New to the Fellowship?
OUR STORY begins with the desire for God's people to experience biblical fellowship and teaching.
With this vision in mind, the heartbeat of The Fellowship of Oakbrook is founded on these three values:
Loving God | Loving Others | Serving The World
What We Believe
I. The Word of God
We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the perfect and inspired word of God, complete as a revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme and final authority in faith, life, and understanding.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
II. The Trinity
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity is fully God, sharing the same nature and having distinctive attributes.
(Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19)
A. God the Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal, spiritual being, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(John 16:23-27; Galatians 4:4-6; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 17-23)
B. God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, the living and ever-present Lord. He is true God and true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible, return from heaven.
(Matthew 1:18; 23; Luke 24:1-8; John 1:1, 14; Acts 1:11; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 7:24-25; I John 2:1; Revelation 19; Matthew 28:19-20)
C. God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a person and is fully God. He calls, regenerates, baptizes into the body of Christ, indwells every believer, guides and empowers believers, and gives gifts to all believers to be used in ministry so that the church functions properly. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
(Matthew 28:19; John 3:5; John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 6:11, 19; I Corinthians 12:4-13; Ephesians 3:16; Ephesians 4:11-16)
III. Man
We believe God created man; male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We further believe that man, because of his fall in Adam, is a sinner by nature and choice and is therefore spiritually dead, in need of salvation.
(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7-3:19; Romans 3:23; 5:12-21; 6:23)
IV. Salvation
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We further believe that this salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received by man through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. Salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern. Salvation further results in a right relationship with God and its end is eternal life.
(John 1:12; 3:3-7; 5:24; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Timothy 2:5)
V. The Church
We believe the New Testament church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head. It is composed of all persons who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This body expressed itself in local assemblies whose members have been baptized upon a public confession of faith and have associated themselves for worship, instruction, evangelism, and service. The ordinances of the local church are believer’s Baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We also believe in the interdependence of local churches and mutual submission of believers to each other in love (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:41-47; Ephesians 5:21; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:24-25) and will develop and maintain relationships with other churches and Christian organizations of like faith.
VI. Religious Liberty and Responsibility
We believe that each local church is self-governing in function and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. We further believe that every human being is directly responsible to God in matters of faith and life, and that each should be free to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. The believer is called to loyal obedience to civil government and to stand for the righteous will of God.
(Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1; I Timothy 2:1-6)
VII. Christian Conduct
We believe that the supreme task of every believer is to glorify God in his life. The believer should live blamelessly before the world, be a faithful steward of his possessions, and seek to realize for himself the full stature of maturity in Christ.
(I Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 1:28; I Timothy 6:6-9; I Peter 14:15)
VIII. Marriage
We believe that the term ‘marriage’ has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union as delineated in Scripture.
We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and women who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a women.
We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and
offensive to God.
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly.
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect,
and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual is to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church.
IX. Last Things
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal conscious existence of all men either in heaven or hell, and in divine judgment, rewards, and punishments.
(John 5:29; I Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 John 8; Revelation 19; Revelation 20)
