Loving God, Loving People, Making Jesus Known. 

Matthew 22:37-40; 28:19-20

1. WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE TO BE GOD'S WORD, whose very words in the original writings were inspired by God, without error of any kind, and the final authority in declaring what is right and true. The sixty-six books of our Bible are the complete written revelation of God to man, so that man may be adequately equipped for every good work. (2Tim 3:16-17; Mt 5:18; 2Pet 1:20-21)
    
2. WE BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, holy and infinitely perfect, who co-eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) in loving unity. God is the creator of all that exists outside of Himself, having limitless knowledge and sovereign power. (Deut 6:4, 1Tim 2:5, 1Cor 8:6; Jn 17:11; Mt 28:19-20; 2Cor 13:14; Col 1:16; Jn 1:1, 14, Jn 10:30)
    
3. WE BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of Mary, a virgin. He is the eternal Son of God in the flesh, in all ways fully God, and fully human as well (Mt 1:18-23; Jn 1:1, Phil 2:6-8; Heb 1:3; 1Jn 5:20). He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of sinners (1Cor 5:21). He was buried, but God raised Him from the dead (1Cor 15:4). He ascended in bodily form to the Father in heaven and will return again to the earth to rule His kingdom (Jn 14:2-3).
    
4. WE BELIEVE THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF HUMANS. Man was originally created in the image of God, and he fell through sin, and, as a consequence of his sin, lost relationship with God. We believe that this spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race of man, the Man Christ Jesus alone being excepted. (Gen 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Pss 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer17:9; Jn3:6; 5:40; 6:35; Rom. 3:10–19; 8:6–7; Eph. 2:1–3; 1 Tim. 5:6; 1 Jn 3:8).
    
5. WE BELIEVE IN SALVATION by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9). Having been brought into union with Christ through faith, every sin has been forgiven and Christ's perfect righteousness has been credited to the Christian's account (1Jn 1:9). The believer is adopted into God's own family and becomes a child of God (Rom 8:15; Eph 1:5). Every Christian now lives under the watchful and nurturing care of their heavenly Father and is a co-heir with Christ of an imperishable inheritance (Heb 12:6; Eph 1:11; Col 1:12; 1Pet 1:4).
    
6. WE BELIEVE A LIVING, SAVING FAITH will manifest itself in a positive change of heart and life (Lk 9:23; Jas 1:17). The means of the growth includes both the working out of our faith and God's work in us (Phil 2:12-13). God transforms us through the word of God (Mk 4:20; 1 Tim 4:16; 2 Tim 3:17) and the Spirit's transforming power (Rom 8:9-11; 1 Cor 3:15; 2 Cor 3:18; 2 Tim 1:14).
    
7. WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, who indwells each believer and affects a positive change of heart, mind and life. Every Christian has been baptized with the Holy Spirit upon conversion (1 Cor 12:13). While there is only one baptism with the Spirit, there may be many fillings of the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18). The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to each believer according to His will for the common good (1 Cor 12:7), sanctifies them for obedience to Christ, and glorifies the Father through them (Jn 16:7-11; Gal 5:22-23; 1 Pet 1:2).
    
8. WE BELIEVE THE CHURCH is the assembly of Christians, who honor and obey their heavenly Father, by following the example of Christ, (Acts 2:42-47; Eph 5:22-25; Mt 16:18; 1Cor 12:12-27; Eph 1:22-23). The mission of the church is to carry out the Great Commission (Mt 28:19-20).
    
9. WE BELIEVE WATER BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER are the two ordinances to be observed in church life. Water baptism is an external sign of an accomplished internal reality (Rom 6:3-4). The reality is the Christian's baptism into a saving union with Christ. Water baptism is an expression as well as a celebration of this union with Christ and His body, which is the Church (1Cor 12:12-13; Col 2:12). All believers are called to be baptized (Mt 28:19-20; Acts 2:38). The Lord's Supper is the Christ-ordained means by which we remember His death for our salvation. As well as a continuing reminder, it is also a continuing celebration of our communion (fellowship) with Christ and with other believers in the unity of His body (Lk 22:19-20; 1Cor 11:26).
    
