Teen Challenge of Arizona – Statement of Faith
Teen Challenge of Arizona, Inc. (TCAZ, Inc.) believes:
The scriptures are inspired by God and declare His design and plan for mankind (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
There is only One True God; revealed in three persons…Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4).
In the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s son Jesus was both human and divine (Matthew 1:23).
Though originally good, Man Willingly Fell to Sin – ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world (Genesis 1:26-27).
Every Person Can Have Restored Fellowship with God Through ‘Salvation’…trusting Christ, through faith and repentance, to be our personal Savior (Luke 24:47).
In Water Baptism by Immersion after repenting of ones sins and receiving Christ’s gift of salvation and Holy Communion as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation (Matthew 28:19).
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Special Experience Following Salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service, just as it did in New Testament times (Luke 24:49).
The Initial physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is Speaking in Tongues, as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles (Acts 2:4).
Sanctification initially occurs at Salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christ-like (Romans 12:1).
The Church has a mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe ‘the Church’ is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).
A Divinely Called and Scripturally Ordained Leadership Ministry Serves the Church. The Bible teaches that each of us under leadership must commit ourselves to reach others for Christ, to worship Him with other believers, to build up or edify the body of believers-the Church and to meet human need with ministries of love and compassion (Mark 16:15-20).
Divine Healing of the Sick is a Privilege for Christians Today and is provided for in Christ’s atonement (His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins) (Isaiah 53: 45).
In The Blessed Hope – When Jesus Raptures His Church prior to His Return to Earth (the second coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
In The Millennial Reign of Christ when Jesus returns with His saints at His second coming and begins His benevolent rule over earth for 1,000 years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel and the establishment of universal peace (Zechariah 14:5).
A Final Judgment Will Take Place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and cosigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire (Matthew 25:46).
And look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth. ‘And so shall we forever be with the Lord!’ (2 Peter 3:13).
God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman and Himself. TCAZ, INC. will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman.
That God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male and female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
That the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a Page 6 of 7 woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
That any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual behavior, beastiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.
That in order to preserve the function and integrity of Teen Challenge of Arizona as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the TCAZ, INC. clients and staff and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Teen Challenge in a capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement of Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality.
That God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
That every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines (policies) of TCAZ, INC.
Addiction is characterized by a progressive loss of control over the use of a substance or behavior. The user becomes obsessed with it despite adverse consequences and often vigorously denies the existence of a problem if confronted.
The faith-based approach of Teen Challenge is that merely abstaining from addiction will not provide a lifetime of success; however, success can be achieved by replacing those addictions with a fulfilling and life-affirming experience with Jesus Christ. In other words, we believe that the void which people often attempt to plug with addictions can be filled, instead, with a new identity in Christ.
