What We Believe
Bear Creek Friends Church is an evangelical Quaker church affiliated with Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers).
We believe:
In one holy, almighty God, the Father, and His son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit. These three are one.
Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, came to earth to be born as a man. Perfect and sinless, he was crucified as the only atonement for the sins of mankind. Conquering death, He rose on the third day and ascended to Heaven.
The Holy Spirit is sent by God as the Comforter.
The Bible was inspired by God and was written to tell the story of the Gospel message of Jesus.
Mankind is by birth and nature sinful, and only the act of being born again, accepting Jesus Christ as the personal savior, can free men from sin.
There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust, at which time God shall judge the world. Those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal savior shall be accorded an eternal place in Heaven, while those who have rejected Jesus have condemned themselves to eternal punishment.
The baptism required by Jesus is a spiritual act of settling the soul upon Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit. No physical act of baptism is required by Jesus Christ or by the scriptures.
Communion, as well, is to be a spiritual act of experiencing the real presence of the Lord through worship and fellowship. No physical act or ritual is required by Jesus Christ or by the scriptures to substitute for this spiritual communion.
If you would like to learn more, read George Fox's Letter to the Governor of Barbados, a 1671 statement of Quaker belief. You may also like to read the Richmond Declaration of Faith, an 1887 document that expresses the basic views of Quakerism.
Other Friends
Like many denominations, the Friends have suffered from divisions in their history. The most serious separation came in 1827-28, when a number of members withdrew in order to pursue more liberal practices. English Quakers and, generally, most legal authorities did not recognize the separatists, called "Hicksites," as legitimate Friends. In the ensuring years, these Friends and others associated with them have taken positions that are contrary to the historic roots of the Friends movement. Though these Friends comprise a minority of Quakers in the United States and the world, they have exercised a disproportionate influence on the public representations of Quakers. Bear Creek Friends Church, and the yearly meeting to which we belong, are clearly Christian, evangelical organizations. We encourage all who seek to know more about the beliefs of Friends to explore the historical roots of the Quaker movement, which were uncompromisingly Christian.