WRCC Core Beliefs

Woodruff Road Christian Church does not require members to subscribe to a formal creed. In a very real sense “we have no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible.” The twin basis of our unity are our faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and our adherence to the Bible as the inspired text for our teaching and the one sufficient constitution for governing congregational life.


All persons of all races have been created in the image of God and stand in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Our church’s stated mission is: “Love God, Share Jesus, Serve Humbly.” Therefore, we welcome all Christians and non-Christians of various beliefs to come share in the fellowship of Woodruff Road Christian Church as long as their practices do not disrupt the atmosphere of worship.

We must seek a unity of understanding in the essentials of our faith. As such, all who accept a leadership or teaching position must believe and agree to defend the essential doctrines of our faith as stated below.

Essentials:

  1.  We believe that there is only one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  2.  We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, authoritative word of God.
  3.   We believe that Jesus Christ was God’s one and only Son. He was both fully human and fully divine, conceived of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary. We believe that He was crucified, buried, rose again from the dead, and that He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Someday, He will return to earth and will judge both the living and the dead.
  4.  We believe in the Holy Spirit, Who is an active and operative part of the Godhead and Who indwells every Christian to provide comfort and spiritual discernment.
  5.  We believe that the Bible teaches that everyone has willfully sinned against God and is consequently lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ.
  6.  We believe that the only terms of salvation that we may proclaim are those expressed in the New Testament: salvation is achieved only by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ and that we receive God’s grace by putting our faith in Christ, repenting of sin, confessing Christ before others, and being baptized by immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins and for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Non-Essentials:

We do not suggest that we must agree on all things pertaining to our walk in Christ. On many issues we have the freedom to disagree. Liberty should allow individuals who are not in a leadership or teaching position to share opinions that differ from the church’s stated position as long as it is done at the proper time, in the proper setting, and in a way that does not affect the unity of the church. For the sake of unity, however, we believe that all who accept and hold a leadership or teaching position at Woodruff Road Christian Church must resist any temptation to use their position as a forum from which to promote views inconsistent with the non-essential beliefs as stated below.

  1.  The terms of salvation and church membership, as in the body of Christ, are one and the same. Local church membership is a separate commitment to a specific congregation of believers. All Christians should place themselves into the membership of a local congregation for corporate worship, mutual edification, accountability to spiritual leadership, and opportunities for Christian service.
  2.  On the issue of the total depravity of man, we believe that man is a creature of free will and is capable of accepting or rejecting God’s gift of salvation.
  3.  Regarding predestination, we believe that Christ died for all the world and God desires that all should come to repentance and that no one should perish.
  4.  On the matter of eternal security, we believe that a Christian can be secure in their salvation because it is not dependent on the success of their Christian walk as long as they desire to remain His disciple. No one can snatch a believer from the security of God’s hand. However, those who willfully and continually turn away from God and choose to reject Him can lose their salvation.
  5.  We celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, as we find the New Testament Christians did. We encourage all believers in Christ to participate with us during this time of communion.
  6.  Although many believe that the supernatural gifts, such as tongues and healing, ceased to be passed on after the first century church, we do not presume to dictate one’s private worship practices. However, we have agreed for the sake of unity of the body, in our public worship and other sanctioned church meetings, we will not teach or practice these gifts nor make them a test of one’s faith or spirituality.
  7.  Regarding the end times, we as Christians are called to remain ready for Christ’s return and, with a sense of urgency, evangelize the lost. We do not insist that anyone hold to one particular view of the end times, but rather allow for an open study of various views. While accepting various understandings of how God will bring life on earth to a conclusion, we trust that Christ will come again and will call His own to Himself.
  8.  We believe that the Bible teaches that the elders are to exercise authority over the local congregation of believers. We believe that the primary role of the elders is to care for and direct the spiritual welfare of the church.
  9.  We believe the role of the deacon is to serve the church in specific, dedicated ways, to be a witness for Christ in the world, and to be an example of faithfulness within the flock.
  10.  Based on scriptural evidence and the practice of the early church, we believe that women should not be placed in a role of spiritual authority over men. Men bear the responsibility of serving in roles of spiritual leadership.

In regard to other non-essential areas relating to the church, we will go to the scriptures to find what was spoken by Christ, taught by the apostles, or was the practice of the New Testament church.