What We Believe

We believe that God is the loving creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, and having all power and majesty. God exists as the Trinity, in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God passionately desires a relationship with us and toward this end continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning, and service.

(Genesis 1:1, John 14:6-9, 15-17, and 16:7-15, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, and 1 John 4:9-10)

We believe that God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for the sins of us all, was buried, rose again from the dead, and ascended to heaven.

(Colossians 1:13-23, 2:8-14, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Matthew 22:36-40, John 14:1-3, Acts 10:42-43, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

The Holy Spirit is sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ. Exemplifying community, the Holy Spirit gives each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity, interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character and love among Christians. The Holy Spirit also teaches, comforts and empowers us.

(Genesis 1:2 | Psalm 51:11 ;139:7 | Isaiah 61:1-3 | Joel 2:28-32 | Mark 1:10 | Lk 1:35; 4:1; 11:13; 12:12 | John 15:26; 16:7-14 | Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 13:2 | Romans 8:9-11; 14-16; 26-27 | 1 Corinthians 3:16 | Ephesians 1:13-14 | 2 Peter 1:21 | Revelation 22:17)

We believe that God speaks to us in the Bible, and that it is our privilege to seek to understand God’s message and apply it responsibly to our lives. The Bible is our standard in all we say and do. God’s unchangeable biblical message ought to be presented in relevant and contemporary ways, free of religious jargon, and understandable to the people in our community.

(Matt 5:17-19, 2 Tim 2:15, 3:14-17, Heb 4:12, 2 Peter 1:16-21, 3:14-28, Psalm 19:7-11, 119:9-16, Joshua 1:7-8, Acts 17:11)

We believe that all people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to live in a vital relationship with God; however, through our sin (failing to live by God’s moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God and we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship, spiritually and socially in this life and beyond. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationships with God and others, through Christ's death on the cross, a perfect act of redemption for each of us. Salvation comes to people on the basis of God’s grace through their faith in Jesus alone.   They receive the free gift of forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting of their sin and believing in Jesus Christ. Good works and a holy life, although totally unable to save anyone, are the natural product of repentant, believing people.

(1 Peter 2:24, 3:18, Romans 3:9-28, 6:23, and 10:9-10, John 3:16, 5:24, Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:3-8, and James 2:14-26)

We express our strong value of community by seeking to reach out and connect with a diverse group of people. We want to be personal and caring in a world that is increasingly fragmented and impersonal. We are not afraid to be vulnerable, human, and honest with each other. We believe our spirituality fulfills rather than denies our humanity, and we believe this approach strengthens community.

(John 15:12, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:3-18, Galatians 6:1-5, 10, Colossians 4:5-6, and 2 Timothy 4:1-5)

A Fresh Wind recognizes diversity among Christians in nonessential areas. We do not press for uniformity in these areas, but rather encourage people to search the scriptures, seek balance, mutual understanding, humility, and love. Additionally, we seek to respect one another’s differences without a quarrelsome, arrogant, or divisive spirit and to return continually to the great commandment, to love God and one another.

(1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Romans 14:1-15:7, 16:17, 2 Timothy 2:14-17, 23-26, James 3:13-27, and Philippians 2:1-5)