OUR CORE BELIEFS
“All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.†–Galatians 3:27-28 (CEB)
We believe that there is one true and living God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who exists in the past, the present and forever as three in one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Bible, including Old and New Testament, is God’s inspired word to humanity and is the final authority for Christian faith and life.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God and that through His death on the cross and His resurrection humanity can receive forgiveness of sins, triumph over death and have eternal life by accepting Him in faith.
We believe that Jesus Christ will one day return to earth and live with His people and the rest of His creation eternally.
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts humanity of sin and leads us to salvation in Christ; that the Holy Spirit dwells in every true believer to transform his or her life to become more and more like Jesus by comforting, strengthening, guiding and equipping God’s people with spiritual gifts.
We believe that humanity was created in the image of God and that since the first sin of Adam and Eve all people fall short of God’s glory as sinners and cannot attain salvation by their own efforts. Salvation is only by God’s grace; rests entirely on the finished work of Christ; and is a gift which must be received by faith. Those who confess their faith in Jesus, repent of their sins and are baptized receive God’s gift of salvation.
We believe that the church is Christ’s body here on earth, and that Christ is head of that church. We believe Christ desires that his disciples attempt to find unity so that the world will know that Jesus is Christ and that God loves them. Therefore, we seek to find and develop unity with other Christians. We recognize Christian fellowship with those who have received Jesus by faith and are obedient to His teachings. We believe that local church families are autonomous and independent assemblies of believers who are called by Christ to share the good news of Jesus with the world and to build up fellow believers in the faith in order that God may bless the world through the church.
We believe that there is one true and living God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who exists in the past, the present and forever as three in one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Bible, including Old and New Testament, is God’s inspired word to humanity and is the final authority for Christian faith and life.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God and that through His death on the cross and His resurrection humanity can receive forgiveness of sins, triumph over death and have eternal life by accepting Him in faith.
We believe that Jesus Christ will one day return to earth and live with His people and the rest of His creation eternally.
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts humanity of sin and leads us to salvation in Christ; that the Holy Spirit dwells in every true believer to transform his or her life to become more and more like Jesus by comforting, strengthening, guiding and equipping God’s people with spiritual gifts.
We believe that humanity was created in the image of God and that since the first sin of Adam and Eve all people fall short of God’s glory as sinners and cannot attain salvation by their own efforts. Salvation is only by God’s grace; rests entirely on the finished work of Christ; and is a gift which must be received by faith. Those who confess their faith in Jesus, repent of their sins and are baptized receive God’s gift of salvation.
We believe that the church is Christ’s body here on earth, and that Christ is head of that church. We believe Christ desires that his disciples attempt to find unity so that the world will know that Jesus is Christ and that God loves them. Therefore, we seek to find and develop unity with other Christians. We recognize Christian fellowship with those who have received Jesus by faith and are obedient to His teachings. We believe that local church families are autonomous and independent assemblies of believers who are called by Christ to share the good news of Jesus with the world and to build up fellow believers in the faith in order that God may bless the world through the church.
COMMUNAL RHYTHM
We Gather
Each Sunday morning at 9:45, we gather to worship God-Father, Son, and Spirit-as one body. During our worship gatherings, we sing, pray, give of our first fruits, share communion, attend to Scripture, and encourage each other.
We Scatter
When our worship gatherings conclude around 11:15, we scatter to worship God-Father, Son, and Spirit-as Christ’s ambassadors. During the week, we are all over the southern Atlanta metro area (Brooks, College Park, Douglasville, East Point, Fairburn, Fayetteville, Locust Grove, Newnan, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Senoia, Sharpsburg, Stockbridge, and Tyrone) serving God in our various vocations as teachers, pilots, stay-at-home parents, coaches, bank tellers, sales representatives, consultants, nurses, project managers, IT professionals, customer service representatives, lawyers, speech pathologists, pharmacists, principals, carpet cleaners, counselors, office workers, landscapers, mechanics, administrators, engineers, police officers, students, contractors, and more.
What is expected of members at Southern Crescent?
We will protect the unity of this church family by acting in love toward other members, by being mutually submissive to each other and by settling our differences according to the teachings of Christ.
