About Us

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OUR CONGREGATION We are a multi-ethnic and inter-denominational church,   who believe that all are one in Christ.  Most of our members come from the Beverly area, but some do commute from nearby communities.   OUR CHURCH PROGRAM We gather every Sunday for worship at 10 a.m. and for Sunday School at 11:30 a.m. Child care is provided.  Weekly Bible Study and Prayer Time is held on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. Twice a month we have a Sunday Evening Prayer and Praise Gathering.  On communion Sundays we have a fellowship luncheon provided by the Sunday school department.  Adult Christian Fellowship gatherings are held reg­ularly throughout the year and are designed to foster fun and fellowship for all age levels of our congregation.  St. Paul’s is also home to the oldest continuously active Boy Scout troop in Chicago, having been founded in 1917. We have a VBS Program for kids of all ages each summer. At Christmas we have a variety of activities that emphasize the profound nature of the season. These include, Wassail party, progressive dinner, Sunday School Christmas pageant, and Christmas Eve candle light service.  Easter is celebrated with a Messianic Passover Seder that celebrates the last supper of Christ on Thursday before Easter, on Friday we have a Good Friday reflections, and on Easter Sunday we have a resurrection celebration service.

                                                            OUR WORSHIP

As a community church we enjoy a mixture of music ranging from traditional to contemporary. In traditional music style, we worship using our 15 rank pipe organ and sing the great hymns of the church.  In praise and worship we sing new songs using a variety of instruments to praise the name of the Lord.  We read the scriptures and take prayer requests from our body, which are then prayed for in the service.  Our Pastor brings us a message from the scriptures explaining and applying the Bible to our lives. We have communion service on the first Sunday of the even numbered months.   All of the elements of our worship are focused on exalting the glory and the majesty of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

 OUR MISSIONS

Our Lord told us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.

It is our privilege to support over 20 missionaries and missions projects lo­cally, nationally and around the world. Indeed, over twenty percent of our giv­ing goes towards support of our missionaries.

OUR FAITH

We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and new Testament, as comprising the inerrant and inspired self revelation of Almighty God.  This belief has informed and molded the teaching and preaching of St. Paul's since our inception over one hundred years ago.

We believe that God was fully revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  We affirm His virgin birth, His ministry in mighty word and deed, His atoning death, His victorious resurrection, ascension, reign, and future glorious return.  We believe that God sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to convict us of our sin, to regenerate us, and to grants us everlasting life.   (For more detaill see our doctinal Statement)

We believe that God's gift of eternal life in His Son, Jesus Christ, does not come to us automatically but must be received personally as an act of the will.  The two parts of this receiving act of will are repentance and faith.

We affirm the Moral standards of Scriptures, articulated in the Ten Commandments, exemplified by our Lord, and summarized by Him in two commandments.  (See our statement on the Christian life at the bottom of this page for more detail.)

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as your self"   Matthew 22:37-39

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OTHERS

We hold to the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed as historic and ecumenical expressions of the Christian Church.  We seek to work with our neighbors on matters of civic concern.  Indeed, members of St. Paul's provide leadership within the community through such organizations as Beverly Area Planning Association, Meals on Wheels, Morgan Park Food Pantry, Boy Scouts and Cub of America (Boy Scout Troup 608 is one of the oldest continuous charter in Chicago) , New Neighbors, the Beverly Improvement Association and others.  As an expression of our evangelical conviction, we encourage all our members to develop and maintain their demoninational ties of fellowship and appreciation.

Our Doctrinal Statement  

The Word of God (Hermeneutics)

We believe in the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, to be the Word of God, verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writing and that they are of supreme authority in faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

God (Theology)

We believe in one God (1 Corinthians 8:6), Creator of all things (Revelation 4:11), infinitely perfect (Psalm 18:30) and eternally existing in three persons --- Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus Christ  (Christology)

We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man (John 1:1), having been conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18,23).  We believe in His sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21), in His miracles (John 3:2), in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood (1 Peter 2:24,25), in His bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) and in His ascension (Acts 1:9-11) to the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3), where He is now our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) and Advocate (1 John 2:1).

The Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8,9).  We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14) and to indwell (1 Corinthians 3:16), guide (Romans 8:14), instruct (John 14:26) and empower the believer for godly living and service (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Man (Anthropology)

We believe that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26,27); that he sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death (Roman 5:12), but also spiritual death which is separation from God (Romans 6:23): and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature (Romans 3:10,23) and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word, and deed (Ephesians 2:2,3).  We believe that man obtains salvation and spiritual life only through he regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Salvation (Soteriology)

We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only grounds for justification and salvation for all who believe (Romans 3:24,25; Hebrews 9:22).  We believe that salvation is entirely of God's grace, through faith alone in Jesus Christ, and that only those who are born of the Holy Spirit become children of God (John 1:12,13).

The Church (Ecclesiology)

We believe that  the church, according to Scripture, is comprised of all persons who, through the saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are thus united together in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12,13), of which He is the head (Ephesians 1:22,23).  We believe in the command of our Lord Jesus Christ that the gospel be preached to all the world (Mark 16:15), and that as believers we are to be baptized and in association with one another worship, edification, and service.  We believe in the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Last Things (Eschatology)

We believe in the personal return to earth of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16) and in final establishment of His Kingdom in a new creation (Revelation 21:1-4).  We believe in the resurrection of both the just (Thessalonians 4:16-18) and the unjust (Acts 24:15); they who are saved unto the resurrection of life (1 Corinthians 15:52,53) and they who are lost unto the resurrection of the damnation (Revelation 20:6,14,15).

Definition of the Christian life and Christian Character

By the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, people who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will manifest their faith in their thoughts, attitudes, behaviors and desires. Though Christians will continue to experience (and succumb) to temptation, they will experience a life generally marked by perseverance and growth in godliness. Their lives will be marked by the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23a), the pursuit of the virtues and actions commanded in the Scriptures; including fidelity in heterosexual marriage, celibacy in singleness, charity in relationships to neighbors, humility in character, and integrity in actions (e.g. Matt. 28: 18-20; Eph. 4:25-5:2; Phil. 2:1-l1; etc.); and the avoidance of the sins described in the Scriptures, (e.g., I Cor.6:9-1O; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-11; etc.)

People who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will continually strive to resist temptation, quickly confess and repent any known sins in their lives, and willingly submit to the discipline of the Church for healing and restoration. People who habitually commit or condone sin will not be accepted into the membership of St. Paul's Bible Church.