10. WE BELIEVE THAT ALL BELIEVERS who have trusted in Jesus Christ will pass immediately into His presence at death; they will be resurrected with a new body to an eternal life of perfect love, joy, and peace in the Kingdom of God when Jesus Christ returns to earth. (2 Cor 5:8; 1 Th 4:13-17; Rev 21:1-22:6).
     
11. WE BELIEVE IN THE JUDGMENT OF GOD. Every person without Christ stands guilty as a sinner (Rom 3:23). All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in this present life shall be raised from the dead, come before the judgment seat of God, and throughout eternity exist in the state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment of anguish (Rev 20:11-15). The only hope is to turn in his faith to Jesus Christ alone for salvation (Acts 17:30).
     
12. WE BELIEVE GOD'S HISTORICAL PURPOSE IS TO RULE AND ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM on earth. In the current age, all believers experience some spiritual blessings of the kingdom such as the power, entrance into and the submission to Christ as King. However, the complete fulfillment will occur when Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth and believers receive a resurrected body, enjoying eternal life of perfect love, joy, peace. At that time every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. (Gen 1:28; Mt 6:10, 19:28-30; Phil 2:10; Rev 21).

(Statement of Faith - Revised 2013-12-05)

One of the necessary elements of the ministry plan is a value statement. It answers "why we do what we do." In the case of our church, FCBC, Fountain Valley, the values are grounded in the Scriptures. We have preached on this from Acts 2:42-47.  

Simply stated, we are committed to the following core values:

1. Our Commission:  We are committed to honoring and pleasing our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ by obeying His commandments and carrying out The Great Commission.  (1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:10; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet. 4:11; Matt. 22:37-40)
   • The first commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind.  (Matt. 22:37-38; Mark 12:28-30)
   • The second commandment is that we love one another.  (Matt. 22:39; Mark 12:31,33; 1 John 3:23b)
   • The Great Commission is " Go therefore ... make disciples ... baptizing ... teaching to observe all ... I commanded."  (Matt. 28:19-20)
      
2. Worship:  We are committed to the praising and worshipping of God together (church, families ...) and as individual believers.  (Exodus 3:12; Acts 2:47; Rom. 12:1-2; Heb. 13:15-16)
    
3. Preaching and Teaching:  We are committed to the preaching, teaching, and the applying of God's Word for the transforming of individual lives, families, church, and the community, i.e., what the Bible teaches takes precedence over human opinion and church tradition.  (Acts 2:42; Matt. 28:19-20; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; James 1:22)
    
4. Prayer:  We are committed to pray -- as individuals, as a family, and as a corporate body. (Acts 2:42; 1 Thes. 5:16; Matt. 7:7, 18:19; James 5:13-16)
    
5. Fellowship:  We are committed to the sharing (partnership) of, caring for, and building up of one another in Christ as a community and in small groups.  (Acts 2:42,44; John 13:34-35; Rom. 15:2; 1 Cor. 12:25-27; Eph. 4:15-16)
    
6. Ministry:  We are committed to encouraging and training every Christian to utilize their spiritual gifts and to be engaged in good works.  (Eph. 4:11-13)
    
7. Evangelism:  We are committed to the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ, first to the Asian community in Orange County, then our nation, finally to the world and making them committed disciples of Christ.  (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:47; Matt. 28:19-20)
    
8. Multi-cultural:  We are committed first to a bilingual ministry of English and Chinese speaking, then to other ethnic groups.  (Acts 2:6; Acts 1:8)
    
9. Excellence:  We are committed to a Biblical standard of excellence and effectiveness in our ministries  (Rom. 12:6-8; Col. 3:23; 1 Thes. 4:1; 1 Cor. 10:31)

ARTICLE I NAME

The name of this corporation is “First Chinese Baptist Church, Fountain Valley”. It is located at 16835 Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, California 92708.

ARTICLE II OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE

The objective of this corporation is the worship of the Almighty God, the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the edification of believers, the promotion of Christian fellowship, and the advancement of the cause of Christ to all the world.

The purpose of this corporation, hereafter referred to as this Church, shall be to develop an autonomous local church in accordance with the New Testament.

Download the full Constitution and Corporate Bylaws (last amended on July 17, 2022)