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Christ's Church at Monticello exists to make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded.
We follow the example of the Church in Acts,
"And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles'
teaching and to fellowship,
to the beaking of bread and to prayer."

More about CCaM

Christ’s Church at Monticello is an un/non-denominational fellowship of believers in Christ. (We have no allegiance or alliance with any earthly denomination.) We have no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, and wear no names but those found in the Scriptures. We believe that Christ is Head of His Church and therefore every Christian is part of His one body. We earnestly desire to be Christians only . . . plus nothing and minus nothing! We want to speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where it is silent. Our motto: “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, love.”

The sole basis for our beliefs and practices is the Bible. We will not set aside the Word of God to honor the traditions of men. We feel all who truly love the Lord and want to please Him in everything can unite on this basis; and work, serve, and worship Him together in harmony.

Since the Church in the New Testament consisted of all those who humbly and sincerely believed and obeyed the Gospel, we want to follow the same Scriptural pattern at CCaM. Whatever made a person a Christian then, made him a member of Christ’s body, the Church. That same Gospel message, believed and obeyed today will accomplish the same things. The message and requirements of the Gospel haven’t changed or been updated, nor has the Gospel’s power diminished.

Scripture teaches that the person who sincerely believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and then turns from all willful, intentional, and unintentional sin (repentance), openly confesses his faith in Christ as Lord, and is immersed (baptized) into Christ, has forgiveness of sins, is saved, and added as a member of the Lord’s body, the church (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 47). We embrace and teach these same truths today.

Specifically we believe...

God

•    There is only one God who exists for all eternity. He always was, is, and will be (Exodus 3:13-15; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 43:10).
•    Although God is one, He exists in three persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- who are equal in nature, power, purpose, and glory (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
•    God is distinct from His creation, being the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Acts 17:24-25).
•    He has revealed Himself to mankind through His works (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20), Word (2 Timothy 3:16, 17), and Son (Hebrews 1:1, 2).
•    God, by His sovereign choice and out of love for all people, sent Christ into the world to save sinners (Matthew 1:21; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 1:3-6).

Jesus Christ

•    Jesus Christ is both fully God (John 1:1) and fully man (1 Timothy 2:5).
•    He is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16).
•    He was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:34, 35).
•    He was sinless (Hebrews 4:15).
•    He is mankind’s only hope for salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
•    After His death on the cross, He bodily resurrected, appeared to others, then ascended into heaven (1 Corinthians 15:3-8); 1 Timothy 3:16).
•    By His death and shed blood, the Lord Jesus Christ made a perfect atonement for sin. People are saved, justified, and sanctified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood (Hebrews 9:11-14; 10-10-13; 1 Peter 3:18; Galatians 3:13-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 8:31-34).
•    Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25).
•    One day, He will personally, bodily, and visibly return to judge the world (Revelation 1:7; 22:12).

Holy Spirit

•    The Holy Spirit is a personal being who works in the world today by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
•    He transforms Christians through His indwelling presence (John 14:16, 17; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
•    He is the guarantee of our Heavenly inheritance and salvation, and sent to indwell us after our baptism into the name of Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 19:1-7).

Man

•    Through our own efforts, we cannot be righteous in God’s sight (Romans 3:20); we all depend on God’s grace given us in Christ’s death (Galatians 2:21).
•    Having been saved, we are to grow and become more like Jesus (Romans 8:29).
•    The goal of our faith is the redemption of our souls and bodies (1 Peter 1:9; Romans 8:23).
•    Through Jesus we have eternal life, but whoever rejects Him is condemned (John 3:36).
•    We are not predestined to either salvation or condemnation. God wants each person to come to a knowledge of Him and be saved; however, the choice is up to us (Romans 10:8-17; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
•    All who receive Christ become joint heirs with Christ. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious joy. At the second coming of Christ, their bodies will be raised to the likeness of His glory and dwell forever in his divine presence (Romans 8:16-17; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Luke 16:19-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:31-18; 2 Corinthians 15; I John 3:1-2).
•    The goal of every Christian to grow in spiritual maturity through obedience to the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit (Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Salvation

•    We are saved by grace through faith, not through our own works (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
•    A living faith expresses itself through confessing that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9, 10), repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38); obedience to the Word of God (John 14:15); and works of righteousness prepared in advance for us to do by God (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14-26).
•    Baptism is only by immersion (Romans 6:4) and for the forgiveness of sins. It is a work of God, not of man (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
•    Those in Christ have great assurance (Romans 8:1); yet to be saved, we must persevere in God’s grace (Hebrews 10:35-39; Galatians 5:4).
•    Salvation, with its forgiveness of sins, its impartation of a new nature, and its hope of eternal life is the pure grace of God (1 John 1:8-10; 3:9; 2 Corinthians 15; Ephesians 2:8-9).

Bible

•    The 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired, inerrant Word of God (John 17:17; 2 Peter 2:20, 21).
•    These alone serve as the authority and basis for our faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
•    The gospel as revealed in the New Testament is the final revelation of God; there are no updates, revisions, or new revelations coming (Galatians 1:6-9; Jude 1:3).

We also believe that...

•    Love should be the distinguishing characteristic of Christ’s followers (John 13:35).
•    The mission of the Church is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18, 19) and bring Christians to spiritual maturity (Colossians 1:28).
•    Remembering Jesus by observing the Lord’s Supper weekly is both Scriptural and beneficial (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 20:7).
•    The local Church should be independent, yet interdependent with the Church as a whole.
•    The local Church is to be overseen by a group of godly, wise men known as elders who are assisted by the service of deacons. (Acts 20:28; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).
•    Christians are to be moral and live a lifestyle that is pleasing to Christ (1 Peter 1:15, 16).
•    Infants and young children are innocent in the eyes of the Lord; therefore, we only baptize people who are old enough to make their own decisions for Christ (Matthew 19:14).
•    Every Christian has received a spiritual gift to serve others and glorify God (1 Peter 4:10, 11).
•    We teach that God is the absolute and sole creator of the universe, and that creation was by divine decree, not through evolutionary process (Genesis 1:1-2:25).
•    We are not baptized as infants, then later coming to faith and being confirmed into the Church. We come to faith as reasoning people, then are baptized into Jesus Christ in obedience to His Word (Mark 16:16).