STATEMENT OF FAITH
What we believe about God...
We believe that God eternally exists in three distinct persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each of these persons is equal to one another in attributes and in power. We believe that God created all things and holds all things together by His power. We believe that He is sovereign over all things "in heaven, in earth, and under the earth" and that ultimately His sovereign will is being and will be accomplished at all times in each of these realms.
We believe that Jesus is God and that He is God's one and only eternal Son. We believe in the virgin birth, the deity, the humanity and the absolute sinlessness of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, rose bodily from the grave, and ascended into heaven. The purpose of His coming and His work was to be a "ransom" and a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all people applied to all repentant sinners who believe on Christ alone for their salvation.
We believe that the person of the Holy Spirit is God as well. The Holy Spirit indwells each believer at salvation. We believe the work of the Holy Spirit to be that of elevating the name and work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit accomplishes his work by convicting of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He calls, regenerates, sanctifies, indwells, empowers, guides, teaches, and comforts the saved. We do not believe in the modern practice of tongues or the perpetuation of other NT sign gifts which were given to authenticate the new dispensation of the church age, apostolic authority, the completion of the NT canon of Scripture.
What we believe about the Bible...
We believe that the Bible in the autographs is inspired, inerrant, and infallible, and is, therefore, our sole rule for faith and practice. We believe that God breathed out the very words of the sixty-six books of the Bible in the autographs and divinely supervised chosen men who wrote inerrantly all that He intended. The Bible is our hope, our guide, and our ultimate authority for all that we do in our Christian life. God has faithfully preserved all his inscripturated words in the totality of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and subsequently in faithful translations of Scripture in many languages throughout the world.
What we believe about the Church...
We believe that the local church is a visible picture of the invisible body of Christ which will meet one day in heaven after the rapture of the Church. We believe that the scriptures teach only two memorial ordinances for the church - baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. We believe that the church's duty and commission is to tell every person in the world the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, baptize those who receive Christ as their Savior and Lord, and instruct them to learn and obey His Word. We believe the church should be biblically separated from worldliness, false teachers, and willfully disobedient brethren in Christ. Therefore, we will not participate with theological liberalism, ecumenical evangelism, new evangelicalism, the charismatic movement, and the market driven, man-centered entertainment philosophy of church growth and worship.
What we believe about Salvation...
We believe that salvation is a free gift of God that cannot be earned or merited by man in any way. Salvation is only by grace alone through repentant faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our one and only Savior. We believe that saving faith always includes repentance of sin. We believe that all persons are sinners by nature and by choice; there is "none who doeth good, no not one." We believe everyone must be "born again" by putting their unreserved faith and trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. We believe in the eternal security of the believer based on God's promises of preservation in the Word of God and the resulting perseverance of the believer in the faith.
What we believe about the Second Coming...
We believe that Jesus Christ is coming back for His saints, both those who are dead in Christ and those who are still alive in Him at that time. We believe His immanent return could happen at any time. We believe Christ will return in the sky to take His church up into heaven. We believe this rapture will occur prior to the Great Tribulation Period. We believe Christ will then return to the earth bringing His saints with Him at the end of the Tribulation wherein He will defeat all enemies and set-up His earthly, millennial kingdom. In the end, Christ will set up a new heaven and a new earth where he will dwell with His people forever.
What we believe about the Resurrection...
We believe in a future bodily resurrection of all persons. Those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior will receive their glorified bodies in which they will serve and praise the Lord forever. Those who die in their sins without having received Christ will stand before Him at the Great White Throne judgment to be condemned to everlasting judgment in the eternal lake of fire.
What we believe about Missions...
We believe that God is a missionary God. We believe that the Bible is a missionary book. The goal of both the church and the individual Christian must be missionary work, church planting, and evangelistic efforts both locally and abroad in order to glorify God by seeking that He be worshiped in spirit and truth by all nations of the world.
For interested Pastors and Churches...
All pastors of churches who use our programs or materials should understand that the writers of the Expeditions materials will seek to disciple the youth in their respective churches with Bible truths based on the above statement of faith. Churches will testify to being a Baptist church or a church that is intentionally teaching Baptist doctrine. They understand that Expeditions encourages ecclesiastical separation for the purpose of protecting our children from the doctrines of other churches. They also understand that signing this Statement of Faith does not require that they personally adhere to these specific statements, but that they understand what Expeditions plans to teach their children.