What We Believe at The Gathering Church

At The Gathering Church, our faith is deeply rooted in the Holy Scriptures, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive outline of our Statement of Faith, Core Values, and Cornerstones, which shape our beliefs, worship, and mission.

Statement of Faith

HOLY BIBLE

The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible, and inerrant.
📖 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26

THE TRINITY

There is one God, eternally existing in three persons:

God the Father
God the Son (Jesus Christ)
God the Holy Spirit

These three are co-equal and co-eternal, working together in perfect unity.
📖 1 John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11

JESUS CHRIST

Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man.

Born of a virgin
Lived a sinless life
Performed miracles
Died on the cross as atonement for sin
Resurrected on the third day
Ascended to the right hand of the Father
Will return in power and glory

📖 John 1:1,14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; 1 Timothy 2:5

SALVATION

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not earned by works.
📖 Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22

THE CHURCH

The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit, with a divine appointment to fulfill the Great Commission.
📖 Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23

BAPTISM & COMMUNION

Water Baptism

Following faith in Jesus Christ, believers are commanded to be baptized in water as an act of obedience.
📖 Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38

The Lord’s Supper

A unique time of communion in the presence of God, remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
📖 Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-25

THE HOLY SPIRIT & SPIRITUAL GIFTS

The Holy Spirit empowers believers to live godly lives and manifest spiritual gifts for the edification of the Church.
📖 Acts 1:8, 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Galatians 5:22-23

HEALING & MIRACLES

We believe that healing and miracles are part of the Gospel, and God still heals today.
📖 Isaiah 53:5; James 5:14-16; Mark 16:17-18

MARRIAGE

Marriage is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman, reflecting Christ’s relationship with the Church.
📖 Ephesians 5:25-33; Genesis 2:24

HEAVEN & HELL

Heaven is the eternal home for all believers in Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20; John 17:24; Hebrews 11:16)
Hell is a place of eternal separation from God for those who reject Jesus Christ. (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8)

THE SECOND COMING

Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to establish His Kingdom.
📖 Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 1:7

Core Values

Prayer

The first and greatest calling of the Church of Jesus Christ is to PRAY. The Gathering will be marked in the Last Days as a body of believers wholly devoted to prayer and supplication and fasting. It is by these disciplines that souls are saved, minds are renewed, lives are transformed, cities and nations are won, Heaven’s treasury is accessed, and the Bride of Christ is made ready to welcome her King and His Kingdom. We individually rise before the dawn to seek the Lord in our secret place. We join corporately each day in the House of Prayer to worship the Worthy One and to intercede for the nations. As Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works – prayer is the greater work.” (Isaiah 56:7; Daniel 9:3; Matthew 6:9-13; Psalm 119:147; Mark 1:35; Philippians 4:6; James 5:16; Revelation 22:17)

Kingdom

From the first breath of Creation, the entire history of planet Earth has really been the story of the Kingdom of God…its establishment, its fall into brokenness, its restoration through Jesus Christ, and the promise of its fulfillment in all its original glory. We who have been adopted into the Father’s family through the blood of the Son are commissioned as His representatives to actively live the Kingdom lifestyle and call the Kingdom into the earth NOW. King Jesus Himself will one day bodily return to Earth and personally oversee from His throne room in Jerusalem the total renewal of the world to its designed Garden perfection. Until that appointed time, our focus is fully set upon making the Kingdom of Heaven a reality on earth in our generation to the greatest extent possible and preparing the generations to come for their Kingdom service to the Lord. (Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14-15; Romans 14:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12; Rev 12:10)

Family

The Gathering Church has always been about FAMILY…our Kingdom family, our local church family and our own flesh-&-blood families. God created man in His very image and so wired us for family and community. It is not good for any of us to be alone. We are designed in our innermost being to walk in fellowship with the Father and one another. Family lives together, worships together, serves together, gives together, heals together, celebrates together, and mourns together. We bear each other’s burdens with loving encouragement and affirmation of our identity in Christ Jesus. We honor the leaders with whom God has chosen to bless us and submit ourselves in unity to their authority. We seek to meet people right where they are, in whatever life stage they may be, regardless of their situations or level of spiritual growth and minister to them in a way that strengthens their faith and enables them to reach their God- dreamed destiny. (Genesis 2:18; Psalm 133:1; Proverbs 17:17, 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Philippians 2:1-2; Acts 2:42-47)

