EFCA Beliefs

EFCA Beliefs

EFCA Beliefs and Policy

EFCA and the members believe and follow the following:

  • Both parents must confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Savior.
  • Both parents must be actively and regularly attending a Bible-believing church. Spiritual accountability is established with Evangel Family Christian Academy by parents submitting a Family Church Reference Form completed by the pastor of the church with their application to EFCA.
  • Both parents must agree in their desire to home educate their child(ren). If any of the children to be home schooled are the progeny of divorced parents, a letter of consent to the child(ren) being taught at home from the parent not in custody or the one having joint custody must accompany this application. If this is impossible to obtain, please attach a full explanation of the legal status of the divorce and the custody of the child(ren) with legal documents to support this.
  • Evangel Family Christian Academy requires that at least one parent must not be employed outside the home while that family is enrolled under this local church school.
  • Any student who is seventeen years of age by September 1st of the school year for which he is applying will be admitted to Evangel Family Christian Academy only if credentials verifying that that student was being home schooled for at least one year prior to application to EFCA.
  • A young lady who becomes pregnant or is a mother, or a young man who becomes or is a father will not be allowed to participate in any group classes (such as supplemental classes, activities (such as sports), or graduation exercise at EFCA. Also, any student who marries will not be allowed to remain enrolled with EFCA.

Accountability

As parents it is our God given duty to raise up and educate our children. EFCA believes in home schooling and uses the following guidelines to help hold each member accountable:

  • Parents that are accepted by Evangel Family Christian Academy are engaged as teachers for the purpose of teaching their child(ren) at home and as such are employees without compensation. Teachers of EFCA will maintain the highest of Christian standards. They will endeavor to act in a manner always becoming a Christian person by conducting their daily activities with integrity and personal responsibility.
  • The academic school year will be a minimum of September through May with a total of 170 days of instruction required.
  • As required by Alabama Code 16-28-3, the local church school must notify the local school superintendent of any termination of enrollment. Parents are held accountable to the EFCA Director for immediate notification of any student who does not continue in his home schooling.
  • It is strongly recommended that both parents read certain books on home education to deepen their understanding of its implementation. Following is a list of some suggested reading:
    • DR. RAYMOND MOORE
      • Home Built Discipline
      • Home Style Teaching
      • Better Late Than Early
    • MARY PRIDE
      • School Proof
      • The Big Book of Home Learning
      • Practical Home Schooling Magazine
    • GREG HARRIS
      • The Christian Home School
    • CHRISTOPHER KLICKA
      • The Right Choice: Home Schooling
    • MICHAEL FARRIS
      • The Home School Father
    • CATHY DUFFY
      • Christian Home Educator’s Curriculum Manual
    • TEDD TRIPP
      • Shepherding a Child’s Heart
    • SUSAN SHAEFFER McCAULEY
      • For the Children’s Sake

Parents’ failure to meet the requirements outlined herein may result in their child(ren)’s release from enrollment.

TENETS OF FAITH

ARTICLE IV.  TENETS OF FAITH

This assembly accepts the Holy Scriptures as the revealed will of God, the all­ sufficient rule of faith and practice, and for the purpose of maintaining general unity, adopts the Statement of Fundamental Truths of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, to wit:

Section 1.   Statement of Fundamental Truths

  1. THE SCRIPTURES INSPIRED
    The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (II Timothy 3:15-17; I Thessalonians  2:13; II Peter 1:21).
  2. THE ONE TRUE GOD
    The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent, “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Matthew28:19; Luke 3:22).
  3. THE DEITY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
    The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare:

    1. His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31, 35).
    2. His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; I Peter 2:22).
    3. His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38).
    4. His substitutionary work on the cross (I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians 5:21).
    5. His bodily  resurrection   from  the  death   (Matthew  28:6;  Luke  24:39;  I Corinthians 15:4).
    6. His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9, 11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9- 11; Hebrews 1-3).
  4. THE FALL OF MAN
    Man was created good and upright; for God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Genesis 1:26,27; 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12-19).
  5. THE SALVATION OF MAN
    Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

    1. Conditions to Salvation
      Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.  By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24-47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7).
    2. The Evidences of Salvation
      The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).
  6. THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST
    All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,8; I Corinthians 12:1-31).  This experience is distinctive from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9).  With the baptism  in the Holy Ghost  come  such experiences  as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:43; Hebrews  12:28),  an  intensified  consecration  to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:24), and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for  the  lost (Mark 16:20).
  7. THE EVIDENCE OF BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST
    The baptism of believers in  the Holy  Ghost is witnessed  by the initial physical  sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance  (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (I Corinthians 12:4-10, 28), but different in purpose and use.
  8. SANCTIFICATION
    Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1,2; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). By the power of the Holy Ghost are we able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (I Peter 1:15,16).
    Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing  his  identification  with  Christ in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit  (Romans  6:1-11,13;  8:1,2,13; Galatians  2:20; Philippians  2:12,13; I Peter 1:5).
  9. THE CHURCH
    The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the First-born, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22,23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23).
  10. THE MINISTRY
    A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for a two-fold purpose:

    • The evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20)
    • The edifying of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).
  11. DIVINE HEALING
    Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:.14-16).
  12. THE BLESSED HOPE
    The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the Church (I Thessalonians 4:16,17; Romans 8:23; Titus  2:13;  I  Corinthians 15:51,52).
  13. THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST
    The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on the earth for one thousand years (Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27,30; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-14; 20:1-6).   The millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel (Ezekiel 37:21,22; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Romans 11:26;27) and the establishment of universal peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalm 72:3-8; Micah 4:3,4).
  14. THE FINAL JUDGMENT
    There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20;  20:11-15;  21:8).
  15. THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH
    “We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:22).

Section 2: Morality, Marriage, Family and Human Relationships

  1. We relate to each other as brothers and sisters committed to this family of God and we build strong biblical families in Jesus Christ, meeting the special needs of children, youth, adults, seniors, and godly families of every kind in Christ. Therefore, we value the monogamous marriage of one man to one woman, as defined in Scripture, as the only kind of marriage-like relationship God values or accepts. (Acts 16:31, Mt 19:13-14, Eph 5:22-6:4)
  2. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the only acceptable channel of sexual expression according to the Bible, and the means for procreation of the human race.
  3. In the spirit of Christ, we oppose all attempts to define morality, marriage, family, human identity, and human relationships in ways other than those the Bible portrays as acceptable to God. We oppose all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, incest, homosexuality, so-called same-sex marriage, transgendered relationships, and pornography.
  4. In the spirit of Christ, we oppose all forms of human trafficking racism, exploitation, slavery, violence, greed, selfishness, oppression, and any other attitude, activity, or relationship that degrades humans, and denies them the dignity which they were created in the image of God to enjoy. We speak and work to provide for and protect the poor, the powerless, the child, the orphaned, the abused, the aged, the sick, and the unborn. We contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
    Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9, 13-14; Mark 10:6-12; Acts 16:31; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-6:4; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8, 14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.
  5. All of this is for us a central part of our religious faith and practice.