Church of the Advent is a family church - God's Family !
Our members come from almost every walk of life; grandparents, parents, children, young adults, single parents, military, law enforcement, teachers and those new to the faith. Even though we are from many different ethnicities, professions, levels of education, and places in our individual lives; we are all called by the one Good Shepherd and justified by His grace through the attoning sacrifice of His beloved Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
COTA and the stand squarely on the historic, undisputed teachings of orthodox Christianity as taught by Jesus, spread by the Apostles, defended by the Patriarchs of the Early Church, expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, and exemplified by the undivided Catholic Church during the first millennium of its existence. We believe that these things taken together, with Jesus first, contain the substantial deposit of Christian Faith and Order delivered to the Church. We maintain the validity of God's grace imparted through the seven traditional sacraments of the Church (i.e., Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Confession & Reconciliation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Healing/Unction).
Since the stands as a bridge between the protestant and catholic formulations of faith, our basic beliefs hold in common the essentials of orthodoxy (i.e., "that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all") found in Eastern Orthodoxy, Western Catholicism, and the Reformed traditions. Accordingly, we cannot walk in fellowship with those who deny the essentials of faith; those who would "move an ancient boundary stone" (Proverbs 22:28). Among those beliefs we would underscore and commend the following:
- A high view of Holy Scripture in affirming the critical importance of preaching, public reading of the Word, and personal Bible study;
- A high view of the Sacraments in imparting the grace of God, particularly through the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist;
- A high view of the Church in affirming Cyprian's claim that, "he who has not the Church for his mother, has not God for his Father;"
- The doctrine of saving grace by faith as reinforced by both the Reformers and the Council of Trent;
- The real and present work of the Holy Spirit through gifts and signs as imparted to believers for service and witness as rediscovered during this century by the Pentecostal/Charismatic movements.
In this sense the ICCEC is wholly orthodox, wholly evangelical, wholly sacramental, and wholly charismatic.
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Church of the Advent is:
CHARISMATIC:
We expect the Holy Spirit to be powerfully manifest in every aspect of our lives and for the Gifts of the Spirit to operate freely, because God says so in His Word.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit people's lives are made whole - relationships are reconciled; physical healing is manifested; and miracles happen.
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EVANGELICAL:
We are intent on hearing God through His written Word (Holy Scripture); the Word preached; and even through fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
God still speaks to His people as clearly today as He has in the past. We have only to listen.
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SACRAMENTAL:
We express our faith not only in the preaching of Word, but through the use of liturgy, and the signs and symbols of the Christian faith as taught and passed down generation to generation from the Apostles to the early church fathers to God's people today.
The focus of worship is never about person preaching, the song being sung, the sweet smell of incense, the sound of the bells or vestments worn; but rather the focus is on who and what they represent - One Holy Trinity: Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
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