Why a statement of faith is important

Why would a church (or denomination) today need a statement of faith?

There are a lot of ways to answer this, but I would like to offer a brief commentary on why I believe it is so important for churches and denominations, in 2025 and beyond, to have a statement of faith that offers much needed clarity and conviction to a world that is downright confused about the multiple expressions of Christianity they are encountering.

I happen to be a part of a denomination called the International Churches of Christ, and am in many ways speaking to that group (in writing this my voice may necessarily reflect this).  We started with some youthful and zealous dreamers, something I am extremely grateful for.  A predictable quality of youth and dreaming is that we tend to believe we discovered things in scripture nobody else ever had, or if they did, they abandoned them.  The instinct is to sort of start all over, effectively pulling up the roots of historic Christianity that ironically provides these same youthful dreamers with the context for their own present day faith and mission.  When the dust settles on the early days of any youth movement, there needs to be a guiding and unifying set of values that places them within the historic Christian faith.

Timothy George is an American theologian and professor.  He is known for starting his church history class by telling his students “My task in this class is to convince you that there was someone between your grandmother and Jesus and that it matters.”  Great point, but safe to say many of our grandmothers wouldn’t recognize some of the stuff being taught in churches today.  Things change quickly.

We did not invent the Christian faith we confess, in many ways we inherited it.  It is important we state where we currently are on the historical faith spectrum.

“We just follow the Bible"

Before I continue it is important to be clear about what I mean, and what I don’t mean.

I remember in Bible school taking a look at the Westminster Confession of Faith, the articulation of beliefs and practice used by many Presbyterian churches.  My first thought was, “wow, this may be longer than the Bible itself!” 

I get it.  With so much confusion, wars, abuses, good and bad leaders, and historical context, it is tempting to write out exactly what a church or denomination believes about each important theological element.  I am not advocating for that.  It is too easy to get lost in the “theological weeds,” become Pharisees and miss the main motivator of our life and mission – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, it is no longer enough to say “we just follow the Bible.” 

What Bible?  More specifically, how are we all reading it?  What glasses do we have on when reading scripture?  Do we believe the holy scriptures are still holy, in the sense that they are authoritative for life and doctrine, and infallible in their effect on a fallen and broken world?  Many people who call themselves sincere Christians today do not, but It’s hard to tell who they are.

Churches are not an island, and their church members are not just receiving information from their local pastor on Sunday morning.  Book clubs, online resources, podcasts, and AI are transforming the way everyone is processing faith.  I heard recently where today’s church members effectively have FIVE books called the gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and AI! 

Some say, “well, my church leader and elders are really clear and solid about the doctrinal stuff.”  I pray that is the case, but the evidence brings up some questions around this assumption.   A lot of minsters I know are attending graduate schools all over the theological spectrum.  We don’t have a unified statement of belief, and yet we have ministers being trained in very conservative and progressive Protestant schools, and some are profoundly rethinking their approach to Christianity after having studied in Catholic universities. 

I believe we are all sincere in wanting and pursuing more education and training, but it’s naïve to think it may not matter to core beliefs we all assume unity around.  And speaking of elders, I have talked to numerous elders who are saying they need help in this area.  Believe it or not, there are some elders who hold to an orthodox view of sound doctrine, some that don’t, others that have a hard time articulating doctrinal beliefs.  In speaking of elders, Titus was told they “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”  (Titus 1:9)

Holding to a message, encouraging that message, and refuting those who oppose it presupposes the basic message is written down and clear for all to follow. 

My particular denomination has considered it noble to not have a creed or statement of faith, and I have largely agreed with it, until now. 

What has changed my mind?  Many things, but above all, my mission to seek and save the lost.  We owe it to a world that is hungry for truth to articulate how we see Christian truth and practice.  At some point, people thinking of attending our churches will ask, “what does your church believe?”  We must be able to point them to a clear understanding of what we believe about the nature of God, the scriptures, salvation, sanctification, and important issues in society like sexual ethics.  They are asking, but we’re not always providing it.

I would like to offer six brief reasons why a statement of faith is necessary:

We are a part of an historic Christian faith

We are a fellowship of churches that stands on the shoulders of theological giants that have gone before us, from the framers of early Christian creeds to the Reformers, and to spiritual thinkers in recent history.  We did not develop from nowhere, but came to our faith and doctrine as a part of a long history of belief. 

If we continue to operate disconnected from historic Christian thought, we miss an opportunity to ground our members in something much greater than our own space and time.  Many of the core theological doctrines we believe today we have inherited from those before us.  We should be willing to place ourselves within the Christian tradition.  Since we have our theological roots in Protestant thinking, my opinion is while Catholic faith thinkers can contribute to our understanding of faith, they should not be a large part of our foundation.

In America we find ourselves in a tense struggle for biblical truth, with sincere Christians reading the same Bible in very different ways.  It has consequences, so how are we addressing it?

Statements of faith build a framework for unity among church members

Too many church members have lamented that they lack clarity about what other churches in the fellowship believe.  In a religiously pluralistic society, the unity Jesus prayed about in John 17 is not possible based solely on the power of our shared relationships, but hinges on some unchangeable realities about the nature of God and the Gospel of Jesus. 

