International Church of Praise is a Gospel-Commissioned, Disciple-making Church which proclaims God’s Word, equips God’s people and witnesses to the lost. We are a group of people who love and serve Jesus Christ who alone is our Savior, our Lord and our Ultimate Joy. Our ministries are intended to increase the knowledge and application of the gospel of Jesus in the lives of His people, that they may lead others to the saving knowledge of Christ all for the glory of God.
International describes the scope and extent of God’s mission in this world. Out of every nation, tribe, and tongue, God saves people from all walks of life and from different places and backgrounds. It is therefore our goal to join the Lord in advancing His Kingdom by spreading the gospel first through ourselves and then through the city of San Diego. We disciple and train our members to live, teach and present the gospel to everyone who is within our radius and elsewhere, in order that we might fulfill the Great Commission both locally and globally.
Church is who we are. The word “church” means “the called out ones.” It is God’s designation for the assembly of people called by His name. Accordingly, we are those who have been called out of darkness by the power of God into the light of His kingdom. As the church of the Lord Jesus, we recognize our solemn duty to live a kind of life that bears witness to the reality of the Kingship of Christ in our families, our community, our schools, our workplaces and our ministries. Thus, we are a church which banners the Lordship of Christ in every sphere of life.
Praise is what we have been called to declare. Worshipping and praising the Triune God is at the center of all we do. Exalting our Lord through the faithful preaching of God’s Word, through the administration of the sacraments, through worshipful music, through family discipleship, through weekly fellowships, through sacrificial giving, and through community outreach represents our highest expression of thanks and love the One Who saves us.
DISTINCTIVES
These represent the foundational beliefs and biblical convictions of the International Church of Praise:
WHAT WE TEACH
The Holy Scriptures
We teach that the Bible is the inspired Word of God; inerrant, infallible, sufficient and final authority in all matters of faith in life and in practice [2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21].
God
We teach that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit [Deut. 6:4].
We teach the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth [Matthew 1:23], His vicarious and atoning death [1 John 2:2], His bodily resurrection [Matt. 28:6], His ascension to heaven [Acts 1:9], His current intercession [Romans 8:34, 1 John 2:1] and His personal, future return in power and glory [John 14:3; Rev. 20:1-6].
We teach the deity of the Holy Spirit, and His work of convicting, regenerating, indwelling, sealing and filling men to salvation [John 16:8-11; Titus 3:5; 1 Cor. 6:19-20, 12:13; Eph. 1:3]. His indwelling enables the believer to live a godly life [Gal. 2:20].
Man
We teach that man was created by God in His image to be upright [Ecclesiastes 7:29]; both male and female [Gen. 1:26] with physical bodies and immortal souls. Man’s sin brought separation and the lost of communion with God [Rom. 3:23; 6:23]. Sin brought total corruption in man [Gen 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10-19; 8:6-8].
Salvation
We teach that salvation is wholly by grace alone through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ [Eph. 2:8-9, John 3:3,5; John 1:12-13].
The Church
We teach that the church is the body of Christ, Christ Himself being the head of the body [Col. 1:18] and believers being the parts of the body [1 Cor. 12].
Sacraments
We teach that water baptism and the Lord’s supper are the sacraments of the New Testament ordained by Christ Himself [Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:26].
The Church’s Mission
We teach that the mission of the church is to glorify God [Eph. 3:1], to promote worship [John 4:23-24], to edify and build up the saints [Ephesians 4:11-16] and to reach the lost for God [Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 13-14; 1 Cor. 14:24-25].
Last Things
We teach the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the one to eternal life and the other to eternal damnation [Rev. 20:11-15].