What We Believe

Our beliefs at Centerpoint are composed of 5 ONE's. We refer to these as THE ESSENTIALS.

The Essentials are the core beliefs of the Christian faith. Our desire is to focus on the major doctrines of the Christian faith. We believe we are at our best when we are focused on what we are for, not what we are against!

We believe that in Jesus the eternal infinite God has become one of us. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived in unbroken fellowship with the Father, and was crucified for our sins. If that were the end of the story no one would be talking about Jesus today. We believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. We believe that because of the testimony of many reliable witnesses. Because He was raised from the dead He is all that He claimed to be- Lord, God and Savior. We believe that He has ascended into heaven and that one day He will return and restore all things.

We believe that the Bible (the Old and New Testament) is the only inspired authoritative word of God. We believe the Old Testament because Jesus believed it. When Jesus said that the Scripture can’t be broken (John 10:34) He was talking of the Old Testament. We believe the New Testament because Jesus commissioned the witnesses of the resurrection (the Apostles) to take His message to the nations. Jesus promised the Apostles that when the Holy Spirit came that He would lead them into all truth (John 16:13). That truth about Jesus is preserved for us in the New Testament. We believe that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness...”
2 Timothy 3:16

We believe that the one true God exists eternally in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches us that there is only One all knowing, all powerful, God who created the Universe out of nothing. The Bible also calls three different persons God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. We were created to live in fellowship with God and one another, but the human race has chosen to live apart from God through sin. Sin separates us from God and from one another. Whatever is separated from God dies. Jesus came to save us from sin and death. The way that Jesus saves us is through His death and resurrection. On the cross Jesus took our sin. When Jesus came out of the grave He overcame death. In Christ we have forgiveness and life. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift- not from works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

The Church is made up of people called out of the world and into an eternal relationship with God through Jesus. The Church is spoken of in two ways in the Bible. There is the Universal Church, which is made up of all those that belong to Jesus wherever they are found. There is also the local Church where Jesus calls His people to gather together in order to fulfill His purposes on Earth.

What does it look like to actually live that out? The simple answer is that it means living a life of love for God and for one another. God’s love always comes first. We love because he first loves us. That love was shown to us through Jesus. 1 John 4:10 says- “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Because Jesus loves us…
 
We love God.
We were made for something greater than ourselves. We were created to worship. That is one of the reasons we gather on Sunday mornings. We come together to sing praise to the God who made us and saved us and to give thanks for all that He is doing in our lives. Worship is not just a Sunday thing. Whether we are eating, drinking, working, or recreating we do it all for the glory of the one who created us.  
 
We love one another.
1 John 4:11- “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Our hope is that when people come to CenterPoint that they will find family. CenterPoint is a family that is centered on Jesus. Jesus was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We are unashamedly committed to the truth about Jesus but that truth leads us His grace. We love people the way that Jesus loved them - unconditionally. In living out that commitment to grace and truth we find community with one another. In order to experience that community we need to come together for more than Sunday Morning Worship. That is why we meet in small groups that meet in homes throughout the week.
 
We live for Jesus.
Jesus said that He did not come to “…be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” When you love someone you give yourself for them. Jesus came and gave. We are called to a life of giving. That includes not only our resources but also our time and our abilities. We are called to serve one another. When we serve we find purpose. We grow when we serve. We experience community as we serve alongside others. As we serve we realize that it makes a difference in the lives of others. Each of us has been given different gifts, passions, and abilities with which we can serve one another. One of our goals at CenterPoint is to equip people to serve and to help people find a place where they can make a difference.
 
We listen to Jesus.  
We have a relationship with God through Jesus. Relationships grow through communication. God has spoken to us finally and completely through Jesus. He is the Living Word of God. The way that we know the living Word is through the written Word, the Bible. That is why we teach, preach, and encourage people to study the Bible. The Bible is not only foundational to all that we believe, but our relationship with Jesus grows when we understand it. A mature relationship with Jesus is not about accumulating Bible knowledge. It is about transformation and becoming more like Jesus.
 
We lead people to Jesus.  
When we have experienced the love of Jesus we want to share it with others. At CenterPoint we love the people of Utah Valley. We know that one of the best ways to reach people here is to invest in them relationally and simply invite them to church. We believe each one of us plays a part in fulfilling Jesus’ great commission. As each of us go into our spheres of influence we have the opportunity to share the invitation of God’s amazing grace with others.