History,

Evangelicalism traces its origins to the great religious revival of the 1730s,
which came as a response to the critical ideas of the Enlightenment
and is known as the Great Awakening in America, and as the evangelical revival over here.
At the centre of this were the preaching ministries of
Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley.

What did they preach?
They preached the Evangelical Gospel (see The Mutating Gospel),
to people who had grown up thinking they were Christian
but didn’t necessarily affirm the Evangelical views;
didn't attend church often
or engage much on a personal level.
They preached the importance of every individual experiencing for themselves
a personal conversion to Jesus Christ through a deep and genuine repentance.

This repentance was understood as a response to understanding
the meaning (according to their belief) of Christ’s atoning work on the cross,
Such a message found a ready audience in both colonial America and post-Restoration England,
and many thousands came to discover for themselves a lively new faith.

Evangelical historian David Bebbington has set out four marks that have over the past three centuries
distinguished evangelicalism from other Christian traditions ( the High Church or Broad Church):
* Its "conversionism" or commitment to converting people to Christ;
* Its activism, especially in evangelism but also in social engagement;
* Its crucicentrism, or focus on the cross
and the atoning work of Christ as the central doctrine of Christianity;
* Its Biblicism or commitment to the authority of the Bible
and its central role in Christian preaching and piety.

So we find William Marsh in 1850 defining an 'evangelical believer' as
"a man who believes in the fall and its consequences, in the recovery and its fruits,
in the personal application of the recovery by the power of the Spirit of God,
and then the Christian will aim, desire, endeavour, by example, by exertion,
by influence, and by prayer to promote the great salvation
of which he himself is a happy partaker."

Referring to the Bible, John Wesley in the 18th century said:
"Let me be a man of one book."
Famed evangelical Bishop of Liverpool J C Ryle declared in the late 19th century
that the first leading principle of evangelical religion is
"the absolute supremacy it assigns to Holy Scripture."

Ryle’s stress here on the supremacy of scripture was in part
a response to the emergence of theological liberalism during the 19th century,
and especially from the 1860s as biblical criticism went mainstream in the English-speaking churches.
Evangelicals resisted the liberal and critical movement on the whole,
insisting instead on the divine inspiration and supreme authority of Holy Scripture,
a characteristic that survives to this day.

Conversion, likewise, has consistently sat at the core of what it means to be evangelical.
Originally, in the 18th century all evangelical preachers were expected to have undergone
a conversion experience themselves so that they could speak with authority about what they knew.

This can all be seen as a response to the threat of the Enlightenment,
the growth of fault-finding within the scriptures,
under the microscope of academia,
and the threat that such ideas posed
to the hierarchy of the traditional church
and those whose livelihood and authority depended upon it.
We could see "Evangelicalism" as a response of modern Pharisees
to the freedom in faith which mirrors the message of Jesus.

Today such concepts seem naive in academic circles, but remain crucial to the faith of many
and to the authority of those in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

WE BELIEVE IN... 1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world. 3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God-fully trustworthy for faith and conduct. 4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement. 5. The incarnation of God's eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ - born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin. 6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God. 7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world. 8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ. 9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness. 10.The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers - given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit's gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love. 11.The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe in: The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy; and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. One God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit Our Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, His virgin birth, His sinless human life, His divine miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, His mediatorial work, and his personal return in power and glory. The Salvation of lost and sinful man through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith apart from works, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the believer is enabled to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Unity of the Spirit of all true believers, the Church, the Body of Christ. The Resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

All FIEC churches unite around the truths of historic, biblical Christianity found in our Doctrinal Basis. 1. God There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory. 2. The Bible God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice. 3. The Human Race All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him. 4. The Lord Jesus Christ The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father. 5. Salvation Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life. 6. The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission. 7. The Church The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel. 8. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith. 9. The Future The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.

Statement of Fundamental Truths We believe the Scriptures are inspired by God. We believe there is One True God revealed in three persons. We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe man willingly fell into sin -- ushering in evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world. We believe every person can be restored to fellowship with God through accepting Christ's offer of forgiveness and salvation. We believe in Water Baptism by immersion after salvation and Holy Communion as a symbolic remembrance of Christ's suffering and death for our salvation. We believe the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a special experience following salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service. We believe the initial evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues as experienced on the Day of Pentecost. We believe sanctification initially occurs at Salvation but is also a progressive lifelong process. We believe the church has a mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe a divinely called and biblically ordained leadership ministry serves the church. We believe divine healing of the sick is a privilege for Christians today and is provided for in Christ's atonement. We believe in the Blessed Hope -- when Jesus raptures his church prior to his return to Earth. We believe in the millennial reign of Christ when Jesus returns with his saints at his second coming and begins his rule over earth for 1,000 years. We believe in a final judgment for those who have rejected Christ. We believe in a new heavens and a new earth that Christ is preparing for all people who have accepted Him. Sources: Assemblies of God (USA) Official Web Site and Adherents.com.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association base their ministry on the following Statement of Faith (from the BGEA UK website as at March 2022) We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God1.. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. We believe that all men everywhere are lost and face the judgment of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ results in apiritual regeneration. We believe that God will reward the righteous with eternal life in heaven, and that He will banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a godly life. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto the resurrection of eternal life and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation and eternal punishment. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the church. We believe that the ministry of evangelism is a responsibility of all followers of Jesus Christ. We believe God's plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God created man and woman as unique biological persons made to complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female We believe that we must dedicate ourselves to prayer, to the service of our Lord, to His authority over our lives, and to the ministry of evangelism We believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; and that we must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellowmen.