We desire to CONNECT and share life together, GROW in our walk with God, and SERVE those who need Jesus

The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) is a global movement of people seeking to fulfill God’s mission in the world. We’re committed to studying the Word of God and faithfully living it out. We’re committed to the mission that Jesus Christ gave every believer: to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18–20).

The Church of God movement appeared in the 1880s in the midst of the broader American Holiness Revival. The pioneers of the Church of God hoped to restore a more biblical understanding and practice of what it means to be the church. One of our early church songs says: “The Bible is our rule of faith and Christ alone is Lord.” This lyric still summarizes the core belief of Church of God people. We have not issued any official belief statement, and we have no formal creed. Yet, the statements you can read in our other tabs may help you understand more of the core beliefs of the Church of God as a whole.

Salvation makes us members of God’s church. We believe that the church is composed of every person who has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. We enter into the life of the church, not by joining a denomination or a human organization, but by committing our lives to Christ (John 3:1–7).

We welcome all.

All backgrounds, all cultures, all walks of life. Our hope is that the church community can be a place where we can all come together to be made more to look like Jesus, our Lord, and Savior.

Christians are called to be one. We believe that God calls all followers of Christ to live in unity and peace, regardless of who they are or the church they attend (Gal 3:28). While we may not agree on everything, we can rally around our subject, Jesus.

We must be holy. We believe that followers of Christ have been called to live a life of love, purity, and godliness. We are called to live like Christ, taking on a new nature (2 Cor 5:17).

Jesus is Fully God and Fully Man. Jesus is the Alpha and omega the beginning and the end. He is the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Jesus is the mediator between God and man.

Jesus lived the life we could not and died the death we deserve so that we might choose to know him, love him, and receive the gift of living with him for all of eternity.

A disciple is a fully committed follower of Jesus. As Jesus laid his life down in love for us we as His followers are to be ready and willing to live in uncomfortable loving service to Jesus every day. As Jesus told us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him.

As Disciples each of us is called to fulfill Matthew 28:18–20, making fully devoted followers of Christ—disciples—who will then teach others to follow Christ.

The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity.

The Work of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit equips believers with unique gifts that enable us to carry out the mission of Christ in the world. At the same time, the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in every believer (Galatians 5:22–23), which demonstrate the Spirit’s presence within us.

Stewardship. Since God is the source of life, all of life is to be used for the honor, glory, and service of God (Psalm 24:1)

This includes our time, energy, intellect, relationships, possessions, and yes even our money.

The following free downloads (PDF) are available to provide more detail on the beliefs of the Church of God: We Believe (Anderson University School of Theology, 2 MB), What We Teach (Barry Callen, 129 KB), and the following booklets by Arlo Newell: Salvation (121 KB), Holy Living (106 KB), Membership (114 KB), Ordinances (112 KB), Divine Healing (89.2 KB), and Return of Christ (111 KB).