PAOC Statment of Essential Truths (ratified 2022).
STATEMENT OF ESSENTIAL TRUTHS
Amended by General Conference, May 2022
ARTICLE 5 STATEMENT OF ESSENTIAL TRUTHS PREAMBLE
This version of the Statement of Essential Truths represents the result of an extensive collaborative process to rephrase and refresh what is most essential to us. As before, we make no claim that this statement covers all biblical truth, nor that the human phraseology employed here is inspired. We recognize as we did at the outset of our movement that
there is some diversity of theological thought among us, but we remain committed as a Pentecostal community to the historic creeds of the church, to evangelical convictions of faith, and to the Full Gospel that Christ is Saviour, Healer, Spirit-Baptizer, and Soon Coming King.
TRIUNE GOD
There is one God, the creator, who exists eternally in unity as three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1). The triune God is loving, holy, infinite, just, and worthy of all worship (2).
The Father accomplishes his plan of salvation through both redemption and judgement (3). All things will be subject to him, and his kingdom will have no end (4).
The Father sent the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary when she was a virgin (5). Jesus became fully human while remaining fully God (6). Anointed by the Spirit, Jesus revealed the Father and the kingdom of God by his sinless life, teaching, and miracles (7). After he died for our sin, God raised him from the dead, and he is now at the right hand of the Father (8).
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son and gives life throughout creation (9). The Spirit draws people to repentance and new life in Jesus Christ (10) Through the Spirit’s indwelling, the Father and the Son are present to all
believers, making them children of God (11).
BIBLE
The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the written revelation of God’s character and saving purposes for humanity and for all creation (12). As God’s revelation, the entire Bible is true and trustworthy, and is the final and absolute authority for belief and conduct (13). The Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible enables its interpretation and application (14).
1 Matt 28:19; 2Cor 13:14
2 Exod 34:6-7; Psa 99:4-5
3 Exod 6:6; Rom 1:16-18
4 Psa 103:19; Rev 11:15; Eph 1:10
5 Matt 1:18-25
6 John 1:1, 14; Col 1:19; Heb 2:17
7 John 1:32; 14:7-10; Luke 4:18-19
8 Acts 2:32-33; Rom 8:34
9 Psa 104:21-30; Acts 2:33
10 John 16:7-15
11 Rom 8:14-17; 1John 3:24
12 Psa 119; John 20:30-31; Rom 15:4
13 2Tim 3:16-17; Heb 4:12
14 2Pet 1:20-21; John 16:13; 1Cor 2:12-13
CREATION
God created and sustains the heavens and the earth, (15) which display God’s glory. Formed in the image of God, both male and female, humankind is entrusted with the care of God’s creation as faithful stewards. (16) As a result of human rebellion, sin and death entered the world, distorting the image of God and all of God’s good creation (17).
Angels were created as supernatural beings to worship and serve God.18 Along with Satan, some angels chose to rebel and oppose the purposes of God (19). Christ gives believers victory over Satan and these demons(20).
SALVATION
Salvation is available to all people by the loving, redemptive act of the triune God. (21) Through obedience to the Father, (22) Christ gave himself as a ransom. (23) Christ, who had no sin, became sin for us offering himself and shedding his blood on the cross so that in him we might become right with God. (24) The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ (25)
provide the way of salvation for those who, by God’s grace, repent from their sin and confess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord(26).
