Statement of Beliefs

Downline is an interdenominational, evangelical Christian ministry. Since our goal is to see discipleship restored in the Church at large, we hold tightly to core elements of evangelical Christian faith, while allowing freedom in more nonessential areas of theology that might differ across denominational lines.

Teachers at the Downline Institute must completely align with the doctrinal statement below, but will have freedom to teach a book of the Bible from their own theological perspective.

Students in the Downline Institute must also sign off on (i.e., not disagree with) the doctrinal statement below, and should be cognizant of the fact that throughout the course of the year they might hear teaching from evangelical perspectives that could differ from their own theological position. We expect students and teachers to be respectful and maintain a healthy dialogue as we do theology in community.

Downline’s Statement of Faith, adapted from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE):

• We believe the Bible—the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments—to be the inspired and authoritative Word of God. We believe that it is inerrant in the original writings and that it is the complete, sufficient, and final authority for faith and practice.

• We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.


• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

• We believe that all humanity is sinful and in a lost condition apart from saving faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross and that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.