Our Beliefs
Statement of Faith
Our Beliefs
Our DNA
Statement of Faith
The Bible
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the final authority for what we believe and how we live. Through Scripture, God reveals His character, His purposes, and His plan of salvation.
God & Trinity
We believe in one true, living and eternal God, who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of all things, and He is holy, loving, just, and faithful.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully God and fully human. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return.
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is present and active in the Church today. He brings new life, transforms believers into the likeness of Jesus, empowers us to live holy lives, and equips us with spiritual gifts for ministry and the mission of the Church.
We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and that the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit described in Scripture continue to be available to believers today.
The Return of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ will return, just as He promised. His return is the hope of the Church and calls us to live with faith, holiness, expectancy, and readiness.
At His return, Christ will bring the fullness of His Kingdom, raise the dead, judge with righteousness, and make all things new. Those who belong to Christ will be with Him forever in the new heaven and new earth, where there will be no more death, sorrow, or pain.
Our DNA
Jesus Above Everything
Am I making Jesus the centre, or am I making this about something else?
We want Jesus to be more than part of what we do. He is the reason for everything we do. We seek to know Him, become like Him, and make His name known.
Live the Word
Am I allowing God's Word to shape how I actually live?
We believe the Bible is meant to be lived, not simply learned. We are committed to teaching and studying Scripture, applying it to our everyday lives, and continually growing as disciples of Jesus.
Bring Your Best
Am I giving God my best or simply doing what is good enough?
We believe God deserves our best. We pursue excellence in everything we do, not for recognition or perfection, but because we want to honour God with what He has entrusted to us. We serve with intentionality, preparation, creativity, and care, whether we are seen or unseen.
Make Room for His Presence
Am I depending on the Holy Spirit and making room for Him to move?
We value the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We want our lives and gatherings to be places where God is welcomed, His presence is valued, His gifts are exercised according to Scripture, and people are transformed through encounters with Him.
Devoted to Prayer
Have I prayed about this as much as I've talked about it?
We believe prayer changes things and changes us. We seek God together through prayer and fasting, bringing our needs before Him, listening for His direction, interceding for others, and believing Him for what only He can do.
Worship With Passion
Am I giving God the worship He deserves?
Worship is more than music; it is the response of our whole lives to who God is and what He has done. When we gather, we worship passionately and wholeheartedly, creating space to encounter God and give Him the honour He deserves.
Make Room at the Table
Who am I intentionally making room for?
We believe the family of God has room for every generation, culture, and background. We celebrate the diversity God has brought together at Saalem Church and intentionally create spaces where people are welcomed, valued, known, and given opportunities to participate.
Choose Family
Am I building relationships or simply attending church?
Church is more than a gathering we attend. We are a family. Across generations, cultures, and backgrounds, we choose relationship, honour, forgiveness, encouragement, and carrying one another's burdens.
Serve First
Am I looking for an opportunity to serve or waiting to be served?
Jesus showed us that greatness looks like serving. We choose humility over recognition, contribution over entitlement, and look for opportunities to serve others.
Build Healthy Homes
Am I strengthening the relationships God has entrusted to me?
We believe healthy relationships matter to God. We invest in marriages, families, friendships, and relationships within the church, choosing love, forgiveness, honour, faithfulness, and reconciliation. We want our homes and relationships to reflect the character of Jesus.
Share the Hope
Who am I helping take one step closer to Jesus?
We believe every follower of Jesus is called to participate in His mission. We make Jesus known through our words and actions, serving our community, caring for people in need, sharing the gospel, supporting missions, and reaching people locally and around the world.
Honour Our Story, Reach Our Future
Am I honouring what God has done while remaining open to what He wants to do next?
We are grateful for the generations who came before us and the Finnish roots from which Saalem was established. We honour our history without living in the past, carrying forward the faith, sacrifice, and obedience of previous generations while embracing the people, cultures, generations, and opportunities God is bringing to us today.
What We Believe
-
We believe that salvation is the gift of God, made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All people have sinned and are in need of salvation, which cannot be earned through good works but is received by grace through faith in Jesus.
Through repentance of sins and faith in Christ, we are forgiven, made new, reconciled to God, and given eternal life. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, empowering us to live a new life as followers of Jesus.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
-
We believe in water baptism by immersion as a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His command.
We believe in Communion as a remembrance and proclamation of the death of Jesus Christ until He comes again.
We believe water baptism is an important step of obedience for every follower of Jesus. Baptism is a public declaration of faith in Christ and symbolizes our identification with His death, burial, and resurrection.
Through baptism, believers publicly declare that they have left their old life behind and have been raised to new life in Christ. We practice baptism by immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Romans 6:3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
-
We believe the Church is the body of Christ, made up of all who have placed their faith in Jesus and are called to worship God, grow as disciples, care for one another, and make Jesus known. Every believer has a place and purpose within the body of Christ, using the gifts God has given them to serve others and build up the church.
Together, we gather for worship, prayer, teaching, fellowship, communion, and encouragement, while being equipped to carry the hope of Jesus into our community and the world.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Ephesians 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
-
We believe the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the building up of the Church and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. These gifts are given according to His will and are to be exercised in faith, love, humility, and according to Scripture.
We believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit described in Scripture continue to be available and active today. We encourage believers to desire spiritual gifts, grow in their use, and use what God has given them to serve others and glorify Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
Romans 12:4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
-
We believe Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, was established by Jesus as a practice for His followers. Through the bread and the cup, we remember and proclaim His sacrificial death and the new covenant established through His blood.
As we share Communion together, we remember what Christ has done, examine our hearts, celebrate our unity as His body, and look forward to His return.
Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
1 Corinthians 11:23 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
-
As followers of Jesus, we are called to live a new life shaped by Scripture and empowered by the Holy Spirit. As we follow Christ, the Holy Spirit produces His fruit in us and enables us to love God, love others, pursue holiness, and live as witnesses of Jesus in the world.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Galatians 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
John 15:4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.
Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-
We believe that family is a gift from God and an important place for faith to be nurtured, love to be demonstrated, and discipleship to take place. Scripture calls parents to love, teach, encourage, and guide their children in the ways of the Lord, passing faith from one generation to the next.
As the family of God, the church is also called to support, encourage, and care for people in every season of life, creating a community where everyone can belong, grow, and follow Jesus together.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honour your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 Timothy 5:8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
-
We believe that God created humanity in His image as male and female and that marriage is a covenant established by God between one man and one woman. Scripture teaches that sexual intimacy is God's gift, designed to be expressed within the covenant of marriage.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to honour God with our bodies and pursue sexual purity and holiness in every area of life. We seek to uphold biblical convictions while treating every person with dignity, compassion, grace, and love.
Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”Matthew 19:4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies
1 Thessalonians 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honourable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God;
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
-
We believe every follower of Jesus is called to participate in His mission. Jesus sends His Church into the world to make disciples, proclaim the gospel, demonstrate His love, and be His witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are committed to making the name of Jesus known in our families, our community, and around the world, inviting people to follow Him and equipping believers to live on mission wherever God has placed them.
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
2 Corinthians 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Romans 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”