About Us, Statement of Beliefs & History

About Us & Affiliation
 
Welcome to our home on the web! We are a group of Christians striving for growth in our love and devotion to Jesus, the Bible, and each other. Please have a look around and you are always welcome to come join us for worship! The International Churches of Christ Cameroon is affiliated to the International Churches of Christ Worldwide, a non-denominational group of Christians, with Churches in over 70 nations spread across Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa.  ICOC that started in Boston MA USA, in the late 1970s. The Church is highly detribalised, as people from all walks of life, men and women of all races constitute her membership. The International Churches of Christ Cameroon, Bamenda was planted from tthe Mongtgomery County Church of Christ, Silver Spring, MD USA.

Statement of Beliefs
We, the elders and evangelists look forward to tremendous growth spiritually, emotionally and numerically in the years to come for the ICCOC family of God. Our goal is to be a church full of disciples that love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and that love each other just as Jesus loved us (Matt. 22:37-40, Jn. 13:34-35). We want to lead the way in laying down our lives for each other and emphasize the need for every disciple at CCOC to be a committed servant in the body of Christ (1 Jn. 3:16, Mk. 10:43-45). We want to reach out within our community and share our faith, so that through us, God can make disciples of all the nations living around us (Matt. 28:18-20) and bring them into a loving, serving and maturing body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).
    
With this in mind we would like to emphasize the following 7 areas:

1.         Worship - The primary function of the family of God is to be a worshipping community in attitude and lifestyle (Matt. 4:10, Jn. 4:23-24, Rom. 12:1-2). In our worship services we want to experience the presence of God as we express honor, gratitude, awe, humility and brokenness before Him. Our walk with God should be a daily and consistent focus.

2.         Holiness - A desire to be like Him should flow from effective worship. God desires us to come out and be separate so we can show the world his holiness (Lev. 11:45, 1 Thess. 4:7). We believe holiness is bigger than just avoiding sin & should focus on developing a taste and passion for God and a hunger for righteousness. Jesus must be the Lord of our lives.

3.         Family - We believe that Christianity is a one-another religion. We are the family of God! We share a common faith, common blood and a common love for God and each other. Our commitment is to love, forgive, encourage, serve, lay down our lives, and to share our possessions and our hearts with each other (Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, Gal. 5:13-26).

4.         Discipling - We are committed, not to only baptizing people into Christ (Acts 2:38, Eph. 4:1-7) but to growing, training and equipping disciples for kingdom-life (Eph. 4:11-16). We recognize the biblical mandate to help each other grow and we continue to believe in accountability, seeking and giving biblical advice (Proverbs) and corporate prayer.

5.         Serving - CCOC is a church built on the biblical concept of ministering to the world’s hurts and needs. Jesus’ goal in life was to give up his life for others (Jn. 12:24-26). The servant-heart of sacrifice - showing concern for others and a willingness to give up time and money - is deeply rooted in OT and NT themes.

6.         Evangelism - We are committed to testify to the world that Jesus is our Lord and Savior (1 Pet. 2:9-10; 3:15). Evangelism should be personal and natural. We will provide small groups as well as larger meetings to encourage a deep commitment to sharing the good news.

7.         Benevolence - We are committed to making a difference in our world around us. Jesus taught that his followers are the salt, light, and leaven in a world that needs to elevate its morals and standards (Matt. 5:13-16). We want to influence our neighbors through marriage help, child-rearing classes, generosity, meals, adoptions, helping widows and orphans, the poor and sick both in our community and in our world.

 Our Church History
 Our Leaders

 

 WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE SAVED?

  1. You Must Understand That You Are Lost Without Jesus Christ: The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

  2. You Must Have Faith in God: You must have faith in God because "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

  3. You Must Repent of Your Sins: You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called 'Sinner's Prayer' that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the 'Sinner's Prayer' to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, it will not save you either. You must obey the gospel. Link to Steve Staten's paper on the 'Sinner's Prayer.'

  4. You Must Confess that Jesus is Lord: You must confess that Jesus is Lord. (Romans 10:9-10) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just 'accept Jesus as your personal savior.' We must confess that Jesus is Lord, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

  5. You Must be Baptized for the Forgiveness of Your Sins: Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is Lord, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16). It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ! Link to Baptism Study.

  6. You Must Continue to Live Faithfully: Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God's grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God's grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)