What we believe

Butler Springs Christian Camp holds to the truth that God sees a clear correlation between what we believe and how we behave. To put it more directly, our behavior must be an expression of our beliefs, both on-site and off. As a Christian Camp we take seriously the Bible and its implications for personal conduct. While there is no one model of Christian behavior Butler Springs Christian Camp insists upon from its Partner churches, employees, directors, and volunteers, we do insist those associated with Butler Springs Christian Camp affirm our Statement of Faith and Practice. Examples of specific areas of application for individuals would be, but not limited to: participation in the life of a local church; respect for the historic position of Butler Springs Christian Camp on marriage, gender and sexuality(See our Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality); respect for issues like the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs; respect for individuals; a personal commitment to spiritual growth; and a willingness to be positive representatives of Butler Springs Christian Camp, both on-site and off-site.

 

We believe God is one being in three persons--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the source of all creation (Gen. 1:1, John 1:1-2), which He sustains (Col. 1:17) and is in the process of redeeming (Rom. 8:19-22). God the Father loves us and desires that we have fellowship with Him as His children (I John 1:3).

 

We believe Jesus is the incarnation of God the Son. He is the Word that became flesh (John 1:14), and He now holds all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). He is Savior and Lord. He made human salvation possible through His life, death on the cross, and resurrection. He ascended into heaven where He is now our high priest and advocate. He is head of the church.

 

We believe the Holy Spirit works actively in the world, seeking to glorify Jesus. The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come (John 16:5-11). The Holy Spirit indwells believers individually and completely in the Church. The Holy Spirit develops within the Christian a pure heart which results in Christ-like character expressed in private and public conduct and action.

 

We believe the Bible, the Old and New Testament Scriptures, is the uniquely inspired,

infallible, and inerrant Word of God (2 Tim. 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21). The Bible is the rule of faith and practice for Christians. We affirm that Scripture is the authoritative revelation from God by which we know God's will and Christ's authority. We seek to assert what the Scriptures clearly assert and allow freedom in other cases. We seek to understand divine intent, through authorial intent, and we seek to apply its teaching to the contemporary church and culture.

 

We believe the Church is the body of Christ on earth, the community of believers throughout the world. Upon faith, repentance, confession, and baptism a person is added to the Church. In addition, the priesthood of all believers means each Christian is called to be a serving minister (1 Peter 2:9-10). The Church's mission is the great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

 

We believe Human beings were created by God to walk in fellowship with Him. However, all (except Jesus) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and must rely on God's grace and forgiveness. Every human from the moment of life (conception) is in the image of God, a person to be nurtured, protected, and developed.

 

We believe Marriage was established by God and we believe it to be a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and that all sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 2:24-25; Ex. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matt. 19:4-6, 9; Rom. 1:18-31; I Cor. 6:9-10,15-20; I Tim. 1:8-11; Jude 7).

 

We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 1:27; Deut. 22:5).” (See our Policy Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality)

 

We believe Salvation is by God alone through Jesus Christ. One accepts Christ as Savior through a conversion process that includes faith, repentance, confession, and baptism (Acts 2:38, 8:12, 10; 47-48, Rom. 10:9).

 

We believe The Lord's Supper is the celebration of the New Covenant, in which the Christian community remembers Christ and celebrates the covenantal relationship they have with Him and with each other. Congregations in this fellowship typically celebrate the Lord's Supper at least weekly (1 Cor. 11:17-34, Acts 20:7).

 

We believe the Final Coming of Jesus is a time when Christ will personally come again as savior and judge of the world. At that time, there will be a bodily resurrection of the dead-believers to eternal life with God and unbelievers to eternal judgment. Sin will be no more, and believers will live in fellowship with God forever (1 Thess. 4:13-18, Rev. 20:11-15).

 

Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality

 

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

 

We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Genesis 2:18-25) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to one another. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

 

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, or any attempt to change one’s sex or disagree with one’s biological sex) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) We also believe that the power of the Holy Spirit can help the person overcome any of the above-mentioned sins and that other sins not listed are also offensive to God.

 

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Butler Springs Christian Camp, and to provide a biblical role model to those that participate in the ministry of Butler Springs Christian Camp; it is imperative that all persons employed by Butler Springs Christian Camp in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22)

 

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

 

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Hateful, harassing, demeaning behavior or any attitude that does not reflect the love and grace of God that is directed toward any individual is not in accord with Scripture nor the Faith and Practice of Butler Springs Christian Camp.