Turning Point Church

About

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00am; Life Group/Bible study Wednesday 6pm; Prayer for Utica Tuesday 7pm.

Story

WHAT WE BELIEVE

I.THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We believe that the Bible is God's complete written revelation, and the sixty-six books of the Bible and cannot be added to or subtracted from. We believe that it is the only infallible rule of faith and practice, being fully sufficient for every human need and all that pertains to life and godliness. We believe that, whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, there is but one true contextual and/or prophetic interpretation. It is the responsibility of all believers to give themselves to the diligent study of the word of God in order to be able to ascertain the true intent and meaning of the Scripture, recognizing that proper, accurate application is binding on all generations. Yet the truth of Scripture always stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of Scripture.

II. GOD

We believe that there is but one living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes and substance, one in essence, eternally existing in three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each equally deserving worship and obedience.
A. God the Father
We believe that God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace and is the Creator of all things.
B. God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine excellencies, being co-equal, co-substantial, and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
We believe that at the incarnation (God becoming man), Christ willfully surrendered the use of His status and privileges of deity but nothing of the divine essence, either in degree or kind. At the time, He accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity and so became the God-man, and represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness.
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was virgin born and then accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross; that His death was voluntary, a payment for the penalty of sin, and that the believer at the point of saving faith is declared righteous, given eternal life, and is adopted into the family of God. We believe that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and that He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He now intercedes as our Advocate and High-Priest.
We believe that Christ will return in His own way and His own time to establish his Kingdom.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one through whom God will judge all mankind, both the saved and unsaved in every generation, of all who are not trusting in Him as Lord and Savior.
C. God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, eternal, not created, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity.
We believe that the Holy Spirit was given by the Father as promised by to complete the building of the body of Christ, which is His church.
We believe the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ at the moment of conversion. The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers for service, and seals the saints of God unto the day of redemption.
We believe the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts, but glorifies Christ in these gifts by revealing Him to His people, implementing His work of redeeming the lost, and building up believers in the most holy faith.

III. MAN

We believe that man was directly and immediately created by God in His image and Likeness, and that man should worship and glorify God, enjoy God's fellowship, live his life in the will of God, and by this accomplish God's purpose for man.
We believe that through Adam's disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, which is sin, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became subject to the wrath of God, and became inherently corrupt. Man is a slave to sin, spiritual things are complete foolishness to him..
We believe that the only provision for man to be reconciled with God is by the grace of God, seen through the atonement of Christ’s sacrifice. The Bible clearly teaches that anyone who repents of their sins, recognizes and trusts in the authority of Jesus as Lord and accepts the forgiveness of sin through His suffering will be saved and is therefore “Born Again” with the promise of eternal life, through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus.
We believe that physical death involves a separation of soul and body with no loss of immaterial consciousness. The souls of the redeemed are made perfect in holiness and pass immediately into the presence of Christ.
We teach the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. Believers shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the Day of Judgment and made perfectly blessed in both body and soul unto the full, eternal enjoyment of God. The unsaved shall be condemned and cast into hell, the lake of fire, where they will be cut off from the life of God, abiding under his undiminished wrath forever.

IV. SALVATION

We teach that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ in the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works.
Evangelism
We teach that as the body of Christ on this earth, we have a responsibility to evangelize. Being His body, we are his ambassadors to the lost, and He has chosen us to be the means of preaching His Word of salvation to the masses, that some might be saved. The Christian does not know who will come to saving faith and receive salvation, so he is responsible to evangelize or share the gospel with as many people as he has opportunity to share with.
Separation
We believe that separation from sin is clearly called for throughout the Old and New Testaments, and that the Scriptures clearly indicate that in the last days apostasy and worldliness shall increase. We believe that out of deep gratitude for the undeserved grace of God granted to us and because our glorious God is so worthy of our total consecration, all the saved should live in such a manner as to demonstrate our adoring love to God and so as not to bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior.
Separation from any association with religious apostasy, and worldly and sinful practices is commanded of us by God. Thus, we believe that believers should be separated unto the Lord Jesus and affirm that the Christian life is a life of obedient righteousness demonstrated by a continual pursuit of holiness. However, a believer is not to withdraw in isolation from the world. Rather, he is to expose the deeds of darkness as one who is in the world but not of the world. We do this out of love and gratitude to Christ for what He has done for us, not out of any legalistic obligation.

