Who We Are
We believe in God, maker of all things, provider of all things, who loves all people.
We follow Jesus, in whom salvation has come to us: he sees us for who we are, heals the wounds of our hearts, and makes us new. In his death and resurrection we see the deepest truth of life.
We live by the power of the Holy Spirit, which empowers us for self-giving love.
We give thanks for the Church, the Body of Christ, and for the gift of forgiveness, the power of the resurrection and the mystery of eternal life.
Foothills Community Church is a member of the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Our Beliefs
Here are a few of the main things we believe at Foothills.
1. GOD
We believe there is one God, eternally existing in three distinct persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the creator and ruler of the universe(s). Our view of God will impact the way we live. The uniquely Christian view is that God is love. (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 John 4:7-8).
2. JESUS CHRIST
We believe Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. He lived among us, died for us, was buried, rose from the dead conquering death, and is now seated at the right hand of God. Jesus is God’s living and active Word that brings life. (Colossians 2:9; John 5:39-40; John 1:1).
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Holy Spirit is working with all people to bring them to Christ and salvation. The Spirit gives us gifts for ministry, empowers us for service, and produces spiritual fruit in our life helping us grow in Christ-likeness. (2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:22-26; Romans 5:5)
4. HUMANITY
We believe humans are made in the image of God, intended to be perfect and beautiful in character, like God. Having been compromised and diminished through choices that separated us from God, humanity is in need of salvation from sin and its consequences that include spiritual and physical death. (Romans 3:23; Genesis 1:27; Isaiah 59:1-2).
5. SALVATION
We believe salvation is offered as a gift from God to humans. Salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. The process includes the preaching of the gospel, a response of faith/belief, repentance, and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 6:23; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 7:25; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26).
6. THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, sufficient and authoritative for all matters of faith, life and godliness. (2 Timothy 3:16; Psalm 119:105, 160).
7. THE CHURCH
We believe in the universal church whereby all true believers are united through faith in Christ. The love of God draws us into the faith community where the reality of the “with God life” is genuinely demonstrated as we love one another as Christ has loved us. (1 John 3:11, 16; 1 John 4:11; Ephesians 5:1-2).
8. END TIMES & THE SECOND COMING
We believe Jesus Christ will return to the earth at which time the righteous dead will be raised and taken to heaven. The second coming of Christ is called “the blessed hope of the church” and “the grand climax of the gospel.” There will be final judgment and a literal “Lake of Fire.” (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Revelation 20:11-15).
Our Story
The first worship service of FCC was held on March 11, 2000, at the Ahwatukee Assembly of God Church with just six families present.
This was the culmination of months of planning by a group who wished to plant a new church in the Ahwatukee area that would utilize modern praise music and other creative forms of expression to offer a worship service that was attractive to the non-member looking for spiritual meaning. This community outlook would extend to offerings made by the church to benefit the community around it.
We became officially organized and accepted as a member of the sisterhood of churches of the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists on September 21, 2002. There were 47 charter members. Stuart Harrison became the first pastor of Foothills in October of 2001, followed by Alicia Johnston in January of 2016. Until that point, Foothills had rented various church facilities. In June of 2016, after years of prayer, our current church campus was completed. After Pastor Johnston’s departure, the church searched for new pastoral leadership for a few years until God sent Pastor Lyndon ‘Duff’ Gorle to Foothills.
We have only just begun to scratch the surface of the opportunities God has given Foothills Community Church, and look forward to all that He has in store.
Meaningful Practices
The Lord’s Supper (Communion)
Communion is a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice of broken body and shed blood for our salvation. It is not a means of salvation, rather it is a testament of a believer’s faith in Christ’s atoning work at the cross. (Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Cor. 11:23-29).
Baptisms
Water baptism is not required for salvation; it is a biblical command that demonstrates our love and obedience to Christ. It is a way to identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:4; Matthew 3:13-17). The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God that empowers believers to develop the character of Christ and live every day in God’s will. (Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:4).
Sabbath
We believe in the continued blessing of setting aside and respecting the Sabbath as a day of rest, worship, fellowship, Christian service, family togetherness, renewal, and refreshment. We generally do not work in obligational ways on the seventh day. It should be stated that although Sabbatarianism is a “minority report” in the Christian world, there are other Christian groups that gather on Sabbath (i.e. 7th Day Baptists, 7th Day Church of God, and others). The concept of Shalom and “Sabbathing” is gaining renewed interest as Christian thinkers including Richard Foster, the late Eugene Peterson, Wayne Muller, and others have called the church to a greater emphasis on and re-discovery of God’s life-giving gift of Sabbath rest. (Genesis 2:2-3; Genesis 20; Mark 2:27-28; Hebrews 4:9-11).
Note: At Foothills Community Church we enjoy the blessing of the Sabbath rest, but we do not suggest that Sabbath-keeping is a requirement for salvation, or being made right with God. We pray that our enjoyment of this treasured blessing (Sabbath) will never become another form of legalism or any attempt at “works righteousness.” (See Acts 15:5-10; Colossians 2:16-17; Romans 14:5-6).
Healthy Lifestyle
Many in our church family choose a vegetarian or plant-based diet. Emphasis is placed on drinking enough water, getting adequate sleep, and being physically active. Some studies (i.e. The Blue Zones) show that the “Adventist lifestyle” yields 7 to 10 years longer life expectancy than that of most Americans. This is attributed to a healthy diet and active lifestyle as well as the habit of releasing stress and anxiety through resting on the weekly Sabbath.
Welcoming and not Condemning
Many evangelical preachers today spend a lot of time talking about the kinds of people that God is opposed to and condemns. They often talk about those who disagree or live contrary to their understanding of what is “righteous” as being under condemnation from God. As we examine the life and teachings of Jesus, we find him not only befriending, loving, and affirming some of his society's most despised and vile people, but chastising the religious leaders who condemned them for their sin. Jesus is not in the condemning business. Instead, it seems Christ is in the business of restoring humanity to the most broken and wicked of people. His passion is to see the sick, weak, and broken become healthy, strong, and whole in his Kingdom. He spends very little time (almost none) telling sinners why they’re wrong or speaking words of condemnation over them, but rather practically loving and extending grace to the most “screwed-up” of individuals. Perhaps we Evangelicals, who are known for our condemnation of entire people groups with whom we disagree, could learn something from Jesus on this point. (See Jesus’ conversation with Rabbi Nicodemus in John 3 where Christ explains that it is his mission to redeem the world and not to condemn it; or the instance where a woman is caught in the act of adultery and is taken outside to be stoned by the religious officials—as the law required—and Jesus steps in to stop the condemnation and proclaim freedom and forgiveness to the broken woman. (John 3:17; John 8:11).
Note: The Apostle Paul teaches that we are to “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”(Romans 15:7. See also Romans 14:1). The precise context of Paul’s command is to especially accept those who are different than you, which is what humans seem to have so much difficulty doing. In Romans 14:10b-13 Paul states:
“For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.”
One preacher said it this way: “We are in the sales/marketing and hospitality part of the business. We are not in the executive branch!” (See Colossians 1:18a; 1 Corinthians 12:18-27; John 16:7-14).