What We Believe

About The Salvation Army doctrines:

In The Salvation Army, belief and action have always been intertwined. Our faith and practice are rooted in the Bible, personal experiences and a shared Christian heritage. Salvation Army doctrine is part of that heritage, and it too is built on the foundation of the Bible.

At the heart of Christianity is the believer’s relationship with Jesus Christ, which is deeply personal and may often escape definition. Through the centuries the Church has learned to express common experiences of faith in ways that are consistent with the biblical witness, Christian creeds and in statements of faith.

Doctrine is simply the teaching of the Church. It’s an explanation of faith, based on the Bible and developed from the creeds. The Salvation Army’s 11 Articles of Faith (Doctrines) are an expression both of personal faith and a common vision. They are consistent with the classical Christian creeds and identify Salvationists as members of the body of Christ on earth.

The doctrines explore and define our understanding of God, humanity and the developing of the Christian lifestyle. They are unique to The Salvation Army, yet they share a common emphasis with other Christian traditions. They are our foundations of faith that help us live out a Christian lifestyle in our day-to-day situations.

One of our values is to offer a place to belong to all people – you are welcome to be part of the family no matter what you believe! Join us for church at 10am each Sunday – we’d love to journey and explore with you.

The Salvation Army doctrines (Articles of Faith):

• We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.
• We believe that there is only one God who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.
• We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead – the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.
• We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united, so that He is truly and properly God and truly and properly man.
• We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.
• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved.
• We believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, are necessary to salvation.
• We believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself.
• We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.
• We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• We believe in the immortality of the soul; in the resurrection of the body; in the general judgement at the end of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and in the endless punishment of the wicked.