Salvation means to receive the Spirit, to be forgiven, reconciled with God and others, born again, and liberated from sin and darkness, transferring the believer into God’s kingdom. (27) Our experience of liberation includes healing — whether spiritual, physical, emotional, or mental — as a foretaste of our future, complete restoration. (28) Those who remain in Christ and do not turn away are assured of salvation on judgement day by the indwelling Holy Spirit, (29) who sanctifies and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service. (30)
SPIRIT BAPTISM
On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus poured out the promised Holy Spirit on the church. (31) As his return draws near, Jesus
continues to baptize in the Holy Spirit those who are believers. (32) This empowers them to continue his work of
proclaiming with speech and action the good news of the arrival and coming of the kingdom of God. (33) This experience
is available for everyone, male and female, of every age, status, (34) and ethnicity. (35)
The sign of speaking in tongues indicates that believers have been baptized with the Holy Spirit (36) and signifies the
nature of Spirit baptism as empowering our communication, to be his witnesses with speech and action as we continue
to pray in the Spirit. (37)
THE CHURCH
Jesus Christ is the head of the church. (38) All who are united with Christ are joined by the Spirit to his body. (39) Each local church is an expression of the universal church whose role is to participate in the mission of God to restore all things. (40) Central to the church is the shared experience of the transforming presence of God. (41) The church responds with
worship, prayer, proclamation, discipleship, and fellowship, (42) including the practices of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
15 Gen 1:1; Col 1:15-17
16 Gen 1:26-27
17 Rom 5:12; 8:20-22
18 Heb 1:14; Psa 103:20
19 Rev 12:7-9
20 Acts 10:38; Eph 6:10-13
21 John 3:16; Gal 4:4-7; Titus 2:11-14
22 John 8:28-29; Phil 2:8; Heb 5:8
23 Mark 10:45; 1Tim 2:6
24 2Cor 5:21; 1John 3:16
25 Rom 4:22-25; 5:19; 6:4-5; Heb 7:24-28
26 Rom 10:9; 1John 1:9; Acts 3:19; 4:12
27 Eph 2:13-16; Col 1:13-14, 19-20; 1Pet 1:3
28 Isa 53:4-5; 1Pet 2:24; Psa 147:3; Rom 8:23
29 Eph 1:13-14; 1John 4:13; Heb 6:5-6; Phil 3:12-14
30 1Thess 4:3-4; 1Cor 6:11; Rom 12:1-2; 1Pet 1:2
31 Luke 24:49; Acts 2:33
32 Acts 2:38-39; 8:14-17; 19:1-6
33 Luke 4:18-19, 43; Acts 1:8
34 Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18, 39
35 Acts 10:45-46
36 Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6
37 Acts 1:8; 2:11-43; 4:31; Rom 15:19; 1Cor 14:15
38 Col 1:18; Matt 16:18
39 1Cor 12:12-14
40 Acts 1:8; Matt 28:18-20; Acts 13:1-3; Rev 21:5
41 Acts 2:42-43; 1Cor 12:7; Matt 18:20; 2Cor 3:17-18
42 1Pet 2:9-10; Col 4:2-6; Acts 2:42
The Church Cont.
Baptism by immersion symbolizes the believer’s identification with Christ in his death and resurrection (43). The Lord’s Supper symbolizes Christ’s body and blood, and our communion as believers. Shared together, it proclaims his death in anticipation of his return (44).
The Spirit gives all gifts to the church to minister to others in love for the purpose of bearing witness to Christ and for the building up of the church(45). The Spirit also empowers leaders, both female and male, to equip the church to fulfil its mission and purposes (46).
RESTORATION
Our great hope is for the imminent return of Christ in the air to receive his own, both the living who will be transformed, and the dead in Christ who will be resurrected bodily. (47) Christ will complete at his second coming the restoration begun when he initiated God's kingdom at his first coming. (48) Christ will liberate creation from the curse, fulfil God’s covenant
to Israel, and defeat all powers that oppose God. (49) Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (50) Ultimately, God will judge the living and the dead. (51) Such judgement is God’s gracious answer to humanity’s cry for
justice to prevail throughout the earth and is consistent with God’s character as loving, holy, and just. (52) The unredeemed will go away into eternal punishment, but the redeemed into eternal life. (53) The redeemed will enjoy the presence of God where there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. (54) Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!(55)
43 Rom 6:3-8; Matt 28:19
44 Matt 26:26-29; 1Cor 11:23-26
45 Acts 8:5-7; 1Cor 12:4-11; 14:12; Heb 2:3-4
46 Eph 4:11-16; Matt 20:25-28; Acts 2:17-18; 6:2-4; Rom 16:7
47 1Thess 4:14-17; 5:1-2
48 Matt 13:24-41; Rev 11:15-17; Acts 1:6-7; 3:20-21; Rom 11:25-27
49 Rom 8:19-21; 1Cor 15:20-26
50 Phil 2:10-11; Isa 45:23
51 Acts 10:42; 1Pet 4:5
52 Mal 2:17-3:1; Rev 6:9-11
53 Matt 25:46; Dan 12:1-2
54 Isa 25:8-12; Rev 21:3-4
55 Rev 22:20
Shellbrook Pentecostal Assembly's Supplementary (Detailed) Statement of Faith
Ratified on March 16th, 2025
Preamble
Shellbrook Pentecostal Assembly is our church community made up of both adherents and members. We adhere and agree to the PAOC Statement of Essential truths and positions/practices. We have brought in clarification regarding some statements which are not contained in the original Statement of Essential truths. We want to make it clear where we stand as Christians in this world. We believe marriage is between man and a woman. Humanity is created in the image God made with worth and value in the eyes of God. God created this world with a perfect design without the use of evolutionary theory. God’s perfect design was tainted by sin when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. We are all born into sin in the need of a perfect saviour who will forgive us of our sins. We are a church that stands with the Jewish people and the state of Israel. We continue to pray for God’s chosen Jewish people and we are thankful to be grafted into God’s family as gentile Christians (Romans 11:1-36). We know that God loves everyone and that everyone needs to hear the good news of Jesus this is why we will be the hands and feet of Christ in the world around us.
