What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of VCO Church based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines. VCO Church adheres to the Assemblies of God and is relationally connected with Association of Related Churches (ARC).

The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.

God has revealed himself to us through his son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God. The Scriptures declare His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His substitutionary work on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and His exaltation to the right hand of God.

Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations.

When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time. Their voluntary disobedience thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.

Mankind's only hope of being redeemed is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Jesus lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. God raised him from the dead, and now, by faith and through repentance of sin, offers mankind a free gift of eternal life to all who follow Christ as their Lord and Savior. Salvation can be found in Christ alone.

The Church is the body of Christ, sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church is an agent of God for evangelizing the world, to worship God collectively as the
body of Christ, to be a channel of God in building up believers who demonstrate God's love and compassion for all the world. Each believer is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers.

The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe in Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Baptism is an outward public declaration of inward change representing death to what was and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life. 

The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements - bread and the cup - is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of his suffering and death, and a prophecy of His second coming, and is partaken by believers.

The Holy Spirit, who is alive and active today, guides believers into all truth, convicts people of their sin, comforts, empowers, gives spiritual gifts, and makes us more like Jesus. We receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts the moment that we accept Jesus in salvation. A subsequent work to salvation, all believers should expect and seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Jesus Christ is returning again one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth. The second coming includes the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope.