About Us

We Believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, and His atoning blood shed on the cross.

We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension to Heaven, and the surety of His return. We believe the church will be raptured before His return. We believe He returns to put all His enemies under His feet. He came as a gentle shepherd and He will return as a mighty warrior.

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God. The Bible is the only infallible source for God's plan for His world and His creation. The Bible contains all the instruction that is necessary for Christians to lead a holy life, pleasing to God.

We believe the Bible to be a living but never changing book. For the Bible to be living, it must live in and through, not only the hearers, but the doers of God's Holy Word.

We believe in the doctrine of original sin. All men are born in sin and are far separated from God. We believe that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. We believe that He is the only Savior, the only Way and Truth. We believe that sinful man must repent and trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone, for slavation. We believe that no man who still breathes is too far gone for salvation. We are saved by faith in Christ and faith alone.

We believe the Church is a holy fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ. We believe that all believers have been given spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12). We believe that, when these gifted people come together in worship, service and fellowship, they represent the Body of Christ.

We believe in the priesthood of all believers. All Christians are of one class (Ephesians 4:11-13). We are all equal in the eyes of God. We all have direct access to God. We are all accountable to God for the use of our spiritual gifts.

We believe that the main goal of the church is to increase the Kingdom of God. Our other focus is to prepare our members for heaven. We also expect our members to live a life pleasing to God and thereby protect our witness to the world. To join Payneton Community Church, the perspective member must agree in general to the church's statement of faith. They must give testimony of their trust in Christ and their intent to support the church. We will honor baptisms from other churches and denominations. All church members must be baptized.

We believe in the Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Supper as the only two sacraments. We also dedicate babies, but this is not to be confused with baptism. Baby dedication is a symbolic adoption of the child into the church family. It reflects the vow of the parents and of the church to raise the child in the Christian faith. No water is used in baby dedications to avoid confusion with baptism.

We do not set an age limit, but the baptized must be mature enough to make their own decision about baptism. We do not believe that baptism is essential for salvation, but it is an important sacrament. We baptize by emersion. If anyone is physically unable to be baptized via immersion, we will baptize by sprinkling or pouring.

We celebrate Holy Communion by the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup. We do not believe in transubstantiation. We believe in the Wesleyan tradition that Holy Communion is more than simply a rememberance, it is a means of grace.

We believe that marriage is a holy matrimony and that God's plan for marriage is to be between one man and one woman. The two are to come together through a Christian ceremony where they vow to love, honor, and cherish until death.

We do not believe that two people of the same sex can have a holy union. We believe that all sex outside of the marriage of one man and one woman is a sin. Understanding that sexual sin is particularly egregious in the eyes of God, we hold our members to a high standard in this area (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

The Bible teaches that sin, if not dealt with, is as leaven spreading through bread. If there is open, blatent, unrepentant sin in the church, we believe that it must be addressed. We will follow the Biblical outline for discipline provided in Matthew 18:15-20 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. At the end of the process, if there remains no repentance or confession, the offender will be asked to leave the congregation.

We believe that the pastor is the sub-shepherd of the church under Christ. The pastor's responsibility is to prepare and preach weekly sermons. The pastor is the resident theologian responsible to teaching sound Biblical theology. The pastor is responsible for administering the sacraments, weddings, funerals, and overseeing the wellbeing of the congregation. As sub-shepherd or overseer, all "church business" is the pastor's business. The pastor is not to do everything, but should be aware of all church business.

The pastor is not expected to be perfect, but should be held to a higher standard (James 3:1). The pastor shall be called by a simple majority vote of the church membership. If there is cause for dismissal, the same majority vote is required.