About
La Mirada Church

Winning people to Christ, not only in this community through preaching, teaching, and fellowship, but throughout the world as commanded by Christ in Matthew 28.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

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GOD

We believe in the one God who is co-eternal and co-equal in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (which we call “the Godhead”) as revealed in the Bible and made known to us on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Known by many names in the Bible, each one richly describing one of His attributes, we lovingly refer to God as our Father, and seek to be known by Him. (Exodus 3:14-15, John 4:24, Matthew 28:19, John 1:1-2).

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THE HUMAN RACE

The Bible tells us that before the earth was in existence, God’s plan was that each and every person would stand before Him with the benefit of a connected relationship – holy and blameless in His sight. Sin has severed that relationship, but through the death and resurrection of Jesus, each person may once again be reconnected to God – and be restored to God’s original intent for our lives (Ephesians 1:4-5).

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FAITH

Faith (belief and trust) in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross is the only way to be reconciled with God (Acts 4:8-12). At LMC we try to put these terms in their simplest forms. We define faith as “We do our part so God can do His part.” Salvation is a free gift from God – it cannot be earned- and it is offered through Jesus based on grace (favor from God, not one’s own merit). We define grace as “God does His part so we can do our part.” What we couldn’t do for ourselves (reconcile with God), Jesus did through his death on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9).

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JESUS

We believe that Jesus is God manifest to us – the divine and only begotten Son of God. God, through Jesus, became human, was born of a virgin, ministered in word and miracle, died for our sin, was raised bodily from the dead, ascended to Heaven, and is coming again for his people. He is both the nature and essence of God. By partaking of both the nature of God and the nature of man, Jesus was fully God and fully man (Matthew 1:18-25, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). He will return in bodily form as Lord of the universe, to gather his followers and judge those who have rejected him (Acts 1:9-11, Hebrews 9:27-28).

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THE BIBLE

We believe that the Bible is completely God breathed, true in all its teaching, and the final authority for all matters of faith and practice. While individuals may prefer different translations or versions, we encourage each person to set aside a time each day for meditation in God’s Word as part of a systematic spiritual journey. The Bible is inspired by God and is therefore without error or contradiction, and is the sole authority for faith and practice. All our beliefs come from the Bible (2 Timothy 3:15-16, 2 Peter 3:15-16).

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SALVATION

We gain access to God’s saving grace by being justified through Jesus. What this means is that when we are reconciled to God, He declares us righteous (holy and blameless), even though we are not righteous (Romans 5:1-3). God lovingly offers salvation to every person; and every person has the freedom to accept or reject this gift at any time (John 3:16-18). Faith requires repentance (conforming our lifestyle to Christ’s), and results in obedience. Baptism by immersion demonstrates a pledge of our willingness to live for Him (Acts 8:26-38, Romans 6:1-4) and results in the ability to live life here on earth without the baggage of a guilty conscience (1 Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 10:22).

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THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is presently ministering through the Christian community, empowering lives of godliness and service. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. He is both the nature and essence of God. Being fully God, the Holy Spirit has always existed and has been fully revealed to us on earth just days after the first Easter Sunday (John 16:5-15; Acts 1:8 & chapter 2).

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THE CHURCH

We believe that Jesus Christ established his church on earth to carry out his saving mission among all of mankind, and formed it to be one holy people. The Church is formed by virtue of God’s saving grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) that calls forth from all people: faith, repentance, confession, baptism, and new life and ministry through the Spirit. The Church of Jesus Christ is not limited to any one institution or denomination; it consists of all who have trusted Jesus Christ for redemption of their sins. LMCC is therefore but one part of the greater Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-17). We are not the only Christians, but strive to be Christians only.

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LOCAL CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Membership at LMC is extended to anyone who is a member of Christ’s Church, having established trust in Jesus for redemption from their sins as follows:

Acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
Repent (turn from your sins to follow Jesus)
Be baptized by immersion (Believer’s Baptism as found in Acts 2:36-41; 16:29-34, and Romans 6:1-4)

GOT QUESTIONS?

Not sure what all this means? Send us a message, and one of our pastors will get in touch with you right away.

About La Mirada Church