Doctrinal Statement

Doctrinal Statement Of the Children’s Gospel Hour/Cedar Lake Camp

1. We believe that the Bible, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, are the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, and infallible. They are the supreme and final authority in faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16, John 1:1)
2. We believe the following regarding the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ: That Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God (John 1:14, Mark 1:11, John 8:56-59), was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18), born of the Virgin Mary, and thus became fully man without ceasing in any way to be God (John 1:14, Colossians 2:9). That Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is fully attested by His literal, physical, resurrection from the dead(1 Peter 2:24, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Luke 24:1-7). That Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9), He is, as our High Priest, both intercessor, and advocate (1 John 2:1). That Jesus Christ is coming again to set up His kingdom, His coming is personal, premillennial, and imminent (Revelation 1:7, Revelation 22:12-13, John 14:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
3. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts sinners, and at the moment of conversion regenerates believers, baptizing them into the body of Christ, indwelling them, and sealing them at that same instant (John 16:7-8, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Acts 2:38). He then continues His ministry in the lives of believers by guiding them into all truth and equipping them for ministry through His gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). However, we do not believe that all believers have all the gifts, nor that all the gifts are necessary for all times (1 Corinthians 12:15-20). We do not believe that speaking in tongues is the evidence of either the initial receiving of the Holy Spirit nor of His fullness in the believer’s life. It is our privilege and responsibility to be filled with (submit) to the Holy Spirit.
4. We believe that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), but that in Adam’s sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, incurred both physical and spiritual death, and was alienated from God (Romans 5:18-21, Romans 5:12, Genesis 2:17). Therefore, man is totally depraved and of himself is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Ephesians 2:8-9).
5. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received only through personal faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:9, Acts 2:21, John 14:6, Acts 4:12), that all who receive Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become the children of God (John 3:5-8, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Acts 2:38, John 1:12). We believe that all who truly believe in Christ are kept by the power of God and cannot be lost (John 10:28-29, Romans 11:29). We further believe that this security does not give believers a license to sin (Hebrews 10:26-28).
6. We believe that God does miraculously heal today, but He does not always heal, and He is not obliged to heal but heals according to His own will.
7. We believe that all believers should live in a manner that will bring honor and not reproach to our Savior and Lord (1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:31, 1 John 1:6-7, John 12:26). God commands us to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations (Romans 12:2, John 17:15-18, John 15:19).
8. We believe that the Lord’s “Great Commission” to give the Gospel to every creature in all the world is still incumbent on every believer (Revelation 20:10, Genesis 3:1-5, Matthew 25:41).
9. We believe that Satan is a person, and an angel, a created being of God (John 10:10, Revelation 12:9, Isaiah 14:12, Colossians 1:16). As the author of sin, the cause of the fall, and the declared enemy of God and man; he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10, Genesis 3:1-5, Matthew 25:41).
10. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust- that all the redeemed of God will spend eternity in conscious enjoyment of God’s presence, and that the impenitent unbelievers who have refused God’s mercy will spend eternity in the everlasting conscious suffering (John 5:28-29, Acts 24:14-15, Revelation 20:13).
11. We believe that God created marriage and the family.  Marriage is the union of one man and one woman committed to each other unto death (Genesis 2:22-24, Mark 10:6-9).  Sexual expression should be held according to traditional biblical standards, including abstaining from sexual relations and unions with anyone outside of marriage as well as with those of the same gender (Matthew 5:32, 1 Corinthians 6:18, Hebrews 13:4, Proverbs 6:32, Romans 1:26-27). We believe that gender is defined and determined by God at conception (Psalm 139:13-14; Jeremiah 1:5).

Mission Statement

The ministry of Cedar Lake Camp/Children’s Gospel Hour is to reach children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to lead them into a relationship with Him while nurturing and discipling a staff of young people into a lifestyle of ministry. This vision will be achieved through a variety of camps and retreats- with the core of the ministry being found in the summer camp program.

Reviewed August 2021