WHAT WE BELIEVE (DOVE INTERNATIONAL VALUES)
1. Knowing God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
We believe that the basis of the Christian faith is to know God through repentance for sin, receiving Jesus Christ as Lord, building an intimate relationship with Him, and being conformed into His image. God has declared us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ (John
1:12, John 17:3, Rom. 8:29, II Cor. 5:21).
2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit and dependence on God.
Every believer should be baptized with the Holy Spirit, pursue spiritual gifts, and be completely dependent on Him. We desperately need the person, presence and power of the Holy Spirit to minister effectively to our generation. All decisions need to be made by listening to the Holy Spirit as we make prayer and worship a priority. (I Cor. 2:2-5, John 15:5, II Cor. 13:14, John 4:23-24)
3. Fulfilling the Great Commission through prayer, evangelism, discipleship, and church planting.
We are committed to helping fulfill the Great Commission through prayer, becoming spiritual parents, and planting churches both locally and around the world. The Great Commission will be fulfilled through tearing down spiritual strongholds of darkness and church planting. (I
Cor. 3:6-9, Matt. 11:12, II Cor. 10:3-4, Acts 14:21-23, Matt. 28:19-20, Matt. 6:5-18, Acts 1:8)
4. Honoring the covenant of marriage and training our children in the ways of God.
Both marriage and family are instituted by God, and healthy, stable families are essential for the church to be effective in fulfilling its mission. Marriage covenants are ordained by God and need to be honored. (Mark 10:6-9, Eph. 5:22-6:4, Prov. 16:6, I Thess. 4:3-8, I Cor. 6:18-
20).
5. Commitment to spiritual families, spiritual parenting and intergenerational connections.
We are committed to spiritual parenting even as God is turning the hearts of the fathers and
mothers to the sons and daughters in our day. Participation in a small group is fundamental. We are committed to training and releasing young people as co laborers for the harvest.
(Acts 2:17, Jer. 31:13, I Cor. 12:18, Eph. 4:16, Ps. 133, II Pet. 1:12-13, II Tim. 2:2, Mal. 4:5-
6, I Cor. 4:15-17)
6. Spiritual multiplication and reproduction extending to every sphere of kingdom life.
Multiplication is expected and encouraged in every sphere. Small groups should multiply into
new small groups and churches should multiply into new churches. The DOVE family of churches will be made up of many new regional families of churches as apostolic fathers and mothers are released in the nations of the world. (Acts 9:31, Mark 4:20, Acts 11:19-30, Acts 13-15)
7. Importance of relationships in building God’s kingdom.
Serving others and building relationships is a desired experience in every area of church life. We believe the best place to begin to serve and experience trust and relationship is in the small group. (Acts 2:42-47, Eph. 4:16, Gal. 5:13, I Peter 2:5)
8. Every believer as priest and minister.
Every Christian is a priest who needs to hear from the Lord personally and is called of God to minister to others. Fivefold ministers are the Lord’s gifts to His church as he uses them to help equip each believer become an effective minister in order to build up the body of Christ.
(I Pet. 4:9, Eph. 4:11-12, Titus 1:5, I Tim 4:12-14)
9. Servant leadership that empowers others.
Every sphere of leadership needs a servant-leader called by God who walks together with a team. Servant leaders live out humility and integrity, demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit.
Apostolic overseers and pastors having biblical qualifications are called to direct, protect, and correct the church. (Acts 6:2-6, Acts 15, Matt. 20:26, Num. 27:16, I Pet. 5:1-4, Heb.
13:17, Acts 6:1-4, I Tim. 3, Titus 1)
10. Biblical prosperity and generosity that support kingdom expansion.
Biblical prosperity is God’s plan to help fulfill the Great Commission. The principle of the tithe is part of God’s plan to honor and provide substance for those He has placed over us. We encourage all members to give generously. All funds should be handled with integrity and full accountability. (III John 2, Matt. 23:23, Heb. 7:4-7, Mal. 3:8-11,, II Cor. 8:1-7, 20-21, Gal. 6:5- 6, Phil. 4:15-17, Rom. 15:14)
11. Sending missionaries to the unreached.
Jesus instructs us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. We do this through church planting and missions. We are also called to help the poor and needy, those in prison, orphans and widows while doing all we can to empower them. When we help those less fortunate both materially and spiritually, we are lending to the Lord. (Deut. 14:28, 29, Deut. 26:10-12, Matt. 25:31-46, James 1:27, Prov. 19:17, Matt. 24:14, Acts 1:8, Acts 13:1-4, II Cor.10:15-16)
12. Building the Kingdom in partnership with the entire body of Christ.
Recognizing that we are one small part of God's kingdom, we are called to link with other groups in the body of Christ and together see God’s kingdom come in all areas of society: church, family, government, the arts, education, business and the media. (Matt. 6:10,33, Eph. 4:1-6, John 17, Ps. 133, I Cor. 12, Rom. 14:5, Amos 3:3, I Cor. 1:10; 15:10)