Our Enduring Principles

​Our Enduring Principles define the essence, heart, and soul of our faith community. They describe the personality of our church as expressed throughout the world.
Grace and Generosity
  • God’s grace, especially as revealed in Jesus Christ, is generous and unconditional.
  • Having received God’s generous grace, we respond generously and graciously receive the generosity of others.
  • We offer all we are and have to God’s purposes as revealed in Jesus Christ.
  • We generously share our witness, resources, ministries, and sacraments according to our true capacity.
Sacredness of Creation
  • In the beginning, God created and called it all good.
  • Spirit and material, seen and unseen, are related.
  • Creation’s power to create or destroy reminds us of our vulnerability in this life.
  • God is still creating to fulfill divine purpose.
  • We join with God as stewards of care and hope for all creation.
​Continuing Revelation
  • Scripture is an inspired and indispensable witness of human response to God’s revelation of divine nature.
  • God graciously reveals divine will today as in the past.
  • The Holy Spirit inspires and provides witness to divine truth.
  • In humility, individually and in community, we prayerfully listen to understand God’s will for our lives, the church, and creation more completely.
Worth of All Persons
  • God views all people as having inestimable and equal worth.
  • God wants all people to experience wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships.
  • We seek to uphold and restore the worth of all people individually and in community, challenging unjust systems that diminish human worth.
  • We join with Jesus Christ in bringing good news to the poor, sick, captive, and oppressed.
All Are Called
  • God graciously gives people gifts and opportunities to do good and to share in God’s purposes.
  • Jesus Christ invites people to follow him by becoming disciples who share his life and ministry.
  • Some disciples are called and ordained to particular priesthood responsibilities and ministries for the sake of the community, the congregation, and the world.
  • We respond faithfully, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to our best understanding of God’s call.
Responsible Choices
  • God gives humans the ability to make choices about whom or what they will serve. Some people experience conditions that diminish their ability to make choices.
  • Human choices contribute to good or evil in our lives and in the world.
  • Many aspects of creation need redemption because of irresponsible and sinful human choices.
  • We are called to make responsible choices within the circumstances of our lives that contribute to the purposes of God.
Pursuit of Peace (Shalom)
  • God wants shalom (justice, reconciliation, well-being, wholeness, and peace) for all of creation.
  • Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom (peace), reveals the meaning of God’s peace in all aspects of life.
  • The vision of Zion is to promote God’s reign on earth, as proclaimed by Jesus Christ, through the leavening influence of just and peaceful communities.
  • We courageously and generously share the peace of Jesus Christ with others.
  • Led by the Holy Spirit, we work with God and others to restore peace (shalom) to creation.
  • We celebrate God’s peace wherever it appears or is being pursued by people of good will.
Unity in Diversity
  • Community of Christ is a diverse, international family of disciples, seekers, and congregations.
  • Local and worldwide ministries are interdependent and important to the church’s mission.
  • The church embraces diversity and unity through the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • We seek agreement or common consent in important matters. If we cannot achieve agreement, we commit to ongoing dialogue and lovingly uphold our common faith in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church.
  • We confess that our lack of agreement on certain matters is hurtful to some of God's beloved children and creation.
Blessings of Community
  • The gospel of Jesus Christ is expressed best in community life where people become vulnerable to God’s grace and each other.
  • True community includes compassion for and solidarity with the poor, marginalized, and oppressed.
  • True community upholds the worth of persons while providing a healthy alternative to self-centeredness, isolation, and conformity.
  • Sacred community provides nurture and growth opportunities for all people, especially those who cannot fully care for themselves.
  • We value our connections and share a strong sense of trust in and belonging with one another—even if we never have met.
  • Some disciples are called and ordained to particular priesthood responsibilities and ministries for the sake of the community, the congregation, and the world.
  • We are called to create communities of Christ’s peace in our families and congregations and across villages, tribes, nations, and throughout creation.

Our Basic Beliefs

Jesus Christ is at the center of our faith and beliefs.
​Our Basic Beliefs are not the last word, but an invitation to further explore your discipleship.
For more details on our beliefs around the following topics, please click the button below:
God
Jesus Christ
The Holy Spirit
Creation
Humanity
Sin
Salvation
The Church
Revelation
Scripture
Sacraments
Discipleship
The Reign of God
Peace
Resurrection and Eternal Life
Judgment
End Time
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Our Mission Initiatives

​Christ’s mission is our mission. All ministries, personnel, and resources of the World Church are focused on the whole mission of Jesus Christ through five, life-changing, church-changing, and world-changing Mission Initiatives.
We are poised to share the peace of Jesus Christ with those who are waiting to hear the redeeming words of the gospel.
We fulfill God’s ultimate vision as we…
  • Baptize/Confirm Many New Members
  • Open New Congregations
  • Launch the Church in New Nations
We are poised to be Christ’s hands and feet, reaching out through compassionate ministries that serve the poor and hungry and stop conditions that diminish the worth of persons.
We fulfill God’s ultimate vision as we…
  • Help Those Who Hurt
  • Feed the Hungry
  • Support Compassionate Ministries
  • Respond in Times of Crisis
We are poised to restore Christ’s covenant of peace, even the Zion of our hopes. The hope of Zion will become reality when we live Christ’s peace and generously share his peace with others.
We fulfill God’s ultimate vision as we…
  • Establish the Temple as a Center to Promote Peacemaking throughout the World
  • Engage Children in Peacemaking around the World
  • Seek Justice, Create Peacemakers around the World
  • Unite with Others to Make Peace around the World
We are poised to equip men, women, and children to be true and living expressions of the life, ministry, and continuing presence of Christ in the world.
We fulfill God’s ultimate vision as we…
  • Help All Ages Deepen Their Discipleship
  • Empower Priesthood for Mission
  • Grow Pastors and Leaders for Mission
  • Train and Send Ministers for Mission throughout the World
We are poised to become congregations that are the true and living expressions of Jesus Christ, woven together by the Spirit, and sent into the world as evangelistic witnesses, compassionate ministers, and justice and peacemakers.
We fulfill God’s ultimate vision as we…
  • Nurture Congregations of Christ’s Love and Peace
  • Experience God’s Presence through Worship
  • Become a People of Peace, Reconciliation, and Healing of the Spirit