What We Believe
 What is our plea?  Our plea is Christian unity under the authority of Jesus Christ.   
Why is our Plea Unity?  It was Jesus’ intention and prayer that all Christians would be one--united and not divided (John 17).  Following Jesus’ earthly ministry, we see that the first followers of Jesus (the Apostles) and other Christians who wrote our Holy Scriptures, tried to practice and proclaim the same kind of Christian unity that Jesus commanded and exemplified.  Within a short period of time following Pentecost (the birth of the Church), we begin to see dissension among the first century Christians mentioned in the Bible (Acts 6:1-7; 10:13-16; Galatians 2:11-14). 

By the end of the fourth century AD, we see that a number of divisions have already occurred.  Each century since then, divisions both great and small, continued to plague the Church.    While all Christians and theologians agree that Jesus and the Biblical writers never pushed for a plurality of churches with many denominations separating one from another, Christians throughout the centuries have allowed themselves to divide into new schisms and denominations for the purpose of separating and distinguishing themselves from other Christians and/or other Christian groups.  As a whole, Christians have failed to be a light to the world in their divisions with one another.  It is because of sin, we have taken Christ’s Body (the church) and divided it and separated it into different segments for our own purposes. 

In America just before the Revolutionary War, we see a number of religious bodies:  Puritans (Congregationalists), Presbyterians, Anglicans (including the Methodists who did not become separate until 1784), Baptists, German and Dutch Reformed, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Quakers, Mennonites, Moravians, and others.  Many of these divisions had occurred in Europe and had been transplanted into the New World (America).  While the New World provided the new climate to unite these diverse groups of Christianity, new Christian groups and schisms continued to proliferate and divide profusely. 

What is Blanchard Church of Christ’s denomination?
We have no denomination.  Blanchard Church of Christ is a non-denominational church, which means that we are not affiliated with any one group of Christians or churches exclusively.  We only see ourselves as a local expression of the Body of Christ located universally throughout the world. 

We believe "denominationalism" has created a lot of confusion and sometimes division in the universal church.  That is why we have avoided becoming a denomination, and why Churches of Christ and Christian Churches are seen as churches within the Restoration Movement.  We simply stand on the Bible as our rule of faith and practice, with church history as our guide.  Our plea is unity, our call is truth, and our attitude is love.  Our cause is to glorify God in all things and to seek and save the lost (Luke (19:10), and we desire nothing more than to be obedient to Christ and His Word and to love people.

What are the doctrinal essentials of the Blanchard Church of Christ?  We don't allow doctrinal division to occur over non-essentials.  The two overriding, uncompromising essentials for us are the basic facts of the Gospel--(Messiahship of Jesus; that is, the death, burial, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ; and the supreme authority of the Bible as our guide to our Christian faith and practice.  To help you discover and understand other important doctrines, we have constructed Ten Items of Doctrine.  There are many churches that differ over mute points of doctrine; and rather than contributing to those differences, we agree with our most prized of all slogans which was adapted from an early Latin Treatise in Germany about 1625, and was often used by the great Puritan minister Richard Baxter (1615-1691):  we simply seek unity in the essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and in all things, love.

Blanchard Church of Christ has a plea with a universal appeal.  Jesus prayed that "they all may be one" (John 17:21).  Everywhere Christian people are seeking unity today.  This unity must be New Testament centered if it is to endure.  One of the hallmarks of the ministry of one of our pioneering fathers, Barton Stone, was:  “Let Christian unity be our polar star.” 

Blanchard Church of Christ offers a name all can wear.  "And in Antioch the Disciples were for the first time called Christians" (Acts 11:26).  This name is an acceptable and inclusive title that can be applied to all followers of Christ.  Some other names are exclusive and divisive.  See I Corinthians 1:11-15.

Blanchard Church Of Christ presents a creed all can accept.  "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).  The New Testament requires only a plain statement of faith in Christ as the Son of the living God (see Acts 8:37).  The Apostle Paul says the same thing in the statement, "Jesus is Lord."  This is the basic truth in Christianity.  It distinguishes Christianity from all other religions of the world.  We find no other creedal statements required by Christians.  Thomas Campbell gave us a statement that became a common slogan among Restoration Churches,  “Let us speak where the Bible speaks, and remain silent where the Bible is silent.”

Blanchard Church of Christ teaches a baptism all can obey.  Baptism has been controversial throughout the history of the church, but it is our belief that the New Testament teaches immersion of people old enough to believe that Christ is the Son of the Living God.  Although other modes of baptism exist in the church today, all churches agree that immersion is an acceptable form of baptism based upon Acts 2:38, Romans 6:4.  The meaning of baptidzo, the New Testament Greek word for baptism, is "to dip, plunge, or immerse."  Every denomination, Protestant and Catholic, will accept immersion as a valid Christian baptism.  To remain faithful to the Scriptures as the absolute authority to our faith and in the spirit of unity by practicing a form of baptism that is universal to all Christians, Blanchard Church of Christ practices immersion of individuals who have faith in Jesus, have repented from sin and confessed him as Lord of their lives. 

