Monday, January 16, 2017

Fundamental Beliefs Of Foursquare Churches In Las Vegas

By Catherine Snyder


Many people think of Sin City as being a place where everyone stays up all night gambling, drinking, and taking in flamboyant headliners in spectacular shows. This is only a small part of the makeup of this town however. Many permanent residents rarely visit the casinos on the strip or work in the clubs. Most have jobs outside that industry, make monthly mortgage payments, worry about their children and go to church most Sundays. A certain percentage are faithful members of the foursquare churches in Las Vegas.

This organization was established by Aimee Semple McPherson, a early twentieth century evangelist who gained a reputation for healing people and eventually built the Angelus Temple in southern California. She preached the message of Jesus as four entities: the Savior, the Baptizer, the Healer, and the King to come. Aimee believed in the importance of service to the community.

Over the years, the church has developed an identifying logo that was created in the image that an Old Testament prophet called Ezekiel saw. In a vision God appeared to him in the form of an ox, a man, an eagle, and a lion. Today the early symbols have been replaced with a cup, a cross, a crown, and a dove.

This Pentecostal denomination is an evangelical, New Testament based ministry with chapters throughout the world. They believe in the word as relayed in the Bible and that straying from its foundation leads to error. The religion recognizes other denominations and welcomes all who desire a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. They believe in water baptism and the forgiveness that comes with acceptance of Christ as the Savior.

Evangelical ministry is an important part of their daily lives, as are formal worship services, contemplation and prayer, and witnessing to others. The church believes in a traditional kind of family structure with the husband as the head. Many believe they have the gift of speaking in spiritual language.

Believers define their church as being in one of four stages, starting with the pioneer stage. This involves establishing a local group of disciples. Once the church is established locally, the leadership stage begins. Members are trained to become leaders in the congregation and in the local community. As the church grows, the next phase is outreach and the establishment of satellite houses of worship. The last stage they call movement. In this phase the membership is called to take their message to different cultures.

Its mission objectives are in keeping with the four stages. They encourage and help individuals develop leadership skills and become active participants in issues that impact their local community. Believers actively solicit individuals to visit their services and learn more about their beliefs. The ultimate goal is a transformational ministry.

This is a church that welcomes individuals to visit and worship with them at whatever stage they are in their spiritual journey. Members are happy to explain their beliefs and values to anyone who is interested.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment