The name of this church shall be Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church, which shall be located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church shall be herein referred to as the “church” unless otherwise noted.

It shall be the purpose of the Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church to: 1). To preach and teach the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to all men, in the hope that they will hear and believe the Gospel, that all may come to repentance (II Pet. 3:9) and receive salvation (Rom 1:16), by obtaining the new birth; being born again of the water and of the Spirit. (Jn. 3:3-5; Acts 2:38; 4:12) 2). To uphold and continue in the Apostle’s Doctrine as stated in the New Testament Scriptures through teaching, preaching and instruction, so that the ministries of this church may fulfill Ephesians 4:11-16 saying: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth are no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

This church holds the following statements as fundamental truths. Not every biblical truth is listed; however, we are persuaded it is proper and consistent with the Holy Scriptures to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, and that we all speak the same thing. (I Cor. 1:l0; Acts 2:42; Luke 1:1; II Tim. 3:16-17) The Inspired Word of God The Bible is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from God to men, the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and is superior to man’s conscience and reason. We believe that the Holy Bible is the actual written account of God’s Word to mankind and is the end of all controversy. (Rom. 3:4; II Pet. 1:21; II Tim. 3:15-17; I Pet. 1:23-25; Heb. 4:12) One True Almighty God God has declared Himself to be the eternally self-existent, self-revealed, I AM; the Lord God Almighty. (Gen.17:1; Gen. 35:11 Ex. 3:14; Ex. 6:2-3) The Scripture says that there is one and only one true and living God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, and there is none else before or after Him (Is. 43:10-11; Is. 45:5-7; Neh. 9:6) The New Testament Scriptures also declare in John 17: 3, “…and this is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” The devils believe that there is one God and tremble. (Jam. 2:1) Man’s Fall and Redemption God made the first man Adam a living soul, and by his voluntary transgression of God’s commandment, a man fell into sin and died. Man’s only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the last Adam, whom God made a quickening spirit. (Gen. 1:26-31; Gen. 3:17; Matt. 1:21; Jn. 1:29; Ro. 5:12-21; I Cor. 15:21-22, 45) Jesus Christ Is The Son of God The scriptures proclaim that God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin named Mary saying, she shall conceive and bear a son, and she shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the Highest. (Lu.1:26-35) When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, God spoke from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:13-17) “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God has the witness in himself: he that believeth not God; hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (Jn. 1:29-34; Matt. 16:13-17; Jn. 9: 35-37; I Jn. 5:1-11)

The New Birth The new birth consists of the baptism in Jesus name and being filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives them utterance. (Lu. 24:47; Acts 2:4, 38; 44-48; Acts 19:2-6) The New Sanctified Life The book of Romans says, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in the newness of life.” (Rom. 6:1-19) We ought to strive to obey the command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Sanctification is the will of God for all true believers and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to God’s Word. (Rom. 8:1-14; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Gal. 5:16, 5:24-25; II Tim. 2:19-22; Rom. 13:14; Phil. 2:12; II Pet. 1:3-10; 1 Jn. 2:6; 3:3; Heb. 12:14; 1 Thess. 4:7, I Cor. 6:11) The New Testament Church is the Body of Christ The New Testament Scriptures refers only to those that have received the new birth as the body of Christ, the church, which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. The church, the holy body of Christ, is the habitation of God through the Spirit. (Acts 2:38, 10:44-48, 19:2-6; Eph. 2:13-22; Eph. 4:4-5) The Five Fold Ministry: A Ministry For Perfection The Scriptures declare that the body of Christ should be conformed to the image of his Son. God provided such a ministry to accomplish this; “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Rom. 8:29, 10:14; Eph. 4:11-16) True Fellowship I John 1:1-7 defined the true fellowship that is acceptable to God, “…that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (Jn. 17: 6-26; Acts 2:42; II Cor. 6:14-18; Phil. 3:16-17; Eph. 5:11)

The Second Coming of Christ: Our Blessed Hope “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:16-17; I Cor. 15:51-56) The Lake of Fire: The Final Judgment The book of Revelation states that there will be a final judgment for the devil, the beast, and the false prophet; even death and hell shall be cast into the lake of fire. And those, whether small or great, whose names were not found written in the book of life shall also be cast into the lake of fire; which is the second death. (Rev. 20:10-15; Rev. 21:8) Divine Healing The Gospels contain numerous accounts of divine healing that God did by Jesus Christ. And after the resurrection of Christ, it continued in the New Testament church, as it does today. (Isa. 53:4, 5; Matt. 8:16-17; Mk. 16:17-18; Acts 3:1-11, 4:7-10, 5:15-16, 8: 5-7; Jam. 5:14-16)

Born Again Jesus first introduced the new birth to Nicodemus by telling him, that unless a man is born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see or enter into the kingdom of God. (Jn. 3:3-6) And in Luke 24:47, Jesus said, “…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.” So, Peter, being an Apostle of Jesus Christ, and a witness of his resurrection, fulfilled what Jesus said in Luke 24:47 on the day of Pentecost, saying, “…repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Lu. 24:47; Acts 2:4; 2:38; 10:44-48; 19:2-6) The ordinance of water baptism shall be administered by the Pastor of this church or to them that the Pastor designates. Confession of Sin “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Pro. 28:13). The scripture declares in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in a fault, ye which is spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thy self, lest thou also be tempted.” (Gal. 6:1) All confession of sin shall be made to the Pastor of this church or to them that the Pastor may designate.