Blanchard Church of Christ observes the Lord's Supper in a way all can share.  "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).  The New Testament strongly implies that the Lord's Supper was observed as often as Christians gathered to worship (Acts 20:7).  The Lord's Supper is the spiritual center of our worship service every week.  Each person decides for himself or herself whether or not to share in its observance.  It is Christ's supper and not ours; therefore, we feel that no person has any right to exclude another individual from Christ's table. 

Blanchard Church of Christ is organized under a form of government in which all can be free.  It is congregational in government, just as the church at Corinth or Antioch was in the New Testament.  Each congregation is the ultimate human authority under the divine authority of Jesus Christ, the head of the body.  Motivated by unity, Christ's mission and love, congregations voluntarily cooperated in many ways in various Christian endeavors.

Blanchard Church of Christ is a fellowship that is inclusive.  It welcomes you!!!

TEN ITEMS OF DOCTRINE

1.  Bible

            We believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) in written form.  Because of its Divine inspiration, it is superior to any other book or collection of books known in the world, and it requires our untrembling confidence in all that it teaches. 
            Its message and truth originated with God, and it came "by men (who) spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). While the Bible records the acts of God in history and tells us of His love for us; at the same time, it reflects the backgrounds, literary styles and vocabularies of the human authors. 
            We believe that the Bible is our supreme, final and all-sufficient authority, both individually and cooperatively, in all matters of faith and practice. 

2.  God

            We believe in One Holy God, Creator and Lord of the universe, eternally existing in three persons:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit; each of Whom possesses the attributes of deity and personality.  By His sovereign power, He continues to sustain His creation, and by His providence, He is operating throughout history to fulfill his redemptive purposes.

3.  Jesus Christ

            We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the only Son of God; conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, thus He is fully God and fully human.  We believe in His sinless life, miracles, teachings, His sufferings and His crucifixion for our sake on a cross.  He died a vicarious (i.e. He died in our place) and atoning (i.e. a death cleaning us of our sin and reuniting us to the Father) death, which accomplished salvation for all who trust in Him.  We believe that He physically resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where He is the only sufficient Reconciler between God and humanity.  We believe in His personal and visible return to earth to consummate history in which He will raise the dead, gather all who belong to Him, and judge the living and the dead.  God will then fully manifest His Kingdom when He establishes a new heaven and new earth. 

4.  Holy Spirit

            We believe in the personality of the Holy Spirit who was involved in creation, present in the Old Testament, was with Jesus during His ministry, and was sent by the Father and the Son to reveal Christ to all humankind.  The Holy Spirit regenerates (i.e. gives us a new birth spiritually) us, and sanctifies (i.e. makes us pure and holy) us.  He indwells in every Christian to empower each believer to walk in the fruit and gifts of the Spirit for the Church's constant renewal, worship, unity, truth, wisdom, holiness, love, power and mission.  For the believer, He is a guide into all truth; He convicts, stimulates insight and expression, strengthens, comforts, intercedes and, with Jesus, he will raise the dead for eternal life. 

5.  Sin and Salvation

            We believe that all men and women were created in the image of God, and that all have sinned and fallen short of His glory which incurs a spiritual death and alienation from God.  We believe that salvation can be found in the grace (i.e. the free gift of salvation) of Jesus Christ only.  Salvation cannot be gained in whole or in part by human efforts or goodness.  The lost receive this grace through belief in Christ, repentance of sin, confession of Christ, and baptism in Christ.

6.  Baptism

            We believe that baptism is immersion of the repentant believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; therefore, baptism sets forth the essential facts in redemption--the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; also it sets forth the essential facts in the experience of the believer--death to sin and resurrection to newness of life. 

7.  Lord's Supper

            We believe that the Lord's Supper is both a commemoration and an act of healing and renewal (spiritual nourishment) of the Lord's death until he comes again.  We believe that it is a vital practice of worship for all of God's people. 

8.  The Church
       The Church belongs to Christ and is His instrument for his purposes.  All believers world-wide are spiritually united in the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore, we should cooperate in all possible ways in God's work with fellow believers, both among us and elsewhere, to be loving and patient with one another in our differences.  The Church's call is to worship and glorify God, fellowship, observe communion, equip the saints, proclaim the life and teachings of Jesus Christ to the lost, and demonstrate its commitment by compassionate service to the needs of human beings and the promotion of righteousness and justice throughout the world.  Christ's desire is that all believers become active and committed members of his body, the church, through faithful participation and use of one's talents and gifts for the sake of His glory and edification of the Body. 
 9.  Human Destiny
            We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, and a judgment to follow to determine the fate of each individual.  The saved will be received into eternal communion with God and be rewarded for the faith and obedience in this life, and the lost will be condemned to a second death of separation from God into condemnation. 
        We believe in the church's unity (i.e. united, not divided), holiness (i.e. pure and sacred) catholicity (i.e. universal and global) and apostolicity (i.e. divine
10.  Faith and Practice

            Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.  The Church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent or unclear.  Rather each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom he or she is ultimately responsible.  One of Thomas Campbell’s favorite slogans was, “Let us speak where the Bible speaks, and remain silent where the Bible is silent. ”  Robert Richardson, close friend to Alexander Campbell once said, “It is essential that there be a universal faith, as it is to diversity that there should be an individual opinion.”