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   Every church has its distinctives-practices or beliefs that set it apart from other groups. Sometimes this is confusing to people. They say, "If the Bible is true and Jesus was who He claimed to be, why are there so many different churches with so many different beliefs?"

  We are optimistic enough to believe that with all the differences in beliefs and practices, most Christian congregations still agree on 90-95% of Christian teaching, and that the other 5-10% we do not agree on falls in this category of "distinctives."

  We are not Baptists, but like the Baptists, we believe in calling people to repentance and to witnessing to their new life in Christ through public baptism.

  We are not Presbyterians, but like the Presbyterians, we believe in the power of the preaching of the Word of God to bring about change in people's lives.

  We are not Lutherans, but like the Lutherans, we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ on the authority of Scripture alone, in salvation by faith alone and in salvation as a gift of God's grace alone.

  We are not Charismatics, but like the Charismatics, we believe in the gifts of the Spirit, which give people the power to live a Christ-like life and to make a real difference in their world.

  We are no Episcopalians-although John Wesley was a lifelong Anglican-but like the Episcopalians, we take worship seriously (we just choose to be a little less "formal" in our worship services).

  We are not Quakers or Moravians, but like these pietistic groups, we believe in living a careful life that testifies to the watching world that we belong to the Family of God.

  We are not United Methodists, although we have our roots in the Methodist tradition that grew out of John Wesley's revival movement in the 1700's. We have good fellowship with our United Methodist "cousins", but we are organizationally separate for historical reasons.

  We are a warm and friendly group of people who desire, with God's help, to live holy lives that bring honor and glory to Him. In three words our theology is "JESUS IS LORD!" We look to the Bible as our primary source for direction in our worship and lifestyle. We are life-centered in our teaching and sensitive to the needs and concerns of others. We give people opportunities to put their faith into action through various avenues of service. We are honored to take our place among the many that are called Christians. We laugh and cry together, grow together and walk in faith together. We aim to be a family for all that love Jesus, The Nazarene. There is room for you at East Gate Chuch of the Nazarene.