V. THE CHURCH

The Makeup of the Church
We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church, the Bride of Christ, of which Christ is the head.
We believe the church is a unique spiritual body designed and built by Christ, made up of men and women in every age who have been saved by grace through faith.
We believe that the establishment, autonomy, and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament and that the members of the Church Universal are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies for edification, worship, prayer, and the ministry of the word.
We teach the obedient submission of believers to the leaders God has appointed over them, the necessity of discipleship, the mutual accountability of all believers to one another, and the practice of church discipline in accordance with the standards of Scripture.
We believe in the autonomy of the local church with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any external hierarchy of individuals or organizations. Churches are to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the one true faith. However, through its elders and their interpretation and application of Scripture, each local church should be the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation.
We believe that God uses the church as His primary instrument to accomplish His purpose in the world. To that end, He gives the church spiritual gifts. First, He gives men chosen for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. He also gives unique and special spiritual abilities to each member of the body of Christ, and that these gifts remain available today, according to the sovereignty of God to bestow them as He sees fit.
Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God has given the church many spiritual gifts for the edification of the body. We believe that believers are given a great diversity of gifts making the body of Christ consist of believers with diverse talents, callings, and gifts. We believe that every member of the body of Christ is called to use his or her gifts according to their individual gifting, calling, and faith for the mutual edification of the saints. We believe in the Sovereignty of the Spirit over all things pertaining to the spiritual gifts. We do not believe that the spiritual gifts should be a point of division or the test for Christian fellowship.
Ordinances
We teach that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: Believer’s Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
1. Believer’s Baptism
We teach that Christian baptism by immersion is the visible demonstration of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to new life. It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible body of Christ, and is a pledge in the presence of God and His saints to live a life of good conscience before Him. While we are commanded to be baptized when we are saved, Baptism has no saving merit or regenerative power; salvation is entirely the work of Almighty God in accordance with the eternal decree of the Father, as accomplished on the cross by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. A new believer should not put off baptism, but rather, if soundly saved should desire to profess his new birth through baptism.
2. The Lord’s Supper
We teach that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of Christ’s death until He comes. The Lord’s Supper is reserved for those who have been born of the Spirit of God and must always be preceded by sober self examination. The Lord's Supper is an actual communion with the risen Christ who is present in a unique way in fellowship with His people. Christ tells us it is His body and, and not simply a representation of them. However, while we take the bread and the wine as his body and His blood, they are in no way physically transformed into the material body and blood of Jesus Christ. The elements of communion are meant to draw us closer to Christ and one another as His body and bride, in communion, to strengthen and bless us and to bring Christ and our standing as saved ever before our mind in remembrance.
The Mission of the Church
Exalting the Lord: It is the primary mission of the church to bring glory to God. Therefore the corporate meeting of the church is for the exaltation of God in worship, which is expressed in prayer, music, and the reading and preaching of God’s.
Edifying the Saints: The saints are edified through the means of grace by the instruction of the Word, by biblical fellowship, and by the corporate observance of the ordinances.

The Rapture of the Church
We believe in the personal, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to translate His Church from this earth and so the saints shall always be with the Lord.

The Benefits and Limitations of a Statement of Faith

Although the Bible is the final authority in matters of faith and practice, a statement of faith can serve as an excellent summary of what we believe the Bible teaches. Many people claim to believe the Bible, yet disagree on vital issues. A statement of faith provides necessary definition. It also serves as a helpful teaching tool by providing a concise summary of biblical truth. As we believe, so we teach. We recognize that any statement of faith is a fallible, human attempt to summarize the riches of God's revelation and should therefore be open to further revision in the light of Holy Scripture. A complete, unabridged summary of what is taught as Biblical truth at Turning Point Church of Utica (TPCU) is available upon Request

Mission

Sharing the heart of God with the heart of Utica

Products

Salvation, Redemption, The ability to hear from the Holy Spirit and know it's Him, An ever-deepening love and appreciation for Jesus and what He did for you, The Ability to enter into deeper worship and prayer, Learning and growing and transforming by the Word of God!