In 1978 the co-workers in the local churches published a booklet entitled The Beliefs and Practices of the Local Churches. This booklet is reproduced below in its entirety. It also was published in Dr. J. Gordon Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions: Religious Creeds in 1988.

Our Beliefs

The local churches believe that the Holy Bible is the complete divine revelation verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21, 2 Tim. 3:16). The local churches believe that God is the only one Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—co-existing equally from eternity to eternity (1 Tim. …

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Our Standing

The local churches stand on the Holy Scriptures, not according to any traditional interpretation, but according to the pure Word of God. The local churches stand on Christ, the living rock, the foundation stone, the Head of the Body, and the life and reality of the church. The local churches stand …

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Our Mission

The local churches preach the gospel of grace and of the kingdom to sinners that they may be saved. The local churches minister the life supply to believers that they may grow in Christ. The local churches establish the church in each city that the believers may become a local corporate …

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Our Hope

The local churches hope that as many as are ordained by God to eternal life will believe in the Lord Jesus. The local churches hope that all regenerated Christians will seek the growth in life, not the mere increase of knowledge. The local churches hope that all seeking Christians will see the …

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Concerning the Recovery

The word “recover” means to obtain again something that has been lost, or to return something to a normal condition. "Recovery" means the restoration or return to a normal condition after a damage or a loss has been incurred. To say that God is recovering certain matters means that in …

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Concerning Salvation

In Christ God has provided for man a full and complete salvation. This full salvation includes our whole being: spirit, soul, and body. In God’s salvation, man’s spirit is regenerated, his soul is being transformed, and his body will be transfigured. In order to be saved, one must have a living …

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Concerning the Christian Life

REGENERATION - The Christian life begins with regeneration. To be regenerated is to be born of the Spirit in our spirit (John 3:6) through the redemption of Christ and thereby to have the life and nature of God imparted into our spirit. This makes our spirit alive with the very life of God …

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Concerning the Church Life

By its very nature the Christian life, which is the living out of Christ as life from within us, is a corporate life. Many expressions in the New Testament confirm this: we are sheep in God’s flock, we are living stones in God’s building, we are branches in the vine, we are members of the Body of …

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