We believe everyone deserves a fresh start

Whether you’ve been in church all your life, been out of church for a while or have no church background whatsoever, it’s our conviction that everybody needs a fresh start with God. And it’s our hope that everyone who enters Lakeshore Church on any given weekend will receive a warm welcome, uplifting worship, an encouraging message, and an opportunity to experience God.

 Bring us back to you, God—we’re ready to come back. Give us a fresh start. (Lamentations 5:21 MSG)

We believe you can’t do life alone.

Everyone needs a family – a place we can find acceptance, make friends, get healthy, and share special moments with people who care. God made us to be a part of something greater than ourselves and experience, not only the benefits of community but also the blessing of helping others. We will do everything we possibly can to help you make beneficial connections at Lakeshore Church.

You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. –The Apostle Paul (Ephesians 2:19b-20 MSG)

We believe growing people change.

“Building People” is more than our motto, it’s our mission. And we believe significant life change happens every time we take a step closer to Jesus and continue growing in God’s grace and truth. Our Growth Track gets you headed in the right direction and our discipleship-oriented small groups keep you moving toward the goal of becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ.

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. –The Apostle Paul (Philippians 3:12-14 MSG)

We believe you are made for more.

You have been uniquely designed and distinctly gifted to fulfill God’s wonderful plan for your life. We are confident there is more to you than meets the eye. It’s when you begin using your gifts to serve others that you begin to realize the magnitude of God’s power that can flow through you to bring help, hope and healing to the people around you. It’s our dream to see you living at your full potential in God, and it’s our hope that you will join the Lakeshore team.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. –The Apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:20 MSG)

OUR BELIEFS

GOD

We believe in One God who eternally exists in three persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal, which is the Trinity.
Genesis 1:1-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; John
1:1-3, 14; Colossians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Timothy 1:17

HUMANS

We believe humans were created in the image of God and placed in a sinless paradise to have fellowship with Him. But because of disobedience to God’s Word, sin entered the world and fellowship with God was broken and relationship between humans became strained. Humans through their own efforts cannot restore this brokenness.
Genesis 1:26-27, 31; 3:1-8; 11:1-9; Romans 3:9-10, 23; 5:12-14;
Ephesians 2:1-3

THE GOSPEL

We believe in the Gospel: that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. That He was crucified on a cross for our sins and raised from the dead three days later.
Matthew 16:16; Mark 10:45; Acts 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 20; Galatians 1:4; Colossians 1:15; 2:13-14; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 1:5

SALVATION

We believe that all who believe the Gospel are born again by the Holy Spirit and become children of God and heirs of eternal life. Thus, eternal life is totally a work of grace, a gift of God and not a result of any good works or human efforts on our part.
John 3:3, 5, 16; Romans 3:23-28; 5:1; 6:23; Galatians 2:16; 4:4-7;
Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5

THE WORD OF GOD

We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining how followers of Jesus should live their lives.
Matthew 5:17-18; Psalm 119:9, 11; John 10:35; 17:17; Romans 16:25-26; 2
Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 3:15-16

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

We believe in the ongoing process of spiritual growth of the Christian through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Each person is to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and in developing and employing their spiritual gifts through the Church, so others may come to know Christ and the
Church be built up into maturity.
John 8:31-32; 14:16-17; 16:13; 17:17; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 5:11-14

THE CHURCH

We believe the Church is the Body of Christ that is made up of all Christ-Followers. Its mission is to glorify God and make Him known to the lost world. Every Christ-Follower is an integral part of the Church creating a spiritual unity of brothers and sisters. The initial evidence for joining the
Church is water baptism and the continual evidence of unity with the church is the Lord’s Supper (communion).
Matthew 26:26-29; John 17:11, 20-23; 1 Corinthians 28:18-20; Acts 2:38;
8:12; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-25; 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22

THE OTHER THINGS

We believe that Jesus Christ will return physically to earth to set up His Kingdom. This will occur at a time no one knows except the Father. At His return the resurrection of Christ-Followers and non-Christ-Followers will take place. Heaven will be the eternal dwelling place for all Believers in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. The devil, who is working in the world to destroy the souls of people, along with all his angels, and all who do not receive Christ as their Savior, will eternally perish in the lake of fire, which is Hell.
Matthew 4:1-11; 5:3, 12; 6:20; 24:30; 25:34, 41; Mark 9:43-48; John 8:24,
44; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:27 Revelation 14:9-11; 20:1-15; 21-22

SACRAMENTS

WATER BAPTISM.

Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new believer is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; Acts 10:47-48

COMMUNION

Observance of the Lord’s Supper is a unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross
Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25

BIBLICAL MARRIAGE

Biblical Marriage has only one meaning and is clearly defined in scripture as a covenant, a sacred bond uniting one man (born a man) and one woman (born a woman) in a single, exclusive union for life, instituted by and publicly entered into before God (Matthew 19:4-6), and that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (I Corinthians 6:18, 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). The covenant is with God and should not be taken lightly or altered to fit personal preferences.
Genesis 2:22-24; Ephesians 5:22-33; Mark 10:6-9; Galatians 5:24-25