Our Mission &
Statement of Faith

Statement of Faith

The following statements are the foundation of beliefs on which OCA is based. They are also the key elements of Protestant Christianity that will be unapologetically taught in various ways through all grade levels. The substance of these statements is that which will be considered primary doctrine of OCA. Secondary or divisive doctrines and issues will not be presented as primary doctrine. When secondary doctrines or issues arise, they will be referred back to the family and local churches for final authority. The OCA Board of Directors will function as the final arbiter for this statement of faith.

WE BELIEVE and teach that there is one sovereign God, eternally existing in three persons: the everlasting Father; His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, and we believe and teach that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing by His spoken Word and for His own glory. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29, John 1:1-18, II Corinthians 3:17, Genesis 1:1)

WE BELIEVE and teach that God has revealed Himself and His truth in the created order, in the Scriptures and supremely in Jesus Christ and that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writing so that they are fully trustworthy and of supreme and final authority in all they say. (John 17:17, II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 3:15-16)

WE BELIEVE and teach that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary and was true God and true man, existing in one person and without sin, and we believe in and teach the physical resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, His ascension into heaven and in His present life there for us as Lord of all, High Priest and Advocate. (Matthew 1:18-20, Luke 1:28-38, John 1:1-3, John 8:58, John 20:28, Acts 20:28, Romans 9:5, Hebrews 4:15, Luke 24:36-43, John 20:28, Acts 1:9-10, Matthew 28:18, Hebrews 5, I John 2:1-2)

WE BELIEVE and teach that God directly created Adam and Eve, the historical parents of the entire human race, and that they were created in His own image, distinct from all other living creatures and in a state of original righteousness. (Matthew 19:4-6, Acts 17:26, Romans 5:12, I Timothy 2:13-15)

WE BELIEVE and teach that God placed Adam and Eve in a distinct relationship to complement one another in marriage (Genesis 2:23-24). We believe that heterosexual relationships in marriage between one man and one woman are God’s design from the very beginning of time (Matthew 19:4-6) and Adam and Eve are a model of this beautiful institution. Sex outside of marriage including homosexual behavior are outside of God’s design (I Cor. 6:9-10, Rom. 1:26-27). We reject any teaching contrary to the biblical teaching regarding marriage and believe that the Bible is the final authority on such weighty matters (II Tim. 3:16).

WE BELIEVE and teach that God creates each person distinctly male or female (Gen. 2:23). We believe that if one rejects their individual biological sex they are rejecting a gift from God. These distinctions between male and female are God given so that we might see more clearly the beauty and image of God. God’s Word is clear from the beginning that He made them distinctly male and female (Gen. 1:26, Matthew 19:4-6) and to argue anything to the contrary is error (I Corinthians 6:9).

WE BELIEVE and teach that our first parents sinned by rebelling against God’s revealed will and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death and that as a result all human beings are born with a sinful nature that leads them to sin in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:8, Romans 5:12, John 5:25-29, Romans 3:23)

WE BELIEVE in and teach the existence of Satan, sin, and evil powers and that God has defeated all these through the cross of Christ. (Genesis 3:1, Revelation 12:1-9, Jude 9, Matthew 28:18-20)

WE BELIEVE and teach that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, triumphing over all evil and that all who repent and believe in Him are justified by His shed blood and forgiven of all their sins. (I Corinthians 15:1-4, John 3:16, II Corinthians 5:21, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 1:7, Titus 3:5)

WE BELIEVE and teach that all who embrace the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God and are enabled to offer spiritual worship acceptable to God. (John 1:12; 3:3, 3:16; 16:8-15, Romans 12:1-2)

WE BELIEVE and teach that God the Holy Spirit indwells and gives life to believers, enables them to understand the Scriptures, empowers them for godly living and equips them for service and witness. (John 14:16-23, I Corinthians 2:14-15, Galatians 5:16-17, 22, I Thessalonians 4:1-5, II Timothy 3:16)

WE BELIEVE and teach that the one, holy, universal Church is the body of Christ and is composed of the communities of Christ’s people. The task of the Church is to be God’s redeemed community, embodying His love by worshipping God with confession, prayer and praise; by proclaiming the gospel of God’s redemptive love through our Lord Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth by word and deed; by caring for all of God’s creation and actively seeking the good of everyone, especially the poor and needy. (I Corinthians 1:11-17, Ephesians 4:5, Titus 2:13-14, I Timothy 3:16, I Timothy 2:8, Acts 1:8, Revelation 5, James 1:22, Matthew 25, James 1:27)

WE BELIEVE in and teach the blessed hope that Jesus Christ will return to this earth, personally, visibly and unexpectedly, in power and great glory, to gather His elect, to raise the dead, to judge the nations and to bring His Kingdom to fulfillment. (I Thessalonians 1:10, Acts 1:11, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, II Thessalonians 1:1-5-10, Matthew 24:31, Acts 24:21, Revelation 20)

WE BELIEVE in and teach the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting punishment of the lost and the everlasting blessedness of the saved. (Acts 24:21, II Thessalonians 1:9)