VISION STATEMENT

Legacy Church is to be...

A credible, Spirit-empowered Church reaching the Charleston area and beyond with the message and ministry that people can be free, whole, and victorious in this life and eternally through Jesus Christ.

We do this in 4 distinct ways...

...Reaching People
...Restoring Hope
...Rebuilding Lives
...Reclaiming the Culture

DOCTRINAL STATEMENT

The fundamental teachings of Legacy are reflected in the following, clear statements:

We believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the accepted canon of the Scriptures as originally given (II Timothy 3:16; I Corinthians 2:13).

We believe in the Eternal Godhead who has revealed Himself as ONE God existing in THREE persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; distinguishable but indivisible (Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14).

We believe in the creation, test and fall of man as recorded in Genesis; man's total spiritual depravity and inability to attain to divine righteousness by himself (Romans 5:12,18).

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of men, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, very God and very man (Luke 1:26-35; John 1:18; Isaiah 7:14;9:6).

We believe Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, and personally appeared to His disciples (I Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 4:25).

We believe in the bodily ascension of Jesus to heaven, His exaltation and personal, literal and bodily coming again the second time for the Church (John 14:2,3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

We believe in the salvation of sinners by grace, through repentance and faith in the perfect and sufficient work of the cross of Calvary by which we obtain remission of sins (Ephesians 2:8,9; Hebrews 9:12; Romans 5:11).

We believe in the necessity of water baptism by immersion in the name of the Eternal Godhead in order to fulfill the command of Christ (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:36-39;19:1-6).

We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience subsequent to salvation, which often includes the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2:1-4;8:14-17;10:44-46; Galatians 3:14,15).

We believe in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit as enumerated in I Corinthians 12-14, which manifested in the Early Church. These gifts are evidenced within the order of the local church. (I Corinthians 14:26-33)

We believe in the Spirit-filled life, a life of separation from the world and perfecting of holiness in the fear of God as an expression of Christian faith (Ephesians 5:18; II Corinthians 6:14;7:1).

We believe in the healing of the body by divine power, or divine healing in its varied aspects as practiced in the Early Church (Acts 4:30; Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 12:9; James 5:14).

We believe in the Table of the Lord, commonly called Communion or the Lord's Supper, for believers (I Corinthians 11:23-32).

We believe in eternal life for believers (John 5:24;3:16) and eternal punishment for unbelievers (Mark 9:43-48; II Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:10-15).

We believe in the reality and personality of Satan and the eternal judgment of Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10-15).

In addition to these basic fundamentals, we also hold that:

The Biblical form of government is Apostolic with a senior pastor who is the set-one of a local church under the authority of an apostolic council providing accountability and protection.

The Church of Jesus Christ is the instrument that God is using to extend His Kingdom prior to the coming of Christ.

The local church is completely autonomous; that is, self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating in its mature state.

Every believer in Christ must be subject to God's authority in a specific local church for spiritual protection and long term fruitfulness.

Praise and Worship
We believe that the pattern for New Testament Worship is to be found in the Davidic order of worship revealed in the Psalms and birthed in the tabernacle of David in the Old Testament.  One of the primary sacrifices is the "fruit of our lips" giving thanks in audible demonstrative worship.  It includes clapping, shouting, singing, lifting hands, kneeling, and bowing.

Prayer and Intercession
We believe that both personal and corporate prayer are absolutely essential if the Church is to succeed.  The New Testament Church was birthed in prayer, it continued steadfast in prayer and bathed all of its activities and ministries in prayer.  In fact, when the Bible labels the Church or the House of God, the label it gives it is "a house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7).  If that is the name that God has chosen for His house, prayer should be a major focus of every church.  Prayer is a pipeline through which the Spirit moves.

The Local Church
We believe that the local church is the aspect of the church that God is focusing on building in these days.  While we all recognize and understand that the larger Body of Christ encompasses all believers, it is on the local scene that all of the plans and purposes of God are going to be demonstrated and fulfilled.  Every believer must find himself or herself in right relationship to God and to a specific local church in order to find a place of ministry and fruitfulness.  It is essential that rather than criticizing the Church, we do everything we can to make the Church of Jesus Christ glorious.  The Church is God's instrument to extend His purposes in the earth today.  It is the instrument of the Kingdom.

The Five-Fold Ministry
We believe that the ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11 are to be fully functioning right up to the return of Christ.  This includes Apostles and Prophets, not just Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists.  All of these ministries are needed if the Body of Christ is going to be properly equipped and the Church is going to be properly built up.

Apostolic Church Government
We believe that God has provided Apostolic leadership and oversight for the well-being of both the pastor and the congregation.  The Senior Pastor and his wife are commissioned as shepherds over the congregation and function in much the same way as parents do to a family.  They are responsible before God to appoint leadership and equip the body for ministry and outreach.  They are both in authority and under authority as the Apostolic Council is responsible for their spiritual health and well-being.  The Overseers are invited on a regular basis to develop relationship with the church and provide a place of contact for the church to have an appropriate sense of safety and care.

Restoration of the Church
We believe that the Church which began with great power and anointing fully functioning as God's instrument in the earth went through a period of serious spiritual and doctrinal decline through the Middle Ages.  Since Martin Luther, God has been in the process of restoring the Church to her former glory and power.  As we get nearer to Christ's return we can expect this process of restoration to become complete and we can expect the Church to rise up and be what God has designed for her to be (Isaiah 60:1-5).  The Church is the final instrument in the hands of the Lord to extend His kingdom in the earth.  Some other program or institution will not replace the Church, but the Church will finish the commission laid upon it by Jesus Himself.

Restoration of the Family
We believe that at the same time God is restoring His Church, He is also restoring the natural family to its proper place and function (Jeremiah 31:1).  One of the things that God is doing is turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers (Malachi 4:6).  God is in the process of healing marriages, strengthening parents and teaching men and women more about their God given roles.  He is doing this because He wants to use a godly seed in this generation to rise up and destroy the works of the wicked one.  Such a progeny will need to be parented by those who understand God's purpose and have kingdom priorities established in their life.

The Gifts of the Spirit
We believe that the gifts of the Spirit enumerated in I Corinthians 12:7-11 are not only for today, but should be desired, sought after, and evidenced in every church. If there was ever a time that these gifts were needed, it is today.  We do not believe that these gifts were only for the embryonic church of the first 100 years.  They are to be a part of the Church right up to the return of Christ for His perfected Bride.

Unity and Diversity
We believe that every local church should be inclusive and actively seek to include all peoples of all races, ethnic origins, and social and economic standings.  The Church of Jesus Christ is a multi-ethnic group that has within it the seeds for demolishing the scourge of racial prejudice.  God's purpose is to make all people into one for the glory of God.

Church Planting and World Missions
We believe that the Church has been given the commission by Christ to go into the entire world with the message of the Kingdom in an attempt to bring all men to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  We also believe that the result of this mission should be the establishing of local churches in every community in every country of the world.