Statement of Faith Approval
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone. And welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, a few weeks ago, right after the Council of Elders, we had a discussion where we essentially celebrated the Council passing the Statement of Faith. But then it was put to the regions to also confirm together their approval of the Statement of Faith. Where are we at with that?
Mark Prater:
I'm excited to give you an update. In fact, when guys are listening to this podcast, they will already have heard because we're sending out an email that says that today—as of November 30—every Regional Assembly in Sovereign Grace has formally approved our Statement of Faith.
Benjamin Kreps:
Wonderful.
Mark Prater:
That was, as you know, the last step of approval. And now it is officially, formally approved. As I mentioned before, this is such a historic moment in Sovereign Grace. I think it's historic for a couple of reasons. One is the process that we went through to approve it. Essentially, it involved all elders in Sovereign Grace. Certainly, the bulk of the work was done by the Theology Committee. And a shout out to the Theology Committee, again. They put in countless study, they worked so well together under the leadership of Jeff Purswell, who just led them so well with theological precision in what they produced. And, yet, that Statement of Faith has a pastoral tone.
Benjamin Kreps:
It's wonderful.
Mark Prater:
And then it was unanimously approved by the Council of Elders. And now the Regional Assembly of Elders where every elder in Sovereign Grace essentially has an opportunity to vote has now approved it. So, it's a denomination wide effort. That's why it's historic.
It's also historic because of the content. We are a confessional family of churches. And what that means is that this is a theologically unifying document for us. Our Statement of Faith is also just a summary of the key doctrines that we believe are important to the beliefs and conduct and witness of each of our churches. That's captured there in our Statement of Faith. It protects our churches from doctrinal error and functions that way.
And then lastly, I think it strengthens us relationally. We not only relate to one another with brotherly affection as pastors and members know one another across churches. But our relationships are grounded in sound doctrine. And so, it does strengthen us relationally, as well. So, this is just a historic moment. It's one to celebrate in Sovereign Grace.
Benjamin Kreps:
Yes. Amen. I think I would add to that. All of us would agree it's stimulating to our worship when one reads our Statement of Faith. So I know that you've talked about various ways that we can dig into the Statement of Faith, get the Statement of Faith, into people in our churches hands. Can you share about what that plan looks like?
Mark Prater:
Yeah. What we've done, and this is the work really of Eric Turbedsky and of Jeff Purswell, they worked on this together and did a great job. We have a dedicated website for the Statement of Faith. It's webelieve.sovereigngrace.com. And that website is your one-stop shop for all things Statement of Faith in Sovereign Grace. So, for our pastors that are listening, there's a digital version you can download and then post that on your local church website. What you'll also find on the webelieve.com website is a video by Jeff that introduces the statement of faith and puts context to it. I would really encourage every one of you guys that are listening to watch it and even consider showing it to your church. I think it's only about two and a half minutes long, so that's possible. You can also read not only the digital version, there's an editor's edition that can be read by you or the members of your church. And then lastly, you can order hard copies through the website. Just click on the button print edition, and that will take you to Amazon where you can order hard copies if you want for your team, or if you want to give them to your church members.
Benjamin Kreps:
Wonderful. Thank you everyone who was involved with developing these ways for us to process our wonderful Statement of Faith. Any other thoughts about our Statement of Faith before we go Mark?
Mark Prater:
One other thought. You know, we are a global family of churches. We're not just a confessional family of churches. We're a global family of churches. And this Statement of Faith transcends cultures and is a Statement of Faith that unites us in God's word. Theologically, it unites us regardless of where we pastor a church in this world. And I just think that is so meaningful to us right now, as we are expanding globally as a denomination. We've got this new Statement of Faith that I think is going to strengthen not only our expansion, but our unity will be maintained as we expand.
Benjamin Kreps:
Yes. I think it's a real gift for us and our churches as we continue to navigate our way through this weary season. So thank you, Mark. Thank you, Leadership Team. Thank you, Theology Committee. God bless you guys for your work, and I thank you, everyone, for watching. We'll see you here soon. Bye for now.