Statement of Faith

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7

A covenant is a personal relationship between two parties who voluntarily enter into making promises to one another. (Crossway.org) Pathways is a covenantal school; we are a body of like-minded individuals and families who believe in and follow Jesus Christ. Our school is founded on and promotes the principles in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation.

Just as Jesus has entered a covenant with His Bride, the Church, we, at Pathways, desire and strive for the same allegiance with our students and parents. As a non-denominational school, Pathways is a community where the following pillars are upheld: Scripture alone, Christ alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, and to the Glory of God alone. Our desire is that these pillars be emulated by all who attend and interact with Pathway so we can communicate the love of Christ to others. We strive to uphold all the doctrines written in the Word of God, and it is our expectation that each one of our families will do the same. We, the board and staff at Pathways, ask our families in joining with us to sign our Covenant of Faith as a promise to teach their students, support the board and staff of Pathways, and revere all our Lord says in His Word.

Please prayerfully read our Statement of Faith. Know it stems from a desire to please our Lord and Savior first (for the Glory of God alone), and educating our students second.

1. We believe in the one and only true God who embodies Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God is sovereign and no other gods should be worshiped except Him.

Exod. 20:1-6; Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19

2. We believe that God is the creator of the heavens and earth and everything that dwells in them. We believe that everything that God created is good and was designed for a specific purpose.

Gen. 1 & 2; Job 38-40; Psalm 8; Psalm 33:6-9; John 1:1-3

3. We believe that God created mankind (male and female) in His own image and gave them dominion over the earth and intends for us to be His caretakers and stewards of all that is created.

Gen. 1:27-31; Gen. 2:7-25; Luke 12:42-48; John 1:3; 1 Tim. 4:4

4. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, delivered us from sin and reconciled us to God by his death on the cross and by His resurrection from the dead. We receive God’s salvation when we confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Matt. 26:28; John 3:16; Rom. 5:1-11; Eph. 2:8-10; Eph. 3:7-12

5. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal Spirit of God and Jesus Christ, who dwells within each believer as the guarantee of salvation and redemption. We believe the Holy Spirit has gifted all believers and empowers them for service in the church and in the world.

Rom. 5:5; Acts 2:1-4; John 14:15-17,25 & 16:4-15; Rom. 12:6-8; I. Cor.12:27-31

6. We believe in the authority of Scripture; that it is inspired by God through the Holy Spirit for instruction in salvation and training in righteousness. We accept the Scriptures as the Word of God and as the fully reliable and trustworthy standard for Christian faith and life. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we interpret Scripture in order to understand the truth.

Ps. 119:105; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:24-25; 2 Pet. 1:21; Rev. 19:13

7. We believe that the mission of followers of Christ is to proclaim the gospel to all the world and make disciples, teaching them to observe all the things He has commanded.

Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Acts 10:36-43; 1 Tim. 4:13

8. We believe that God designed discipline in the church as a sign of God’s offer of transforming grace. Discipline is intended to transform and restore an errant person into a right relationship with God and his fellow man.

Heb. 4:12-13; Matt. 18:15-22; Gal. 6:1-2; 2 Cor. 2:5-11

9. We believe that God instituted marriage as the foundation of the family, the basic structure of human society, and that biblical marriage is exclusively the union of one male and one female and that intimate sexual activity is reserved for the context of marriage. We believe that God has wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female which is indicated by DNA. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God.

Gen. 2:22-24; I Cor. 11:11; I Cor. 7:1-16; Heb. 13:4; I Pet.1:2; Ps. 139:13-16, Gen. 1:26-27, Romans 1:26-29,

1 Thess. 4:1-8

10. We believe in the sanctity of all lives and that human life is sacred and honored from the time of conception to its natural end.

Psalm 139:13, Isaiah 49:1, Jeremiah 1:5

11. We believe that “...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We believe that God intends for human life to be lived in a godly relationship with one another and that God calls us to show concern for the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs of all people.

Mark 12:30-31, Matthew 18:15-20, Romans 12:20-21, Galatians 6:10

12. We believe that Jesus Christ will one day come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, forever ending the struggle between good and evil. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth. There the people of God will reign with Christ in righteousness, justice, and peace.

Matt. 24: Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; Rev. 7:9-17; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21:1-5

Amendment

Our Statement of Faith, as listed above, is not an exhaustive list of all our beliefs. The Bible, which is the inspired and infallible Word of God, serves as our foundation and guide and is the absolute authority regarding the proper conduct of mankind. The Pathways board serves as the final authority in determining policies and procedures, curriculum, and disciplinary standards.

Revised June 29, 2020