God the Father

God Almighty is the great Creator God, the one true God, the eternally existent One through whom, and from whom, and to whom, all things exist. All existence, things on earth, and things in heaven, were created by God. All things have as their purpose to glorify God.

God the Father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit, are the triune God, eternally existent, united as one, and three persons in the Godhead. God the Father is over all. Jesus the son, eternally God with God the Father, eternally submits Himself to the Father. The Holy Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit reveals God, and is from God. God is one.

God is absolutely all-powerful, He rules and controls all things, things in heaven and on earth. God is absolutely all knowing, nothing is hidden from Him, He knows all things before they come to be. God is altogether absolutely good. There is no wickedness, nor darkness, there is no bent towards badness to any degree in God Almighty, He is absolutely pure and good.

God is in charge of all things, all things. He orders all things from the beginning of time to the end of time for His own purposes. God designed and planned, before creating anything, that Jesus would be the savior of the world. God chose, in Jesus, those who would be His children – from before the beginning to time. God allowed evil to come into existence, and is working out His own purposes through it and in spite of it. God has completely destroyed the power of evil through the death and resurrection of Jesus – at the return of Jesus God will remove forever all evil from the earth.

The Church

 The Church is an entirely unique set of individuals connected in biblical community. The Church are men and women of God who have been called out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. We formerly were spiritually dead, but when we looked to Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection in faith, God made us alive spiritually through His Holy Spirit. God is working out his purposes for humanity in every generation through His Church. God is working out His purposes for neighborhoods and cities through His Church. The Church is God’s modern day priests and prophets, representing God to man (in mission) and man to God (in prayer). The local Church is God’s special and holy counsel, called out of the greater worldly community, to live in biblical community – to be transformed as disciples into the image of His son, and to transform our communities by the power God has placed in His Church.

Elder led

 The biblical model for Church governance and leadership is a plurality of elders, ideally with a lead pastor, a leader among equals, and two or more other men anointed and called to lead the local church for their season and generation. The elder body leads the Church by humbly serving the church, and working diligently to help them grow as disciples and accomplish their mission in their community, and receive rewards in the life to come for faithful service and good works today. The elder model is foreshadowed by Moses and the 70 elders in the Old Testament. It is exemplified in Jesus and his twelve apostles in the New Testament. It is revealed as God’s design for Church governance by Paul in the letters to the churches he planted in the 1st century.

Small Groups & Corporate Worship

 The body of Christ, the Church, best grows into the disciples we are called to be, by living in biblical community with one another in both big (corporate worship) and smaller gatherings (small groups). Large corporate worship is exemplified in the Old Testament by the tabernacle and temple worship, the regular festivals of the people of Israel, and the synagogue meetings seen in the gospels. The regular gathering of the body (whether small and large groups) is commanded by God in the New Testament.

Smaller groups of Christians, by 2s and threes, and also by groups of 8-12, also play a unique and biblical role in discipleship and growth and completion of the mission of Christ. Smaller groups of believers, called out of the whole, is exemplified in the New Testament by Jesus and His 12 apostles, and by his inner circle of James and John and Peter. Smaller groups of believers are able to go deeper in their personal application of scripture and level of intimacy with each other and God. Smaller groups are able to be more flexible in their meeting times and can ebb and flow with the demands of life.

The Church at Bevo has small groups that meet in believer’s homes on differing days and times throughout the week to sharpen each other and encourage and pray for one another.

Prayer Ministry

 At the Church at Bevo we have a strong conviction that prayer is extremely important to the life and successful mission of the Church. We know God better and encounter Him personally through prayer. We are guided in prayer to accomplish His will. The troubles and trials of this life are overcome, in part, through answered prayers – to the Glory of God the Father and Jesus the son. The Church includes personal and corporate prayer as a key part of our regular gatherings. We craft a number of prayer gatherings throughout the week, some that are gender specific, some that are open to the whole body, some that are part of our small group gatherings.

Baptism and the Communion

Baptism and communion are two commandments to the Church, given to us by Jesus, that are both powerful and mysterious. They are powerful for our upbuilding. When practiced regularly and faithfully they build up the faith of the Church. The shape our faith and keep it strong and passionate and focused on Jesus Christ. Baptism and communion regularly glorify Jesus the son in the life of the Church.

Baptism and communion are mysterious. Baptism does not save us – faith in Jesus alone saves – but baptism is closely tied and unable to be separated from true saving faith. The regular taking of communion does not accomplish our salvation – faith in Jesus alone saves – but Jesus commanded his disciples and his early church to regularly practice communion to glorify His name. Baptism and communion do not accomplish our salvation, but it is not as if they do nothing either. They are powerful and mysterious. The bible does not tell us everything that is happening unseen in the spiritual realms when we faithfully follow Jesus in baptism and in communion – but God ordained spiritual movements are building up his saints and his Church when we faithfully practice baptism and communion.

At the Church at Bevo we baptize through complete immersion in water, believing it best symbolizes the death of Christ and his resurrection and the corresponding death and resurrection of the believer. We baptize those who have, by their own will and decision, turned away from sin and repented, and personally believed in Jesus.

At the Church at Bevo we practice communion, or the Lord’s supper, on a weekly basis at our regular corporate gatherings on Sunday morning. We understand this is the heritage that was turned over to us from the early Church, that is how they practiced it, it is how we continue to practice it.