Agape Life Church is a non-denominational church that emphasizes three main aspects: life-giving, truth-teaching, and Spirit-led. These three aspects drive, not only what we believe, but how we function as a church.
It is monumentally important that, as a Godly church, we exhibit these three aspects equally so that we can do our very best to move the Kingdom forward in Silsbee, Texas, Hardin County, and worldwide.
Life-giving churches are relational, refreshing, and relevant. They are places where handshakes and hugs between friends are not obligatory, but are indicative of the love of Christ in them. They are places where people can come and be refreshed by the Holy Spirit. They are places where people can find real, biblical answers to life’s issues. That is what we want to be at Agape Life Church.
Truth-teaching churches are ones that are unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose congregants base their lives off the reality found in the Scriptures, but are careful to administer truth, but with grace. Truth with no grace leads to crushing. Grace with no truth leads to compromise. But when truth and grace work hand in hand, it leads to restoration. That is what we are about.
Spirit-led churches are ones that are directed by the Holy Spirit to not only live the empowered life God has called us to live, but also to experience God on a deeper level through the gifts and fruits of the Spirit.
It’s a place where you can experience the power and presence of God in worship, through teaching, through community, and in every aspect of life. The Holy Spirit isn’t odd or strange, but He is the divine power that gives us everything we need to live a Godly life. That is our focus at Agape Life Church.
Life-giving, truth-teaching, and Spirit-led simply means that it is our desire at Agape Life Church to help you be everything God created you to be, walking in freedom, thriving in your purpose, and seeing you in a place where you are not only changed forever, but that God is using you to make a difference in the lives of others as well.
Life begins with Jesus, and if we are going to reach the potential that God placed in us, not only for our purpose, but for our original design – a relationship with God, then it starts with Jesus and being his follower. Matthew 28:18-20, Colossians 1:15-29, Romans 1:16-1
People are God’s greatest treasure, and if God thinks that, we do too. People matter and that means we value them, love them, serve them, and invest in them, no matter what. John 3:16, Luke 15, Luke 19:10
God created you with a purpose for a purpose, and we believe that if you are breathing air, then you still have something great to do to move the Kingdom forward. One of our main roles is to do everything we can to help you reach your highest potential in Christ Jesus. Even Jesus was in a development process, and he engaged in developing every person he came in contact with. We want to do the same. Jeremiah 29:11, Luke 2:52
When unity happens, God commands a blessing. Unity is more than getting along. It is linking arms and moving the Kingdom forward, in our lives and in our city. But unity is not natural. It is something we have to collectively go after, which is why at Agape Life, we pursue it. Our pursuit is to build bridges, not walls, and that is done through unity. John 17:9-11, 23, Psalm 133:1-3, Revelation 7:9-12
Everyone needs a team. We all have blind-spots and because of that, we believe that we need godly people in our lives to help us reach our potential. These people know us and know God, love us and love God, and have our best interest in mind. As our lives are built, team provides the structure around us where, when we need help, we have not only God, but a squad we can reach out to for support. Life was not meant to be lived alone. We all need a team. Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:16
Excellence isn’t perfection. It is consistently giving your very best. We believe that when things are done with excellence, that it inspires people, that it shows that we value them, and ultimately honors God. Colossians 3:23-24, Daniel 6:3, 1 Kings 10
The verb of the Bible is giving, and we are fully aware that God has generously provided everything we have. As a result, we see generosity not as an obligation or from a sense of guilt, but that we should cheerfully, consistently, and sacrificially give our time, talents, and treasure. Jesus gave, and when we give, we are imitating and exemplifying what it means to be generous, as it has been modeled to us by him. Generosity is a privilege, it is our privilege. Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 11:24-26, 2 Corinthians 8 & 9
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26).
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal (I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11).
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory. (John 1:1,14, 20:28; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 2:5).
Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God (Matthew 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:27-35).
Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Gen. 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).
For anyone to know God, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential (John 6:44, 65; Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5).
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22).
Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation (Acts 2:21, 3:19; I John 1:9).
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life (I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, II Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11).
The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death (I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29).
Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead (John 1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelation 3:20).
Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth (Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5,2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6).
The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible’s lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters. (Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11, 12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6-7; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10).
Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of Jesus (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48).
The Lord’s Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross (Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25).
Marriage: We believe marriage is defined in the Bible as a covenant, a sacred bond between one man and one woman, instituted by and publicly entered into before God (Matthew 19:4-6).
Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign, which is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus’ work on the Cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit. (Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; I Corinthians 12:9, 28; Romans 11:29).
It is the Father’s will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall, many may not receive the full benefits of God’s will while on Earth. That fact, though, should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ’s provision in order to better serve others.
Spiritual
(John 3:3-11; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10)
Mental and Emotional
(II Timothy 1:7, 2:11; Philippians 4:7-8; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3).
Physical
(Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:17; I Peter 2:24).
Financial
(Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; II Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19).
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation (Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21).
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4).
After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell where they will be eternally tormented with the Devil and the Fallen Angels (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8).