Power

The Gathering is an apostolic fellowship which believes the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, immutable, written Word of God. It serves as our sole authority on essential spiritual matters. The Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of scripture continues to operate in the same fullness of power, authority, and gifts described in the Word and detailed in the New Testament. We believe that every born-again follower of Jesus Christ receives all spiritual tools necessary to fulfill their Kingdom purpose and assignments. These gifts are decided upon and distributed by Holy Spirit. Miracles, signs and wonders will follow those who believe by faith and who walk in their delegated gifts. The supernatural realm of the impossible is intended by the Father to be the dwelling place of His children when they rightfully exercise the authority handed over to them by Jesus in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. We are called to make the “greater things” visible in the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. (Jeremiah 16:21; Matthew 10:1,7-8; 28:18-20; Mark 12:24; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 4:20; 2 Corinthians 10:4)

Worship

Every living creature was created by God to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Our most treasured gift is that of an intimate, personal relationship with the One who spoke the universe into existence. His beautiful Presence is at the center of everything we do at The Gathering House of Prayer. We desire to host the Presence of God with all faithfulness and intentional diligence; to provide Holy Spirit with a perpetual resting place in our midst; to thrill at manifestations of His Love, His Mercy, His Grace and His Power; to truly know Him as our Abba Father and ourselves as His redeemed sons and daughters. Passionate corporate worship with complete freedom in Jesus Christ will always be a key feature of the personality of our House. We believe that God will continue to send gifted worship leaders, singers and musicians into the House to expand upon this modern picture of David’s Tent. (Psalm 86:9-1, 138:2; 1 Chronicles 16:23-25; John 4:23-24; Hebrews 12:28-29; Revelation 4:8-11)

Generosity

“For God so loved the world He GAVE…” The ultimate model for generous giving comes from the Father who did not withhold even His own Son but freely gave Him up so that the world through Jesus could be saved. What then could this wonderful God ask of us that we are not willing to give? Giving is our highest form of worship. Through the faithful bringing our first fruits to the House of Prayer and the generous giving of our offerings, we reflect the Father’s heart. We agree with the statement that we are never more like God than when we give. Souls are saved, nations are won, hope is restored, beauty rises from ashes, joy overtakes suffering, and the Kingdom advances in the earth when God’s people give of their prayers, their time, their labor, and their money. We receive the promises in the Word that we can never out-give our Father. (John 3:16- 17; Philippians 4:19; Luke 6:38; Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:10; 1 Corinthians 16:2; James 1:17)

Mission

Our House beats with God’s missional heart. Since the birth of The Gathering Church in 1999, our Senior Pastor has made it a priority to be about the Father’s business here at home and in the nations of the world. When Holy Spirit says, “GO!’, we go. When Holy Spirit says, “SEND!”, we send. Whether it’s feeding children and families in crisis through The LORD’S Child ministry here in East Tennessee or planting churches in South Africa or supporting an orphanage in the jungles of Uganda or taking the Good News to the Muslim community in Europe and China or raising up more Houses of Prayer around the globe, The Gathering is a church fully committed to fulfill Jesus’ Co-Mission. We will continue to equip Missionaries of Mercy through discipleship in the Prayer, Prophetic, Healing, and Teaching Ministries here in the U.S. and internationally. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:14-15; Matthew 24:14; 1 Chronicles 16:24; Psalm 96:3)

Freedom

When broken human beings receive a revelation of God’s MERCY and GRACE as clearly demonstrated through the LOVE of His Son, Jesus Christ, the natural product of that awakening is transformation which leads to freedom. We are a House built upon and sustained daily by nothing more and nothing less than the Father’s Mercy and Grace. We believe that the power of Holy Spirit working within us releases us from every sort of spiritual, physical, emotional, relational and financial bondage. That same Spirit power which raised Jesus from the dead also operates through us to bring life and freedom to others who were once slaves like we were. Our visits to prisoners in jail, our words of hope to those trapped by addictions, our message of encouragement to those suffering from mental and emotional issues, even commands of healing delivered to the sick and afflicted all point to one truth spoken by Jesus: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!” (Luke 4:18-19; John 8:31-32, 36; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:13; Rom 8:1-2)

Cornerstones

Jesus is the Center

Everything we do is centered around the presence and teachings of Jesus Christ.

A House of Prayer

Prayer is the foundation of our church.

Spirit-Filled Community

We are a Spirit-led, vibrant, and welcoming community.

Authentic Relationships

We believe in genuine fellowship and growing together as a family.

Kingdom Expansion

We are committed to spreading the Gospel locally and globally.