Core beliefs of Good Shepherd Church

Good Shepherd encourages people of all beliefs and persuasions to investigate what the Bible teaches. We believe that God is actively seeking to reveal Himself. Our church's core leadership team takes comfort in God's revelation work -- in the person of Jesus and in the Word of God. As an Evangelical and Biblical church, we "have believed and have come to know" that Jesus is the Holy One of God (John 6:69) and that the Holy Scriptures are true (Hebrews 4:12).

We invite you to join us in the journey of discovering that truth.

As a congregation, Good Shepherd adheres to the Bible as God's holy, inspired, and inerrant Word, and we encourage believers to read the Bible daily and follow the Lord Jesus. We believe that salvation comes "by grace through faith" in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:2), and that the Holy Spirit indwells all believers and gives spiritual gifts to make them effective parts of the body of Christ (Romans 12:3-10).

As a congregation we believe that true disciples of Jesus are created when God reaches down to sinners and causes them to become born again (I Peter 1:3). This saving faith occurs when God brings grace to the sinner, when he or she yields to the work of the Holy Spirit, and then confesses that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Christ from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). The Free Lutheran family, based in Minneapolis, holds to the primary Evangelical core beliefs, the call to wholesome Christian living, and the 12 "Fundamental Principles," a congregational approach to establishing "free and living" churches from a classical Lutheran perspective. 

We hold to the three ancient symbols, the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, the unaltered Augsburg Confession, and Martin Luther's Small Catechism. As evangelical and pietistic Lutherans, we practice both adult and infant baptism, believe in the "true presence" of Jesus Christ in communion, and hold to a believer's security in Christ. Like Luther, we believe that the Holy Spirit seals a new believer and makes his salvation safe, but we also acknowledge that that a believer can choose to walk away from Christ. As Hebrews 3:12 says, "Beware, brothers, lest there be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, that you should fall away from the living God." 

We teach that the "primary means of grace" is the Word of God, and we pursue the conversion of sinners for salvation by the power of the Word of God and the preaching and teaching of it. 

We confess that free congregations are "the right form" of God's kingdom on earth and that those congregations "consist of believers who by the means of grace and the spiritual gifts as directed by the Word of God," seek salvation for others, share the gospel, and build each other up. We teach that members of organized churches are not, in every instance, believers, and therefore it is the obligation of the believers in a church to purify itself "by the quickening preaching of the Word of God, by earnest admonition," and by practicing church discipline.

Summary of our Statement of Faith

For a complete examination of Good Shepherd's Statement of Faith, please write to Good Shepherd at P.O. Box 3242, Camarillo, CA, 93011, or email our church office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We will send you a copy of our constitution, by-laws, and statement of faith. For a look at the core beliefs of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, click on www.aflc.org. 

The following may serve as a fair summary of our core beliefs.

The Bible. The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are entirely reliable and truthful, and stands as the central authority of our lives, faith and direction of the church (2 Tim. 3:15-16; Matt. 5:18)

The Trinity. Three persons eternally share the Divine Nature. The Bible refers to these persons as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is both self-existant and personal (John 14:10, 26; John 15:26).

Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is fully Divine and fully human. He lived a human life, died for the sins of humankind, was resurrected bodily on the third day, ascended into heaven and is coming again as King and Judge. (I Cor. 15:1-8, John 14:6, Acts 4:12).

Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. He indwells at the moment we surrender to His grace and place our faith in Christ. He empowers us to live an effective Christian life by affirming our salvation, encouraging us and giving us the strength we need to grow. (I Corinthians 2:10-16, John 16:13-14, Ephesians 1:19-20).

Humanity. Human beings are created in the image of God. As such, we are unique among all of God's creation. But since the fall of humanity, as described in Genesis 3, we are born sinners. We cannot save ourselves. Born with "inherited" or "original sin," we live with a tendency to disobey the Lord and turn from his Word. Though we are hostile to Him, God continues to pursue us. Believers receive a new nature when we become believers and that salvation becomes the foundation of a process of transformation (Genesis 3, Psalm 51:5, John 3:16, 2 Cor. 5:17). 

