Our Beliefs

God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. The trinity is an essential teaching in Christianity. While it is never clearly explained in Scripture, it is clearly alluded to throughout the Old and New Testament.

*See Gen 1:26; Matt 3:16-17, 28:18-20; John 1:1-5, 14:9-11; 2 Corinthians 4:4, 13:14; Col 1:15-20; I Peter 1:2, etc.

We believe in the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of the Scripture. The Bible is the highest authority in our church. We fearlessly consider the Scripture and do as it directs us. Disciples work tirelessly to transform our thinking to be in line with Scripture. We believe the Scripture is for our good and not our harm.

*See Psalms 12:6, 119:105, 160; Proverbs 30:5; 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21, etc.

All people were created in the image of God. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by attitudes and actions of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates people from God and causes spiritual separation from God. We are all sinners!

*See Genesis 1:27; Psalms 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:23, etc.

People will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally joined with God through faith in Jesus. We believe in a literal heaven and hell. Salvation is only by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. The appropriate responses to the Gospel message are: believing, repenting of sins, confessing Christ as Lord, being immersed in Christian baptism, and walking in obedience to Christ.

*John 3:16, 14:17; Romans 6:23, 6:23, 8:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:7-9; Revelation 20:15, John 1:12, 14:6; Romans 5:1, 6:23; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5, etc.

One of our distinctives is that we take communion at every worship gathering. This is the practice we see demonstrated in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 11:23-28 says, “For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.”

- Communion is a memorial; we remember what Jesus did for us!

- Communion is an announcement; we are expecting his return!

- Should be taken in a worthy manner; after examination and remembering.

We believe our whole lives; our time, talents and treasures are to be given obediently and generously in response to God's grace, mercy and love for us. We believe that giving 10% of our income (called "tithing" in the Bible) is the biblical precedent for giving. We ask people to work toward tithing faithfully to their church and challenge everyone to give beyond that to other worthwhile ministries, charities or organizations. According to Scripture, no one should give reluctantly or under pressure.

*Leviticus 27:30; Malachi 3:7-12; Acts 4:32-5:11; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Mark 12:43; 2 Samuel 24:24; Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42..

The Bible teaches that every Christian is called to ministry. We believe that every Christian is gifted by God’s Spirit to serve and we encourage every member to find a place to serve and minister with High Plains.

*See 1 Cor 121:31, Rom 12:3-8, Eph 4:11-16; 1 Pet 2:9, Rev 1:6, etc.

The Bible teaches that God has created every human being as male or female. And both men and women were created in the image of God. They are distinctly different but both are image bearers. Because gender is created by God, we see it as sacred. Rejection of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. Gender is a gift from God and he doesn’t make mistakes. This is obviously a very complex and sensitive topic for many in our community and we will speak about it with appropriate sensitivity.

*Genesis 1:26-27

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. Marriage is a covenant with God not the state. How the government defines marriage has no bearing on our understanding of a biblical marriage. *Genesis 2:18-25, Matthew 19:4-6

*Genesis 2:18-25, Matthew 19:4-6

We believe that God intends sex to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no sexual activity of any kind be enjoyed outside of marriage. We acknowledge that there are some individuals who have sexual attractions toward members of the same sex. And, there are others who simply desire to be single. These fellow believers are wholeheartedly welcome in our congregation but will be asked to remain voluntarily celibate as delineated in Scripture.

*1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4, Matthew 19:10- 12, 1 Corinthians 7:1-8, 32-38, Isaiah 56:3-5

We believe that any form of sex outside of a heterosexual marriage is sin. This includes adultery, fornication, homosexual/bisexual sex, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography. Therefore, known or suspected habitual and unrepentant practice of these sexual sins will be reason for denial or revocation of membership and/or employment at HPCC.

*1 Corinthians 6:18, 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 15:18-20, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10

The Bible teaches that men and women are equal but different in some ways. Historically, some of these teachings have been hijacked and used to justify physical and psychological abuse of women. But, countless others have benefited from following God’s prescription for complementary marriage. More recently, our culture’s understanding on gender has further misconstrued people's understanding on this topic. Here are some common accusations about this topic that are not biblical:

- The Bible teaches that men are more important than women.

- Men are the bosses in their home.

- Women have to do whatever their husbands say.

- Men are smarter and more capable than women.

- Women are only good for homemaking and bearing children.

None of those things are biblical! Here are some things the Bible actually says about men and women in marriage:

- Husbands are the head of their household (the ones God holds responsible)

- Wives respect their husbands God-given role in the family.

- Husbands are servant leaders of their families and lead with love.

- Wives support their husband as he serves his family.

- Husbands and wives should be mutually submitted to one another. (give & take)

*Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7

Similarly, the Bible plainly teaches that elders in the local church will be men. Not because men are superior, but because men are the ones whom God will hold responsible. Here are some common misconceptions about this topic that are not biblical:

- Any man can be an elder.

- Women have no leadership ability.

- Men and women don’t have the same spiritual gifts.

- Only men can have a say in the direction/leadership/management of the church.

- Only men can be present when the elders are meeting.

Here is what the Bible actually says about eldership and how we'll practice eldership at HPCC:

- The pastor is the head elder; staff members are not elders.

- Only biblically qualified men (single or married) will be eligible for eldership.

- Married men must have biblically qualified wives to be an elder.

- Elders and their wives will help shepherd our church together at times and separately at other times.

- Elders will help disciple men and their wives will help disciple women.

- God holds elders accountable for how they lead his church.