Faithful to Jesus
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For The People
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For The City
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For The Renewal Of All Things
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Faithful to Jesus I For The People I For The City I For The Renewal Of All Things I
BELIEFS
Local Church is rooted and submitted to the Covenants and Creeds of historical Christian belief. We believe in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and are committed to living out his teachings in the world.
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I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
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I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.
I believe one holy universal and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
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Langham Partnership is committed to the fundamental truths of historic biblical Christianity, in accordance with which we affirm:
1. There is one, eternal God, Creator and Lord of the universe who, in the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, both governs all things according to God’s will and is accomplishing God’s purpose in the world and in the church.
2. The Holy Scripture in its entirety is inspired by God’s Spirit through human authors and constitutes the revelation of God’s truth to humanity. It is wholly true and trustworthy in all that it affirms. Whatever the Bible, rightly interpreted, is found to teach, we are bound to believe and obey. It is our supreme authority in every matter of belief and conduct.
3. All human beings are created in God’s own likeness and therefore have inherent value and equality before God. Human sin and guilt since the fall have rendered us subject to God’s wrath and condemnation and have resulted in our alienation from God’s life, suppression of God’s truth and hostility to God’s law. God’s love desires all to come to repentance and to be reconciled rather than condemned.
4. Salvation from the guilt, penalty and all other consequences of sin has been achieved solely through the work of Jesus Christ – his perfect obedience, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection and exaltation as Lord. Jesus alone is truly God and truly human, the only mediator between God and humanity. There is salvation through no other person, creed, process or power. Each sinner is justified before God and reconciled to God only by divine grace appropriated by faith alone.
5. The work of the Holy Spirit is necessary for the individual’s new birth and growth to maturity. The Holy Spirit empowers and indwells the church, enabling its constant renewal in truth, wisdom, faith, holiness, love, ministry, power and mission.
6. There is one, holy, universal and apostolic church, which is the Body of Christ, and to which all true believers belong. The church’s calling is to worship God forever and to serve God in the world.
7. As the Father sent the Son into the world, so the Lord Jesus Christ sends his church to participate in God’s mission by words and works. The church is called: to make Christ known; to proclaim God’s truth and the gospel of God’s grace; to make disciples among all nations; to exhibit God’s character through compassionate care for the needy; to demonstrate the reality of God’s kingdom through creative and sacrificial living, the community of love, the quest for righteousness, justice and peace, and the care of God’s creation.
8. As the Lord Jesus ascended to his Father, so he will return personally, visibly and in glory. He will raise the dead and bring salvation and judgment to final completion. God will then fully establish his Kingdom and finish the new creation – a new heaven and a new earth from which all evil and evildoers, all suffering and death, will be excluded and in which God will be glorified forever.
Local Leadership
Pastor Mitch grew up 30 miles north of Seattle Washington. He fell in love with Jesus at a young age, and committed his life to building the church and communities that would help his friends to encounter God. After high school, he became a youth pastor at his church. He then went on to move to Atlanta to plant The Square Church alongside Phil and Emily Manginelli. For the last decade, he has been involved in church planting, creative resourcing for the church, and developing teachings and frameworks for spiritual formation. He also travels and speaks at Youth With A Mission, lecturing to thousands of missionaries, on fostering a resilient faith in our cultural moment. He is the founder of Faith Formation Project.
Zoë grew up in Athens, Georgia. After attending UGA, she was met by the Lord in a profound way. As she read the scriptures, she couldn’t escape God‘s missional nature and his heart to reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus. She joined the World Race and served in 13 countries. She spent the years after the race working for multiple faith-based nonprofits centered around providing care in different nations around the world. She now works for Compassion International, releasing children from poverty in the name of Jesus.
Together, they are passionate about building a community that encounters the Lord, intentional discipleship that leads to individual and communal transformation, and equipping followers of Jesus to bring the light and beauty of Jesus wherever they go.
Pastoral Accountability, Covering, and Friendship
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Local is a church plant that belongs to a movement of churches called Foursquare. Foursquare has nearly 2000 churches in the United States and just over 70,000 churches overseas. Foursquare was born in the Azusa Street Revivals and exists to be a movement that transforms communities through the multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches.
www.foursquare.org
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Local is a sister church to The Square Church in Smyrna, GA. The Square commissioned Mitch and Zoë to plant in January 2023.
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Local is a part of the Searock Network, an emerging global family of churches with a passion to join God in the renewal of secular cities. This community of churches is unified under seven core convictions.
Courageous fidelity to orthodoxy
Charismatic - Committed to moving in the power of the Holy Spirit
Contemplative - Practicing counter-formation
Contextual - Thoughtful engagement with secular culture
Contending for spiritual awakening
Compassionate care for the poor
Communal - Category-defying relationships
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