We will share in the responsibility of this church family to spread the gospel by praying for its growth, by inviting others to be a part of our family’s life, by worshiping together and by warmly welcoming those who are our guests.
We will share in the work and ministry of this church family by giving our time and talent to at least one ministry of this church. We encourage all to discover their spiritual gifts and abilities, to be equipped for works of service, and then to work in the ministry to which God has called them. Every member is a minister and every minister is encouraged to have a ministry.
We will support the testimony and work of this church by attending regularly, by living a godly life, by sharing our time and talents with others and by our financial gifts of tithes and offerings.
We will seek individual spiritual maturity through our own personal devotion to Christ, exercising and growing our faith through spiritual disciplines including prayer, Bible study and fasting.
We want you to know we welcome your unbelief, your doubts, your questions. We all have the tension of belief and unbelief. We don’t want to be a community of faith where your questions are forced below the table. We want you to feel safe asking them, expressing them out loud, bringing them to community. Jesus’ life embraced the tension of belief and unbelief.
Maybe you have struggled sitting in science class where the science points to a universe that is billions of years old and dinosaurs didn’t live at the same time as humans. Maybe you have struggled with a God that has been taught to wipe out nations in "Old Testament" stories. Maybe you have struggled with a God that has been taught to torture souls in a place called "hell".
We want you to know that the leadership team here, to the best of our ability, is trying to create a safe place for the tension of belief, unbelief, and asking the hard questions are okay & welcomed. Our core belief wraps around a God who embodied human skin to model agape love, faced death, conquered it, and there is an empty tomb that started a revolution of love, redemption, and renewal towards a new creation. If you are constructing a faith in this Christ story for the first time, your questions are welcome here. If your faith story and bubble has been destroyed and you are in a disorienting phase of deconstruction and you aren’t quite sure what you believe, your questions and pains are welcome here. If you are in a phase of reconstruction from a faith that hurt you - your tension of belief and unbelief are welcome here. Is Jesus of Nazareth worth following with every ounce of our being? Please join us in wrestling with this question.
For additional resources to help us work through our seasons on deconstruction and reconstruction please see the "more" section of this web site which will point you to "diving deeper resources".
We will share in the responsibility of this church family to spread the gospel by praying for its growth, by inviting others to be a part of our family’s life, by worshiping together and by warmly welcoming those who are our guests.
We will share in the work and ministry of this church family by giving our time and talent to at least one ministry of this church. We encourage all to discover their spiritual gifts and abilities, to be equipped for works of service, and then to work in the ministry to which God has called them. Every member is a minister and every minister is encouraged to have a ministry.
We will support the testimony and work of this church by attending regularly, by living a godly life, by sharing our time and talents with others and by our financial gifts of tithes and offerings.
We will seek individual spiritual maturity through our own personal devotion to Christ, exercising and growing our faith through spiritual disciplines including prayer, Bible study and fasting.
We want you to know we welcome your unbelief, your doubts, your questions. We all have the tension of belief and unbelief. We don’t want to be a community of faith where your questions are forced below the table. We want you to feel safe asking them, expressing them out loud, bringing them to community. Jesus’ life embraced the tension of belief and unbelief.
Maybe you have struggled sitting in science class where the science points to a universe that is billions of years old and dinosaurs didn’t live at the same time as humans. Maybe you have struggled with a God that has been taught to wipe out nations in "Old Testament" stories. Maybe you have struggled with a God that has been taught to torture souls in a place called "hell".
We want you to know that the leadership team here, to the best of our ability, is trying to create a safe place for the tension of belief, unbelief, and asking the hard questions are okay & welcomed. Our core belief wraps around a God who embodied human skin to model agape love, faced death, conquered it, and there is an empty tomb that started a revolution of love, redemption, and renewal towards a new creation. If you are constructing a faith in this Christ story for the first time, your questions are welcome here. If your faith story and bubble has been destroyed and you are in a disorienting phase of deconstruction and you aren’t quite sure what you believe, your questions and pains are welcome here. If you are in a phase of reconstruction from a faith that hurt you - your tension of belief and unbelief are welcome here. Is Jesus of Nazareth worth following with every ounce of our being? Please join us in wrestling with this question.
For additional resources to help us work through our seasons on deconstruction and reconstruction please see the "more" section of this web site which will point you to "diving deeper resources".