ENCOUNTER THE SPIRIT OF FAITH
Bringing people into encounters with God--
empowering them to always be victorious
through the spirit of faith.
OUR CORE VALUES
OUR HISTORY
Spirit of Faith Family Church was founded on May 30, 1999 by Pastor Tim Horton in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The room that would become the church sanctuary was formerly the home of the famous Duffy's Restaurant.
In May 2002, Pastor Horton moved his family to Arkansas to pioneer another church, and Pastors Jay and Debbie Eberly began pastoring Spirit of Faith Family Church.
One year after Pastors Jay and Debbie started pastoring, the church's location was moved to a newly purchased facility at 4070 22nd Ave. SW, which is the church's current home.
Currently, over 265 individuals from all over Eastern Iowa attend Spirit of Faith Family Church. Over 1,200 people (and counting) have come to Christ through SOFFC. Countless more lives have been impacted in various ways through many outreaches, events and special meetings.
Spirit of Faith Family Church is committed to bringing the local church family into encounters with God--empowering them to live always victorious through the spirit of faith!
In 2012, SOFFC purchased the 3 neighboring buildings -- the Family Center, the Ed Dufresne Memorial (EDM) Building and the Maintenance Building. Dr. Dufresne dedicated the Family Center building, which is used as a Banquet Center, Daycare Center, Office Building, Publishing Department and more.
Pastors Jay and Debbie Eberly started Spirit of Faith Bible Training Center in September 2014 as part of their call to train and mentor ministers in these last days. The Bible School now includes online courses that anyone can take anywhere in the world.
In 2017, Pastors Ike and Jarilyn Akabogu founded Spirit of Faith Church International in Abuja, Nigeria. This was Pastors Jay and Debbie's first church plant and the beginning of the fulfillment of the call to raise up ministers and start churches around the world.
OUR BELIEFS
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, we accept as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
Our God is one, but manifested in three Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being coequal (Deut. 6:4; Phil. 2:6). God the Father is greater than all; the Sender of the Word (Logos) and the Begetter (John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:14). The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the One Begotten, and has existed with the Father from the beginning (John 1:1; John 1:18; John 1:14). The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal (John 14:16; John 15:26).
The Baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent to the new birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance (Matt. 3:11; John 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38,39; Acts 19:1-7; Acts 2:1-4).
Man's first step toward salvation is godly sorrow that worketh repentance. The new birth is necessary to all men, and when experienced, produces eternal life (2 Cor. 7:10; John 3:3-5; 1 John 5:12).
Baptism in water is by immersion, is a direct commandment of our Lord and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian's identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Acts 8:36-39).
The following recommendation regarding the water baptismal formula is adopted; to wit: "On the confession of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and by His authority, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam's transgression and fall, sin came into the world. The Bible says, "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," and "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10; 3:23). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the works of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God (Rom. 5:14; 1 John 3:8).
Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the Law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God (Eph. 2:8-10).
The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ's return (Heb. 12:14; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 1:30).
Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today (James 5:14, 15; Mark 16:18; Isa. 53:4, 5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24).
The angels said to Jesus' disciples, "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." His coming is imminent. When He comes, "the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17). Following the Tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and together with His saints, who shall be kings and priests; He shall reign a thousand years (Rev. 5:10; 20:6).
The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the lake of fire and, therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The lake of fire is literal. The terms "eternal" and "everlasting," used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the lake of fire, carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the Presence of God (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 19:20).
In January 2009, Pastors Jay and Debbie Eberly started Harvest Christian Daycare and Learning Center. The daycare has grown to approximately 40 staff members and 200 children enrolled.