The Basics

Embrace Church is a new church in Chattanooga, TN. Starting March 16th 2008, we will be meeting every Sunday morning at the Loose Cannon Arts and Events Center [link to Google map] in the Southside of Downtown Chattanooga. We start serving coffee and breakfast treats at 10:30 a.m., and we get started at 11:00 a.m. If you are new to Chattanooga or don't have a church that you call your own, then we started Embrace Church for you.

Embrace is a church where you are welcomed no matter where you are on your spiritual journey. We are a safe, enjoyable, powerful, and passionate church where God and those searching for Him can find each other. Interested? Read on...

The Story

On May 15th, 2007, Dana and Beka Jenkins gathered a group of their friends in their living room. Dana put this question before them - what if there was a new church in Chattanooga that was started by people in their 20s designed to connect or reconnect people in their 20s to a meaningful church experience? What if this new church was focused on friendships and finding God rather than programs and traditions? What if, based on the teachings of 1 Corinthians 14, there was a church in Chattanooga that considers the perspective of those who do not believe in or understand Christianity while at the same time giving God's Spirit complete freedom to touch people's lives? What kind of church would that be? That question led to the launch of Embrace Church - a church where God and those who need Him can find each other.

Still to come - Our Goals & Plans and Our Schedule

Mission

Mission means what you do. The mission of Embrace Church is found in the words of Jesus Christ:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:30-31

Vision

Our vision is to create a safe, enjoyable, passionate, and powerful church environment in Chattanooga, TN where God and those searching for Him can find each other.

Romans 15:7

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

What We Believe

*The Bible was given to us by God so that we can know who He is, know His plans for us, and how we should live our lives to honor Him. Because the Bible is inspired by God, it can be trusted and contains no error. (2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Peter 1:21)

*There is one God who exists as three, separate, eternal “persons” - the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. These are not 3 ways that God appears or operates, but three separate persons who are the one God. This Trinity doctrine is as complex as it is beautiful. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14)

*We believe that Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully divine. In other words, he was completely man and completely God. (Matthew 1:23, Hebrews 7:26, Acts 10:38, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:4, Philippians 2:9-11)

*God created man to do good and be good, but man chose to disobey God and fell into sin. This sin nature that took control of humanity resulted in spiritual and physical death. (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:6, Romans 5:12-19)

*Through Christ’s death and resurrection from the dead, humanity can be restored, forgiven, and once again enjoy knowing God. This is called salvation. Salvation comes through belief in Christ and repenting (i.e asking God to forgive) our sins. It does not come through good works but through grace; no one is good enough to stand before God. (John 3:3, Romans 10:8-15, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:10-11)

*We practice two “ordinances” in the church - baptizing new believers in water by immersion (also called “dunking”) and the Lord’s Supper (also called Communion) (Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:4, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

*After salvation, a believer can experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. While water baptism is a physical ceremony, the Holy Spirit’s baptism is a spiritual experience. It is not required by God to have this experience to be saved or to be a loving, effective Christian, but it will result in more individual power to serve God (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4, Acts 1:8, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 11:14-16)

*All of the gifts of the Spirit that operated in the New Testament still operate today and will be avaliable until Jesus returns, including the gift of speaking in tongues. All of the gifts of the Spirit should be allowed to operate in the church and in the lives of individual believers within the guidelines set by the Bible. (Acts 2:4, 1 Corinthians 12:4-10, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Corinthians 1:7)

*When a person is saved and restored, a process called sanctification begins. This is where through God’s help, a believer becomes more like Christ. Because we will never be perfect, this process is gradual and takes place each day we serve God. (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:12-13)

*The Church is made up of all believers in Christ throughout the world and throughout history regardless of the specific denomination or movement local congregations choose to identify with. The Church’s mission is to lead people back to God through Christ. (Ephesians 1:22-23, Hebrews 12:23, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

*While every believer has a ministry and service to do for God, there are those that God has called to devote their entire lives and vocations to the service of the Church. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

*Because of what Christ did on the cross, we can experience healing of physical sickness and sufferring. Simply put, we believe in miracles. Not every miracle that is prayed for is received and not all who are sick receive healing. In these situations, we choose to trust God’s wisdom. (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17, James 5:14-16)

*Before Jesus Christ appears on the earth a second time, He will gather to himself all of His people. First, he will gather those who have died and transform them in what is called the resurrection of the dead. Secondly, he will gather those still living in what is called the rapture of the living church. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Titus 2:13, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

*When Jesus does return to the earth with all of His people, He will establish his kingdom on earth and reign for 1,000 years. During this time, the nation of Israel will recognize Jesus as the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. (Revelation 20:1-6, Romans 11:26-27, Ezekiel 37:21-22)

*We believe that after this 1,000 years is over, all of those who rejected Christ and refused his forgiveness will be separated from God forever in a place called hell. Hell was created for the devil and his angels. It was not created for humanity, but if we refuse God, then hell is our destiny. This may not seem fair or loving, but we must always remember that God doesn’t want anyone to be lost. In His grace, He gave us a simple way to be forgiven. (Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20:11-15, 2 Peter 3:9)

*Christ will create a new earth and new heavens, and all those who trusted Him will live there in perfect peace and joy forever. In this new world, there is no sin, no sickness, no sadness, or death. It is nothing but joy in God’s presence for all of eternity. (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1)

These beliefs are in agreement with the statement of faith of our cooperative fellowship of churches around the world, the Assemblies of God. If you have any questions about what we believe or need more information, e-mail us at EmbraceChurch@gmail.com

Values…7 “things” that Embrace is all about…

Community - because life is better together and no one can do life on their own

Worship - because God deserves our hearts and lives

Excellence - because God deserves the best

Teaching - because God’s truth sets our hearts free

Generosity - because God often helps people through people

Humility - because it’s not about one person, one leader, or one idea…it’s all God

Diversity - because God made each of us to be different and unique