TRIUNE GOD
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; these three persons are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfection, and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20 Acts 5:3-4).
BIBLE
The Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writing and its different translations. We believe the 66 books of the Old Testament and New Testament are God’s completed and sufficient revelation for the total well-being of mankind. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. The Bible contains the true history of our world and gives us clarity on how to live righteous, God pleasing lives amid a sinful culture. We follow God’s commands given to us in His written word because we love Him; because we want to worship Him (2 Timothy 3:10-17).
THE CHURCH
We believe the church must hold a biblical worldview which comes from the knowledge and interpretation of the scriptures (Matthew 7:13-16). Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command there is the local expression of the church – under the watch-care of elders, deacons and other supportive leadership. Its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ (Ephesians 4:16).
STATEMENT ON THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural/physical death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm 139).
STATEMENT ON MARRIAGE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10.)
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Shellbrook Pentecostal Assembly, and to provide a biblical role model to the members of our church and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by our church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22.)
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.)
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Shellbrook Pentecostal Assembly.
HOSPITALITY AND MISSION
God commands Christians to go out into the world and to preach the gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:19). We will support mission work and evangelism both with our obedience in following and financially.
We believe that we are to build relationships with each other and with those who are not in our church so that the gospel light of Christ will shine through us (1 John 1:5-6). We will do this through hospitality and fulfilling the needs of those in need within our church community. We will take care of each other in our church community showing mercy, grace, and love through our openness and generosity towards one another. We are committed to this openness so that the world may see the light of Jesus shining through our different way of living (John 13:34-35, 1 Timothy 5:3-16).
We will also reach out to the community around us, to Shellbrook, The Parkland Area and the world. We are committed to sending missionaries around the world to show hospitality to preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We are committed to going into the communities of Shellbrook and the Parkland area to serve those in need in order they may see the light of Christ shining through this church community. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has commanded us to love each, to stand for Christ’s truth, and to love those who need to experience Him and hear His truth.
We are not called to love what the world stands for and to allow that culture into our community rather we are called to love those who live in the world and to live righteously so that Christ’s light changes the world’s culture. (Luke 10:30-37, Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:37-47, 1 John 2:15-18).
ISRAEL: GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE
We know and believe that Israel is God’s chosen people. Israel has a right to their own nation on their own land as much of the Jew’s history resides within that land (Genesis 12:1-3). We currently live in a world where the gospel of Jesus needs to be preached to both the Jews and the gentiles—to the entire world. We believe that Jesus will return and take His saints to be with Him. Certain events that point to Jesus’ return will occur in Israel, the surrounding region. After the millennium reign of Christ, the New Jerusalem will descend and replace the Old Jerusalem. This occurs after the white throne room judgement and the old earth is destroyed to make way for The New Jerusalem. Jesus returning to Earth will be when there is total worldwide peace (Revelation 21-22).
As a church we stand against antisemitism found in the world. We know that the hatred of the Jewish people is a spiritual battle as God’s chosen people will always be persecuted and looked down on. We, as Christians, are called to stand with Israel, to pray for the Jewish people and to share the gospel with them (Revelation 12:13-17, Genesis 12:3, Psalm 122:6, Matthew 24:9-13).