will be admissible for any purpose in any subsequent legal proceeding.  

  • The foregoing Standards of Christian Conduct and the Statement of Belief do not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the program director, as advised by the program Board, is the local program’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.