Salvation. Salvation is reconciliation wth God through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. God offers us salvaton by his grace and we receive it as a gift tthrough personal faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8,9; Rom. 8:38-39).

The Church. The church is composed of all those throughout history who place saving faith in Jesus Christ and trust in Him alone for our savation. The church is not an institution or an organization, but a people. Created to be a living organism, His church is called into existence and sustained by Jesus Christ. The AFLC Fundamental principles differentiates between "the congregation" and the church's membership roll. Some who join the "church" are not saved and those who are a part of "the congregation" -- those in the organized church who are experiencing living faith in Christ. As a family who believes in free and living congregations, we promote free church polity and acknowledge no synodical authority above the congregations, nor the authority of a bishop or a denomination. God's congregations grow freely and spontaneously by the work of the Holy Spirit, and we join together voluntarily and freely to teach, train, send missionaries and evangelize. 

Spiritual Gifts. Our Free Lutheran family emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit to call, gather, enlighten and use believers, and encourages all believers to use their gifts in local congregations. Though not considered to be a charismatic body, the AFLC has been careful to acknowledge the reality of manifestational gifts such as tongues, healing and prophecy, but the AFLC cautions against the fraudulent and disorderly abuses that occur in human-centered emotionalism or when careless Biblical theology of the gifts prevails. (John 14:16, I Cornithians 12 and 14).

Satan. Satan is the personal, spiritual adversary of God and God's followers. Satan actively opposes the work of the church and the spiritual vitality of Christians. Fallen angels, or demons, work along with the devil, and are subject to the authority of Jesus Christ. Satan is doomed to final defeat and judgment when Christ returns. (John 13:34-35, I Corinthians 12:12-26, Matt. 28:19).

Second Coming. The history of the earth will end with the personal and bodily return of Jesus Christ. At that time, He will complete God's plan to reestablish his righteous rule over all humanity. As a family of Free Lutherans, we emphasize Christ's return and coming judgment, but leave teachers and followers to come to their own conclusions regarding the rapture, the millennium, and the timing of the event. Our clergy list includes teachers of both premillennial and amillennial perspectives, and includes those who teach both the pre-tribulation rapture and post-tribulation rapture (Matt. 24:29-31; Revelation 20).

Law and Gospel. The Bible contains two primary teachings, the Law and the Gospel. As Luther taught, we believe that the law serves to convict sinners and to guide believers into the will of God. The law show us "what we must do" -- or perish. Luther taught that the law's purpose is to bring sinners to despair and to convince us of our need of salvation in Christ. Luther taught three uses of the law: a curb that restrain swickedness is society, a mirror that brings a convicting reflection for the sinner, and a guide or standard to reveal God's will for believers. On the other hand, the Gospel alone saves, give slife and helps us grow. As Paul teaches in I Corinthians 15:1-8, the gospel shows us that Christ died, according to the Scriptures, was buried, was raised and today lives, according to the Scriptures. The Gospel shows us "what God has done for us in Christ" for our salvation and growth. (Romans 7; Galatians 3:10-22).

The Means of Grace. The Bible is the primary means of grace and Jesus instituted two secondary means of grace -- baptism and the Lord's Supper. (Hebrews 4:12, Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 26:26-29).

Baptism. The work of baptism is not what humans do, or the church does, but a means God uses to bring grace. The Lord Himself is the operative force. He baptizes. Since even babies and children are born sinners, we welcome Christian parents to bring their "little ones" to baptism, too. We do not teach that baptism saves a child forever, but that children who are baptized need to come to a conscious faith in order to be saved. Still, Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me, and do not forbid them." He also spoke of "these little ones who believe in me," using a word that convers small children and even infants (micron). With that in mind, we don't endorse withholding the gift of baptism for children being raised in Christian homes. (Romans 6:3-4, Ephesians 4:5, I Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38).

