What We Believe

  • The Holy Bible is the authoritative word of God. It stands alone as the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant.

    (Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

  • There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal.

    (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 9:6; Matt. 3:16-17 & 28:19; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 3:7-11; 1 John 5:7)

  • 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 to have ever lived a sinless life. Born of a virgin, he lived a holy life, performing miracles and dying on the cross for mankind, thus atoning 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.

    (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 14; John 20:28; Philippians 2:5-6; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:16)

  • We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ through his death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts.

    (Romans 10:9-10; Galatians 2:16 & 3:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 9:22)

  • Christians are people who have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ and invited the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within them. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him, 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. The Holy Spirit gives us power and authority to be Jesus’ witnesses wherever we go.

    (John 1:12, 14:17, 14:23, & 15:4; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:11; Revelation 3:20)

  • The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission. Every person, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is an integral part of the Church as a member with the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

    (John 17:11, 20-23; Ephesians 1:22 & 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23)

  • 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 the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

    (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 8:12, 36-38, & 10:47-48)

  • A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (symbolizing the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

    (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16 & 11:23-25)

accountability

StoryHill Church is a local expression of The Wesleyan Church. The current stage of our church plant is comprised of an advisory board of other pastors from around the country. We will function as an elder governed, staff led congregation that strives to equip God’s people for meaningful ministry.

Every two years, StoryHill will undergo a full financial audit by an independent CPA firm. Copies of that audit will be available to our partners (members) upon request.

  • “I grew up Catholic or Lutheran.” 

    That is something we have heard at StoryHill Church.

    In the words of Augustine, StoryHill Church will hold to the philosophy, “In our essential beliefs, we have unity. In non-essential beliefs, we have liberty. In all our beliefs we show charity.”

    We know that a lot of people grew up going to a Lutheran or Catholic Church or still attend a Catholic Church -- we think it's great that there are such deep Christian roots there. We are not in competition with the Lutheran or Catholic Church. In fact, StoryHill has established positive friendships with all local area churches. 

    We have a vision way beyond the walls of our church - a movement vision. And we don’t believe we are the only church in our area that has the mission to “know, live & tell the Story of Jesus.”

    That being said, since the launch of StoryHill Church there have been many instances of people joining our church in worship that have previously been part of the Lutheran or Catholic Churches. As a result of this, we frequently get a number of questions from Lutherans & Catholics before their first visit or shortly after, and we wanted to provide this content to answer some frequently asked questions in a safe environment.

  • I'm Catholic or Lutheran, Can I still come to StoryHill Church?

    Absolutely! StoryHill Church exists to help people find and follow Christ -- whether someone has never been to any type of Christian church before or they go every single week, everyone is welcome at StoryHill, especially YOU!

  • Is StoryHill a part of any other church network?

    StoryHill is a life-giving church and our mission is to “Know, Live, & Tell the Story of Jesus”. We are not connected to the Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist or Methodist Church. Among the essential beliefs, there is much that we agree upon across all denominations that connect directly to Jesus Christ. We are partnered with the Wesleyan Church for leadership accountability, like-minded mission, and networking; but we are free to operate as any other non-denominational church would.

  • We do! We celebrate Communion as an entire church body every week. Anyone who professes faith in Jesus is welcome to take communion, you do not need to take a class or be member to participate.

  • What if I want to dedicate my child to a life of faith?

    At StoryHill, we do this really cool thing called Child Dedication. It’s a ceremony in which your baby or child are dedicated to the Christian faith. Also, 3 strategic circles of people are prayed for. First, you, the family. Second is your circle of extended family and close friends. And lastly, the church as a whole.

  • How old do you need to be to be baptized?

    We believe that the Bible communicates that the purpose of baptism is to publicly identify as a Christian - a follower of Jesus. We also believe that following Jesus is a very personal decision. That is why we baptize people who are in elementary school and up who can communicate what it means to be a Christian. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48).

  • What about other sacraments?

    We believe in the confession of sin as part of a healthy, regular, Christian life, but we do not have a specific sacramental process for it. We do celebrate marriage between one man and one woman, pray for the sick, commission Pastors, and celebrate lives through funerals. We know that these are all significant moments where we draw near to God.

  • I still have a bunch more questions. What should I do?

    You can always get together with a pastor to discuss! Please email Josh Koskinen at joshk@storyhillc.org