Statement of Faith
Shepherd’s Door is committed to serving the Kingdom of God through the one true church, the body of Christ, comprised of all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, we ask each shepherd we sponsor to review our Statement of Faith and, if nominated, to affirm these essentials as a condition of accepting a Shepherd’s Door sponsorship. (Note: Everyone who represents Shepherd’s Door in any staff, leadership or lay leadership capacity is also required to affirm these same essentials).
God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.
The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve, male and female, in His image, but they broke their perfect relationship with Him by choosing disobedience. As a result, all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled, and renewed.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. He lived a sinless life, was crucified, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate. As our representative and substitute, He shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins, providing the only grounds for salvation.
Christ’s Return
We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ at a time known only to God.
Eternal Destiny
We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal separation from God and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth.
Marriage and Human Sexuality
Scripture, our ultimate authority, sets forth a Christian vision of human sexuality as a gift of God. The male and female distinction is the foundation for all subsequent human life and is reflected in a person’s biological birth sex as determined by God, the Creator of all life.
We believe that marriage has only one meaning: a single, exclusive union and covenant between one biological male and one biological female. Marriage is a good gift from God to humanity and this union intentionally reflects the union of Christ and His Church. We believe that God authorizes and celebrates sexual intimacy only by and in marriage, and therefore all forms of human sexual expression outside of marriage are rebellion against God’s authority and design for human flourishing. At the same time, we believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.