It is natural and acceptable to be concerned with the beliefs of any organization. At Pilgrim's Way Ministry we believe in complete transparency with other Christians. We want your trust, and to earn that trust we publicly state what we are and what makes us unique:
1. We are a local ministry. While we understand that our influence may extend beyond our immediate geographical area, our heart and home is here in the community we live in.
2. We are an independent ministry. We are not constrained by any denominational or other ecclesiastical authority. We are independent, but reserve the right to associate with or fellowship with ministries or organizations we think are beneficial to helping in our growth and the growth of the kingdom of God. We will not allow anyone to dictate to us who is or is not considered Christian or part of the body of Christ.
3. We are a biblical ministry. We affirm that the Bible, consisting of the accepted Old and New Testaments, represents the revelation of Deity to the human race. We accept that the Bible is our source of our knowledge of God and the nature of true spirituality, of what is right and wrong, and how we are to live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim 3:16). However, we reserve the right to reject interpretations or traditions that degrade into harsh dogmatics or religious camouflage for personal prejudices.
4. We are a worshiping ministry. Worship should always be designed in such a way as to lead participants to focus on God and to give Him the praise He so richly deserves. In any worship activity we do, the goal is to bring glory to God, and to edify those in attendance.
We believe worship should be contemporary and meaningful, but also influenced by the richness of the traditional and the past. We are not "liturgical" but retain and celebrate some liturgical practices that remind us of our relationship with Jesus Christ, and the reality of the Christian life and message.
We demonstrate our worship in many ways: music, art, and the spoken and written word. The goal and the purpose of worship is always to encourage a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
5. We are a mission-minded and an evangelizing ministry. We are a ministry on a journey. We are mission-minded in that we encourage and invite others to join the journey with us. We would love for you to come along! The decision to follow Christ is an individual and personal one. We know that we cannot use manipulation, gimmicks or salesmanship to force someone to follow Jesus. We invite you to join us just as you are, and encourage you to find, as we have, how the message of Jesus Christ is life changing and trustworthy.
6. We are a discipling ministry. We design our teaching, preaching, worship and other activities to strengthen and encourage the Christian walk. Salvation is not an end result, but the starting point of the larger adventure of living as a child of God. As pilgrims we are always striving to move forward and growing in our personal walk with Christ.
7. We center our beliefs on our affirmation of the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed reminds us of the vital fundamentals of our faith. These fundamentals have weathered the test of time, and have proved themselves to be worthy of our affirmation. While affirming this creed does not make us Christian, it does keep us centered on the vital truths that orient us on our journey.