Adult Baptism. We encourage adults who are not baptized to be baptized after they are saved. Because God's Word teaches that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5), we don't require adults who have been baptized as infants to be rebaptized -- since God is the active force, since He is the one who baptizes, His work is sufficent. (Romans 6:3-4, Ephesians 4:5, I Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38).

The Lord's Supper. The Lord Jesus calls believers to receive the gift of communion "in rememberance of Him," and so we offer the Lord's Supper for true believers. Biblical evangelicals, since the debate held between Luther and Zwingli at Marburg in 1529, have not come to consensus to the exact meaning of the gift of communion. But we obey it and use it and offer it, usually one Sunday a month, or at special worship gatherings. Luther taught that Jesus called the bread "My body" and the wine, "My blood," and so we don't attempt to explain away His words. We believe that the bread remains bread and tne wine remains wine, but because Jesus said that He is present when we receive it in faith, we teach and promote the "real presence" of Christ in communion. Because the Apostle Paul encourages believers to receive it after "examining" ourselves, and because we don't want to take it "unworthily" (1 Cor. 11:27), we invite only believers for communion. Though most on our core leadership team encourage their children to receive communion after two years of confirmation instruction (usually age 12-14), we leave it to parents to decide whether their children should receive communion. (Matthew 26, Luke 22, I Corinthians 11:17-34).

Eternal Security. True believers are eternally secure "in Christ." We teach and adhere to the words of Jesus in John 10:28, "No one will snatch them out of My hand." But those souls who stubbornly choose to reject Christ, who persist in sin, who neglect the Word of God, and who "goes on sinning willfully, after receiving the knowledge of the truth" (Heb. 10:26), may walk away from Christ of their own volition. For that reason, we boldly preach the law to convict, the sweet Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the call to holy living with all the urgency and passion that the Holy Spirit gives us. Though we don't believe that a sinner can lose salvation easily, it can and does happen. That's why Hebrews 3:12 says, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in anyone of you an evil, unbelieving heart, that you should fall away from the living God." Though, on the one hand, we identify with the emphasis of our Calvinist or Reformed friends who emphasize the lasting work of God in salvation, we also recognize in our culture a frequent casual and careless response to God's call for holy living among some believers. With that in mind, we teach and preach the call to personal vigilance, and we urge all believers to surrender their whole lives and hearts to Jesus every day. (John 10:38, Hebrews 3:12, Hebrews 10:26, Matthew 24:21-22, Hebrews 6:1-6)

Aims and Goals of Good Shepherd Church…

Attracting: We hope to partner with other living churches to point people to Jesus Christ. That means intentionally opening our arms to new friends and believers wherever they are on their spiritual journey.

Connecting: We want to be neighborly church that helps people build relationships that matter.
Teaching: We love the Bible and want to know it better. Come and learn with us!

Serving: We’re a purpose-driven church! We’re here for a reason – to care about people and the community of Camarillo. We’re not here just to watch. Want to serve with us?

Four Primary Goals of our Ministry…

As a new gathering, we are focusing on four primary tasks at the start. Good Shepherd …

Good Shepherd doesn’t want to be just another Lutheran church. We want to thrive and grow and point people to the hope found in Jesus Christ. What are we really aiming for? The following goals describe what we’re trying to do:

Small Groups (We want to help people build relationships by establishing 100 new small groups in the next 10 years.)

Grace for the broken (You don’t have to be perfect to be here!)

Solid Biblical Teaching (We offer a steady diet of Scripture study)

Open Arms (We believe that Jesus wants us to reach out. We enjoy the diversity).

We’re not the only church in Camarillo doing that. But we want to be among the many churches here that are building believers and drawing new friends into the family. Thanks for praying with us.