Our Theology
Below is a list of questions we are commonly asked. Please take a moment to browse the answers and discover "who we are" at Garden Way Church.
Garden Way Church is "non-denominational"
Q: Why is the Garden Way Church non-denominational?
A: We want our church family to live and serve just as God designed. We understand that God designed the church to be one universal body (Ephesians 4:3-5), functioning as local congregations, but not divided into denominations. Paul was sorry to hear of first century Christians starting to name themselves after men and causing divisions within Christ’s body, the church (I Corinthians 1:10-13).
Q: How is your church different, then, from a denomination?
A: First, we are not aligned with any denominational structure. We are responsible to no earthly headquarters or organization. We are committed to no human creed, but to the Bible only. We finance our own ministries and follow the spiritual guidance of leaders within our own congregation.
Q: Do you fellowship with other churches?
A: We are glad to fellowship with any Christian in any congregation. Our closest working fellowship is with other churches who also take a non-denominational approach to the church. Most of these are part of the historic movement known in America as the Restoration Movement.
Q: Is it wrong to be a member of a denomination?
A: We invite Christians, in whatever church they might be, to seek the end of division and the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer for His followers, “that they all may be one.” (John 17:11). Our conviction is that membership in non-denominational, Bible-teaching churches contributes most directly to answering that prayer. An individual is saved, of course, not by church affiliation, but by obedient trust in Jesus as Savior (Acts 16:30-34).
Membership at Garden Way Church
Q: What rules or standards do you require of Garden Way members?
A: Christianity is certainly not a religion based primarily on conformity to rules. Paul warns about overemphasis on “submitting to regulations” in Colossians 2:23. Human doctrines and rules, he says, “have an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of devotion..but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh.” The Bible does contain positive and negative commands from God, and we expect that Christians who have chosen to follow Christ will obey His authority gladly and voluntarily. We do not require that our members submit to rules based on human opinions or personal applications of what the Bible says.
Q: What do you do about differences of opinion on what the Bible requires?
A: First, we try to balance our respect for the liberty of each Christian with our respect for the special wisdom of our leaders. The Bible urges submission to our spiritual leaders, and it is not unusual for a mature Christian to willingly give up what he considers a liberty in deference to his elders and other teachers. The leaders try to carefully distinguish between matters of clear Bible doctrine and matters of opinion or preference. They may share their own applications with the congregation, but would not try to bind those personal ideas as rules.
Baptism at Garden Way
Q: What do you believe about baptism at Garden Way?
A: Baptism of a repentant believer in Christ brings forgiveness of sins and confers the Holy Spirit as a gift (Acts 2:38). This act of obedient submission depicts and finalizes the believer’s contact with Christ’s death (Romans 6:3) and places him, by faith, “into Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).
Q: Do you mean that people are saved by baptism?
A: No, We reject the “baptismal regeneration” view that some virtue within baptism itself saves us. I Peter 3:21 clarifies that baptism alone does not save, but is part of our “appeal for a clear conscience.“ Christ's death and resurrection provide the only real power of salvation.
Q: Why be baptized if the power of salvation is in Christ’s sacrifice?
A: Baptism and Christ’s blood seem to be accomplishing identical things when we compare such pairs of scriptures as Matthew 26:28 & Acts 2:38; I Corinthians 15:3-4 & Romans 5:3-4 and Revelation 1:5 & Acts 22:16. The connection must be that Christ’s blood is formally applied, and the salvation covenant sealed, in baptism.
Q: Is it urgent that new believers be baptized soon?
A: Unnecessarily delaying baptism minimizes its importance, and discounts the example of early Christians who baptized immediately upon confession of faith. No one in the Bible ever ate, drank or slept between their conversion and baptism. We do not apply that fact as a rigid rule, but it illustrates that immediate obedience was ordinary in Bible times.
Q: Is the mode of baptism important?
A: Few people dispute that the original Christians immersed in water, picturing Jesus’ burial (Romans 6:4). There is no wisdom in disregarding commands and examples clearly based on God’s authority.
Q: Do children need to be baptized?
A: Not until they can exercise their independent will, first by directly sinning against God, and then by personally believing in Jesus as Savior (Mark 16:16) and deeply repenting of sin (Acts 2:38).
Q: What about good people who don’t understand and practice baptism this way?
A: Our duty is not to make God’s decisions for Him, but to teach and observe His word faithfully, humbly correcting error in ourselves or in others as God enables. God knows exactly how far His grace extends to cover ignorance or misunderstanding, we do not.
The Lord’s Supper or Communion Service
Q: Why do you serve the Lord’s Supper each Sunday at Garden Way?
A: Jesus taught His followers to observe a memorial meal of unleavened bread, representing His body, and the "fruit of the vine," representing His blood (Matthew 26:-28). Jesus does command that we do this in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19), but the Bible never quotes Him as commanding how often. Scriptures show that the early church observed this special “breaking of bread” regularly (Acts 2:42), probably each Lord’s Day (Acts 20:7), and church history confirms that weekly observance was the usual practice.
Q: Does the Lord’s Supper re-apply Christ’s sacrifice to us, forgiving our sins periodically?
A: No. The only periodic renewal of forgiveness described in the Bible involves our confession to God of our sins (I John 1:9). Communion time is an especially good time for spiritual self-examination (I Corinthians 11:28), but partaking of the Lord’s Supper does not confer forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ sacrifice, of which the communion emblems remind us, is the source of our forgiveness.
Q: Who should receive the Lord’s Supper?
A: Jesus clearly designed this memorial for those who have accepted His sacrifice and entered into a salvation covenant with Him. We do not “supervise” who partakes and who does not, but we believe that all who have been baptized into Christ are called to share around His table. Children too young to have made this decision are probably too young to appreciate the Lord’s Supper.
Garden Way and Charismatic Beliefs and Practices
Q: Is the Garden Way Church charismatic?
A: Our church, and individuals in it, are gifted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, Romans 12:3-8). "Charisma" are among the forms of spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible. While we obviously believe in the Holy Spirit, and in His gifts, we are among the many churches who understand the Scriptures on this question differently than churches commonly called "charismatic."
Q: In what way do you understand the scriptures differently that "charismatic" churches do?
A: To answer very briefly, we believe that certain specialized gifts had a vital but temporary purpose in the early years of the church. New doctrines of the Gospel age were being taught for the first time, and the written New Testament was not yet completed. Hebrews 2:3-4 indicated the need for miraculous confirmation in those early days. Thus we understand that "charismatic gifts" in Scripture may be powers no longer given today, at least not to the same degree.
Q: Do you accept "Charismatic" believers as fellow-Christians?
A: In other words, is a complete understanding of the charismatic issue essential to salvation? The Bible certainly doesn’t say so. We have encountered some doctrines about the Holy Spirit that we consider false and dangerous, and we urge their proponents to re-examine the Scriptures. On the other hand, we are able to appreciate many charismatic believers, and cooperate and fellowship with them in many ways.