We hold essentials firmly, convictions clearly, and preferences graciously.
01ESSENTIALS
What does
Refuge believe?
The truths at the center of Christian faith.
Jesus.
At the center of everything we believe.
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. He lived without sin,
gave His life for us, rose bodily from the grave, ascended to the
Father, and will come again.
Why it matters
Our hope is not built on an idea or philosophy. It is built on Jesus.
Scripture.
God's Word shapes what we believe and how we live.
We believe the Bible is the inspired and authoritative Word of God.
Scripture tells the story of God's redemption and gives us truth
for understanding God, ourselves, and the world around us.
Why it matters
We want our lives shaped by God's truth rather than whatever happens
to feel true in the moment.
Grace.
God makes the first move toward us.
God's grace reaches toward us before we ever reach toward Him.
Salvation begins with what God has done, not with what we can achieve.
Why it matters
You don't have to clean yourself up before coming to God.
Salvation.
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.
Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, forgiveness and
new life are offered to everyone who places their faith in Him.
Why it matters
We don't earn our way to God. Jesus has done what we could never do
for ourselves.
The Holy Spirit.
God with us. God at work in us.
The Holy Spirit draws us toward Christ, teaches us, comforts us,
transforms us, gives spiritual gifts, and empowers us to live on
mission.
Why it matters
Following Jesus was never meant to depend on willpower alone.
Resurrection.
The Christian story ends in hope.
We believe Jesus rose bodily from the dead, that He will return,
and that God's future includes resurrection, eternal life, and the
restoration of all things.
Why it matters
Suffering and death do not get the final word.
02CONVICTIONS
What makes
Refuge distinctive?
Our Wesleyan-Pentecostal convictions shape how we understand grace,
the Holy Spirit, spiritual growth, and mission.
01 / 04
Grace finds us.
God makes the first move.
Before we ever reach toward God, His grace is already reaching
toward us. We believe God lovingly draws every person toward
Himself and makes a genuine response to Him possible.
What that means at Refuge
We never assume anyone is beyond God’s reach.
02 / 04
Grace changes us.
Jesus doesn’t only forgive us. He transforms us.
Salvation is not only about being forgiven. We believe God
continues His work in us, shaping our character and teaching us
to increasingly reflect the life of Jesus.
What that means at Refuge
Everyone has a next step, and growth is part of following Jesus.
03 / 04
The Spirit still moves.
We believe the Holy Spirit is active today.
We believe the Holy Spirit still empowers believers, gives
spiritual gifts, brings comfort and conviction, and equips the
Church to participate in God’s work in the world.
What that means at Refuge
We make room for God to do what only God can do.
04 / 04
Faith goes somewhere.
Following Jesus sends us into the world.
Faith is not meant to stop with us. Jesus sends His followers to
make disciples, serve people, care for those who are hurting, and
carry the hope of the Gospel into everyday life.
What that means at Refuge
Church is not only somewhere we attend. Mission becomes something we live.
03PREFERENCES
What doesn’t have
to divide us?
Not every question carries the same weight.
Bible translations.
Music styles.
Church traditions.
Personal preferences.
Secondary questions.
Once we’re aligned around the essentials of Christian faith
and the convictions that shape Refuge...
Different doesn’t
have to mean divided.
ROOM FOR GRACE
There’s room
for grace.
We hold essentials firmly.
Convictions clearly.
Preferences graciously.
Refuge Murrells Inlet
Our Statement of Beliefs
As a member of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church,
Refuge affirms the historic Christian faith and the following
Articles of Faith.
1. God
We believe there is but one living and true God, everlasting,
of infinite power, wisdom and goodness; Maker and Preserver of
all things, both visible and invisible. And in the unity of this
Godhead, there are three Persons of one substance of eternal
being, and equal in holiness, justice, wisdom, power, and
dignity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
2. Jesus Christ
We believe that the Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very
and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man’s
nature in the womb of the blessed virgin; so that two whole and
perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and the manhood were
joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is
one Christ, very God and perfect man, who actually suffered, was
crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile the Father to us, and
to make atonement, not only for our actual guilt, but also for
original sin.
3. The Resurrection and Return of Christ
We believe that Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and
took again His body, with all things appertaining to the
perfections of man’s nature, and ascended into heaven and there
sits until He shall return to judge all men at the last day.
4. The Holy Ghost
We believe the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the
Son, is of one substance, majesty and glory with the Father and
the Son, very and eternal God.
5. Holy Scripture
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Holy
Scriptures, known as the Bible, composed of sixty-six books and
divided into two departments, Old and New Testaments. We believe
the Bible is the Word of God, the full and complete revelation
of the plan and history of redemption.
6. Eternal Life and Judgment
We believe that eternal life with God in heaven is a portion of
the reward of the finally righteous; and that everlasting
banishment from the presence of the Lord and unending torture
in hell are the wages of the persistently wicked
(Matthew 25:46; Psalm 9:17; Revelation 21:7).
7. Salvation Through Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for the remission of
sins that are past, for the regeneration of penitent sinners,
and for salvation from sin and from sinning
(Romans 3:25; 1 John 3:5-10; Ephesians 2:1-10).
8. Justification by Faith
We believe, teach and firmly maintain the scriptural doctrine
of justification by faith alone (Romans 5:1).
9. Cleansing from Sin
We believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for the complete
cleansing of the justified believer from all indwelling sin and
from its pollution, subsequent to regeneration
(1 John 1:7-9).
10. Sanctification
We believe in sanctification. While sanctification is initiated
in regeneration and consummated in glorification, we believe it
includes a definite, instantaneous work of grace achieved by
faith subsequent to regeneration (Acts 26:18; 1 John 1:9).
Sanctification delivers from the power and dominion of sin.
It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
(2 Corinthians 4:16; 2 Peter 3:18).
11. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost
We believe that the Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost and
fire is obtainable by a definite act of appropriating faith on
the part of the fully cleansed believer, and the initial
evidence of the reception of this experience is speaking with
other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance
(Luke 11:13; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 8:17; 10:44-46; 19:6).
12. Divine Healing
We believe in divine healing as in the atonement
(Isaiah 53:4, 5; Matthew 8:16, 17; Mark 16:14-18;
James 5:14-16; Exodus 15:26).
13. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the imminent, personal, premillennial second
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:10-14;
Matthew 24:29-44), and love and wait for His appearing
(2 Timothy 4:8).
14. The Great Commission
We believe it is the responsibility of every believer to
dedicate his life to carrying out the work of the Great
Commission
(Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:8).
