Christ the King Statement on Biblical Oneness and Racial Justice

We stand firm on the foundational Biblical truth of Genesis 1:27 that all people of all nations, races, ethnicities, and economic statuses are created in the image of God – perfect and pleasing to our Heavenly Father. We affirm that all people, as the Lord’s image bearers, are given an inherent dignity and worth. We recognize that the sin of racism distorts this created ideal and has caused and continues to cause division, injustice, and inequities against our created oneness.

Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, humanity was redeemed to live again in God’s ideal of creation – one with God and one with each other. Jesus’ Church is multi-ethnic – a fellowship of people one with each other.   Jesus formed a new race from all the nations called the Church. This race is called to live faithfully as Christians, striving, with the help of the Holy Spirit, toward oneness with God and each other. 

We lament the failures of the Church over the years to live in such oneness and the times the Church has caused or endorsed division, inequity and injustice. We lament the times we, as the Church, have been silent to the systems, overt or covert, that have kept our brothers and sisters from having the same advantages that others so freely have. We know that Christ stood with the oppressed and the marginalized and we know it is critical for us as a church body to do the same.  

We believe the Gospel is the hope of the world and the Church is to be the salt and light of that hope in real and tangible ways.  We trust in Christ’s sufficiency, power, forgiveness and mercy as we live for Him, become informed, and stand with our brothers and sisters. Our lament of the past will not keep us from moving forward as a generation of the Church – reclaiming God’s ideal. We will proclaim the Gospel boldly to all people and receive and give the encouragement that the Gospel brings to not cower to the difficulties in front of us or be held in bondage to the sins, inequities, decisions and struggles of our past. We will claim and proclaim our true identities in Christ and intentionally move forward to Biblical oneness with our brothers and sisters. We believe in God’s sovereignty and in his divine ability to weave our struggles and hardships into a beautiful tapestry for our future. We recognize this takes true intention and discipleship and is learned first in ourselves, then to our families, spreading through our church and to our community and world as we grow into maturity in Christ.

Our intentional discipleship leads us to:

• Listen, mourn, and lament with our brothers and sisters affected by unjust actions and systems. (Galatians 6.2, John 13:34)
• Train and disciple one another on how to better live in the oneness of God’s ideal. (Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 2:14)
• Serve those who are oppressed and marginalized and partner with them in creating an equitable life and future for all.  (Philippians 2:3-4)
• Learn how current systems are oppressing our brothers and sisters and work for change and equitable opportunities. (James 2:1-4, 1 John 4:20)
• Teach the Biblical concept of justice through our messages and discipleship ministries understanding that justice, racial reconciliation, and equity are inextricably linked. (Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17)
• Recognize and uphold the dignity of all humans as image bearers of God within the culture of our families and church.  (Revelation 5:9-10, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11)