Our members want to be bonded together not by conformity, but by a shared core value system.  Let’s provide that.

Statements of faith build a framework for unity among church leaders

Not long ago a minister I know asked me about the beliefs of another minister.  It went something like this, “did you know ___  believes ____ now?”  I said, “wow, didn’t know that.  Have you spoke with him about it?”  The answer was “yes, but he’s being really vague about it.”  The first question that came to my mind was, “do his church members know this?”  Another important question is “do his fellow ministers know this?”

I believe we have to be better than this.

Church leaders are often curious about where other leaders and elders believe.  Agreement about share beliefs bonds us together more closely, and allows for confidence when advising members about crucial life transitions like changing careers and moving, or children deciding where to attend college.  It also encourages healthy and clarifying debate around very important issues.

If churches decide they cannot support a shared statement of belief and decide to disassociate, the reason can be clearly explained and understood by both parties. As it is now, much is left to gossip and misinformation.

Statements of faith clarify church beliefs for a public that is increasingly curious

Perhaps the most frequently asked question for potential church members is “what do you believe about ___?”  Of course, we can’t cover everything, but why can’t we cover the basics, such as:  What do we believe about the nature of Jesus?  Do we believe the Bible is the primary and ultimate authority for life and practice?  Do we still believe it is the inspired word of God?  Where do we stand on homosexuality?  What do we believe about the sanctity of life, about marriage?  Do we have a unified sexual ethic?  What do we believe about gender and their scriptural roles?

People considering attending our churches understand these to be the “fault lines” among confessing evangelicals today. In addition, our church members are not convinced we all agree on them today.

It’s important to know that many progressive theologians do NOT believe a statement of faith is necessary or helpful.  An important value for progressive Christians is to “keep doors open, not closed; encourage more questions, provide few answers.”  This may have some value, but if it stops us from writing down what we believe, it can be a doctrinal trap.  Just ask yourself this: why on earth would someone not want to be clear about what they believe?  Okay, cancel culture is real, but we should be beyond worrying about that.

Another common refrain of progressive teachers goes something like this: “Statements of faith can be polarizing, creates an ‘us v. them’ mentality, or paints a theological picture too grounded in certainty.”  I find this argument both valid and overly simplistic.  Can Christians and leaders put too much faith in certainty, especially around topics that contain theological nuance?  Sure, let’s not do that.  Does having a statement of faith automatically suggest one is doing that?  Of course not.  We have to realize that if Jesus offered “polarizing” ideas like repentance, discipleship, lordship (and many others), the lines he and the other biblical authors drew were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  We don’t get to decide, based on how society or church members may react, what lines we choose to draw.

The church today is tasked with upholding the truth, and it’s not our truth to protect.  Even Paul suggested to young Timothy that there is a standard for how people in churches should approach practical issues and conduct themselves.  Even though the church is flawed, it is still the church of the living God, “the pillar and foundation of truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15)

 

Statements of faith impress priority of belief and practice on the next generation of disciples

Young people all over our fellowship share a concern, and it sounds like this: “What do we believe anymore?”  Since many are not in senior leadership groups, or do not have much access to the pulpit, the conversation goes on largely among their peer groups. 

If they can’t find clear teaching about shared beliefs, they often resort to podcasts or Youtube teachers that touch on the issues of their day.  We simply owe it to them to provide leadership, instruction and boundaries in a world where young people are immersed in theological information, much of which is not true, half true, or dangerous.

Statements of faith appropriately define how we approach God’s inspired Word

There is now no common agreement of how people read the Bible.  The same Bible can be read by many different people, some may believe it is God’s word, others may not, all kinds of made-up stuff in between.  To many today it is a “book of wisdom,” offering guidance for life but no practical imperatives.  Even among my own denomination’s teachers group there seem to various hermeneutics. 

Sadly, among college students and teens, there are some who see the Bible as affirming the gay lifestyle.  All of this is a recipe for confusion, but with some agreement on how to faithfully approach the scriptures, we should be able to find some common grounds of unity.

Let’s start somewhere

There is no perfect solution to this, but without a clear and unified statement of faith, our local churches and greater fellowship/denomination can drift.  As we know, drifting is slow but powerful.  As we put our heads down and fulfill the mission of seeking and saving the lost, let us not forget that these lost people are largely a product of our specific religious environment, and are in search not only of salvation, but a clear understanding how their new community of faith will help them journey through it all.

Providing a faith statement is not just a good idea, but it is a biblical act of stewardship.  It is a part of proclaiming, teaching and guarding the truth.  Yes, it takes courage today, but in our pluralistic and postmodern society, it cannot be ignored.

Here at Biblically Resilient, we believe in offering a clear idea of what we believe, what drives us.  If you would like to read our statement of faith, CLICK HERE.

Daren Overstreet

Daren Overstreet is a Senior Leader at

Anchor Point Church in Tampa, Florida.  He has

Been in ministry for nearly 30 years, and holds a Master’s Degree in Missional Theology

You can contact him at

daren@anchorpointtampa.org