Our Beliefs
Echo church is a non-denominational, protestant, Christian church.
A key to our community and pursuing our mission together is to discern what is fixed from what is flexible. In one closed hand, there are fixed eternal truths in God’s Word that are simple not negotiable. We must agree on them. In the other open hand are a range of issues that are a matter of liberty, personal preference, and conviction.
Below are our closed-hand beliefs. While our partners are not required to fully understand or articulate all aspects of these statements, explicit rejection of these disqualifies one from Partnership with our church.
God
We believe in one personal God who exists eternally as three distinct persons; the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in authority, power, and glory.
Jesus
Coequal with the Father and Holy Spirit, Jesus is the virgin born Son of God, who lived a sinless human life and offered himself as a sacrifice for the sin of all people by dying on a cross. After three days, He rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father. He will come again soon to judge the living and the dead, and to rule His eternal kingdom; a new heaven and new earth.
Holy Spirit
Coequal with the Father and Son of God, The Holy Spirit works in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus. He regenerates and indwells every believer in Jesus, assures us of our salvation, guides us to all truth, glorifies Jesus, and convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgement. He comforts us, gives us spiritual gifts, and empowers us to serve God’s kingdom.
Bible
We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit. The original inscriptions are, therefor, without error and are the supreme source of truth for every aspect of the Christian life.
Humanity
All humanity is created in the image of God, possessing intrinsic dignity and worth at conception. Every person was created to have fellowship with God, but lost that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result of the original sin of Adam, people are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts.
Salvation
We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the only way for the forgiveness of sin. Salvation is applied by grace alone through faith in Christ alone— it cannot be earned; it is a gift from God.
Church
We believe in the universal church, the body of Christ, of which Jesus is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith in the finished work of Christ. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving him, obeying him, and bringing the gospel to the world.
Eternity
We believe all people will exist eternally, either separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life in Heaven. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence.
Baptism
Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, baptism is a way for us to publicly declare our new life in Christ. It is also a step of obedience based on God’s commands and allows us to follow the example of Jesus, who submitted himself to baptism to "fulfill all righteousness."