The Heartland Statement of Faith summarizes our belief as a church. The theology of Heartland is not innovative. Anyone familiar with historic Christian doctrine will find that these statements fall in the center of biblical theology. Heartland has core beliefs that are centered on Christ and His message.
God
We believe in one God who is eternally existent in three distinct persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity.
The Bible
We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are without error in the original writings, is the complete revelation of God’s will for salvation, and is the ultimate authority of faith and practice.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, the eternal second person of the Trinity who was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus is fully God and became fully man to save a lost world. We believe that he lived a sinless life, was crucified and three days later rose from the grave. He ascended into heaven and will one day return again.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the eternal third person of the Trinity who indwells every believer the moment they place their faith in Jesus Christ and who empowers every believer to live a Christ-centered life.
Sin
We believe that people are created in the image of God to live in relationship with Him but are alienated in that relationship because of sin—our failure to conform to God’s will. Human beings are sinners by nature and sinners by choice. As a result, people are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts.
Salvation
We believe that the death of Jesus Christ and his blood shed on the cross provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin and for attaining a right relationship with God. Salvation is offered to everyone by God’s grace as a free gift and only occurs when people turn to Jesus Christ and place their faith in Him.
Human Destiny
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people. God’s loving and just judgment of all people will determine their eternal destiny—to eternal life with God for the believer and to eternal separation from God for the unbeliever.
The Christian Life
We believe God calls every believer to continually put Christ, rather than themselves, at the center of their life, and to live out their faith by loving God, loving one another and loving people who are far from God.
The Church
We believe the one true Church is comprised of all those who have been justified by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone. Christ is the head of the Church. He is the Savior of His body, the Church. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each individual member of the Church so that they might work together in love and unity to help people find and follow Jesus with the ultimate purpose of glorifying God.