Are We “Protestant”?

     No. We do not mark our doctrinal standards from the Protestant Reformation. We strive to adhere to “that faith once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3) C.A.C.F. is an “episcopally structured non-denominational” independent Communion of Christians who share a dedication to BEING the Apostolic Church of Christ in the world today. We are open to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior regardless of their “denominational” past.

Are We “Catholic”?

     If by “Catholic” you mean are we a part of the “Roman Catholic Church” then, No. However, we strive to be a manifestation of the undivided catholic (meaning “universal”) church of the Apostolic Era, as described in Holy Scripture and testified to by the Ante-Nicene Fathers, within the world today.

What is Our Position on Female Clergy?

We hold to the scriptural and apostolic practice of ordaining women to the office of Deaconess. We believe that women are a very important part of the church and can and should have a wide range of opportunities to serve. This includes public prayers, Bible readings, music, sharing and encouragement during services. As well, we are always open to women involved with outreach and Bible studies.

 What is Our Position on Forced Celibacy?

     The practice of forced celibacy for clergy was not the practice of the New Testament or Apostolic Church; in fact the Scriptures clearly teach us the opposite was true. We do not require celibacy of its clergy, however, we do require a sexually pure life; meaning that if our clergy is married they always remain faithful to their spouses and if they are single they refrain from the sin of fornication outside marriage.

What is Our Position on Divorce and Remarriage?

     Divorce is an unfortunate epidemic of our secular society. We hold to the belief that marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God. Neither marriage nor divorce should be entered into lightly. It is the responsibility of the Church to strive to ensure that the couple in question has a firm understanding of the commitment they are undertaking in choosing to marry. Likewise, it is the Church’s responsibility to strive to prevent a divorce from occurring. However, this being said, we realize that divorce does happen and believe that divorce should not prevent a penitent Christian from fully participating in the life of the Church.

What is Our Position on Abortion?

    We hold that the practice of abortion for birth control is the taking of an innocent human life and is therefore condemned in Scripture as a sin. However, all too often the full effects of such a ‘choice” are not fully realized by the unfortunate soul who was deceived into undertaking such a destructive procedure, therefore, the Church should be ever ready to project the love of Christ upon those whom He has lead to regretting having had an abortion. Likewise, the Church should be ever ready to assist, to the best it is able, the penitent women and girls who find themselves pregnant and choose to follow the will of God and keep the blessing that His providence has bestowed on them, in the rearing of that child.

What is Our Position on Homosexuality?

     We want every homosexual in the world to know that God loves and cares about them very much. While the Bible is clear that homosexuality is wrong, we invite anyone to attend our services and to receive from our fellowship, regardless of their sexual orientation. We believe that there is nothing that we can do to “make” people change, that only God can do that. We will do all we can to support everyone who is working to live a truly Godly life, regardless of the issues in their life. We will not, however, consider them for any position of leadership, and further, we encourage them to forsake all wrong practices for a pure life in Christ.

What is Our Position on Bible Translations?

     We do not believe that any translation of the Bible into English is perfect. We have found that due to a number of factors, in every version, some things are “lost in the translation.” It is recommended that more than one translation of the Bible be acquired and used for comparison.

The Problem Some Protestants Have With All This…

Sometimes people from protestant denominations have trouble with some of the concepts in this book. Having been raised in a protestant denomination myself, I do understand your concerns. A bit of an explanation is required. One thing that I have never heard of is protestant churches (especially evangelical) offering complete courses in early church history. You may have been exposed to the journeys of Paul, etc., but never exposed to the information about what happened to the church during the first few centuries, because if they did, you would learn that the real trouble started after 324 A.D., when the church became the state religion of the Roman Empire! What followed was, primarily, the Roman Catholic Church. So when the Protestant Reformation developed, even though the church had integrated many right practices from their earlier church brethren, many were rejected during the reformation so that the reformed church did not look “too Roman”. I, as well as my fellow brothers and sisters have put in countless hundreds of hours to verify all that you read here is true. We have no axe to grind with any denomination, we hold love in our hearts for all believers and we have simply have chosen to go back to the practices of the earliest church, those started during the apostolic era and make them live in today’s world.