Our Statement of Belief

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We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19, 1 Peter 1-2)

We believe that Yahweh is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and that Yahweh is His Name for ever which we are to remember for all generations. (Exodus 3:15)

We will worship, praise, and bless Yahweh for ever and ever. (Psalm 145:21, Psalm 69:30, Psalm 34:3)

We believe that God loves us and is alive and actively moving in us and through us to achieve His plans and purposes. (Matthew 5:45, 2 Corinthians 5:12-21, Psalm 39:7-10; Ephesians 2:10) 

We believe that God speaks to us and that He hears our prayers. (John 10:27; Proverbs 15:29) 

We believe that God loves us and He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

We believe that in the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through Jesus and apart from Jesus not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Jesus was and is life, and the life was and is the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not and does not grasp it. (John1:1-5)

We believe Jesus is alive and sitting at the right hand of God.
(Hebrews 1:3, 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22; Acts 7:55-56); Mark 16:19; Ephesians 1:20-21) 

We believe in the full deity and full humanity of Christ. (John 1:1–14; Hebrews 1:3–5) We believe in His virgin birth. (Luke 1:26–38)

We believe in His sinless life. (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15)

We believe in His miracles. (John 10:31–38; Luke 7:22) 

We believe in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood. (Matthew 26:28; 1 Peter 2:24) We believe in His bodily resurrection. (John 20:1–31; Acts 1:1–3; 1 Corinthians 15:1–8)

We believe in His ascension to the right Hand of the Father. (Acts 1:4–11)

We believe He is our advocate and stands before the Father and pleads our case. (1 John 2:1-2) 

We believe in His present rule as Head of the Church. (Ephesians 1:22, 5:23; Colossians 1:18) 

We believe in His personal return in power and glory. (Revelation 19:11–16; 22:7–21) 

We believe He loved us first and His love enables us to love Him, ourselves, and others. (1 John 4:16 & 19) 

We believe His love is boundless and that nothing we do can ever cause him to stop loving us. (Romans 8:38-39); 

We believe He understands our struggles and experienced every temptation and did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15). 

We believe in the living ministry of the Holy Spirit, by who’s indwelling enables each Christian to live a godly life. (2 Corinthians 3:17–18) 

We believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of all who are separated from God by sin and rebellion. (John 14:15–21; Romans 8:1–11; 1 Corinthians 12:3) 

We believe the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, spirit of the fear of The Lord, and power. (Isaiah 11:2-3; Acts 1:5-8) 

We believe the Bible (Old & New Testaments) is the inspired and the infallible, authoritative Word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16); 

We believe in the Logos and Rhema Word of God. His written Word (Logos) is a record of His speaking and revelation, and (Rhema) His Spoken Word as He continues to speak today; (Habakkuk 2:1-2; 1 Kings 19.2) 

We believe that both Logos and Rhema are essential to us living our life. (Matthew 4:4) 

We believe God uses His Logos Word to speak His Rhema word to us to accomplish His plans and purposes in our lives. (Psalm 32:8) 

We believe that God’s living, instant speaking (Rhema) always corresponds with and never contradicts His written Word (Logos). (Hebrews 6:18) 

We believe man was created in the image of God, but sinned and fell through disobedience, and that the entire human race shares in man's lost and depraved nature. Although God designed man to have fellowship with Him, man became alienated from God through disobedience. As a result, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and choose to sin against God. Man is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his own efforts. (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 8:3-6, Romans 3:23, Colossians 1:21; Isaiah 59:1-2) 

We believe that God loves us even in our fallen state and that His love is all powerful, never ending, and triumphant over all of life’s troubles. (Romans 8:38) 

We believe that God draws us into repentance and gives us a new understanding of our behavior and so that we are compelled (choose) to walk in His ways and enjoy a closer relationship with Him.  (Hebrews 6:1; Acts 20:21) 

We believe than man cannot earn his salvation and that it is only through God’s love, mercy and forgiveness, Jesus’ obedient and loving blood sacrifice, and the regeneration through the Holy Spirit that we can be saved. (John 14:15–21; Romans 8:1–11; 1 Corinthians 12:3) 

We believe that we are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:36-40) 

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Ephesians 4:32; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) 

We believe by grace we have been saved through faith. And this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of our works. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 We believe we are to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and to not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways we are to acknowledge him, and that he will make straight our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We believe that we are to keep our eyes on Jesus. For He is the author and perfecter of our faith and that Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

We believe that His love will triumph over all life's troubles.  (Romans 8:38)

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either biological male or biological female, and that these two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) 

We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one man and one woman, and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within that union. (Genesis. 2:18-25; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews. 13:4) 

We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, with equality across denominations, races, genders, and classes (Colossians 3:11). 

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: they that are lost unto damnation, and they that are saved unto the resurrection of eternal life. (Matthew 25:41–46, 25:31–40; 1 Corinthians 15:42–57). 

We believe that to preserve the function and integrity of Love Triumphs! and Journaling With Jesus as vital ministries in the Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the people we serve members, it is imperative that all persons serving in positions of in any capacity, including volunteers agree to and abide by this Statement of Belief (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22.) and our Statement of Unity. 

Love Triumphs, Sacred Prayer, and Journaling with Jesus have their roots deeply embedded in our walk with the Lord. From the beginning, Jesus has led Mary Ann and me into a relationship with Him through personal and corporate prayer. Henry Blackaby was very influential on this journey. His 'Experiencing God' Bible study introduced us to the reality that God is alive and actively moving in our lives; he cares for us, loves us with a boundless love, and invites us to join Him in what He is doing. These foundational truths established a deep trust in God, leading us into an even deeper relationship with Him. It also affirmed that He is God and we are not. We understood that He is the strong third strand in our marriage. Through this season of deep prayer and healing, Jesus laid the foundation for the birth of the Love Triumphs ministry, Sacred Prayer, and Journaling with Jesus. As Love Triumphs began to form, the Lord brought together people from eight different denominations and various cultural backgrounds who had different styles of prayer and different doctrinal beliefs. Some had Bible preferences, and others had strong opinions about which version of the Bible not to read.

Love Triumphs is a non-denominational ministry that serves multiple denominations and seeks to build unity within the Body of Christ. Our purpose is to bring people to Jesus so they can experience His presence, hear His Voice, and be transformed by His triumphant love. Journaling with Jesus and Sacred Prayer are ministry programs that Love Triumphs offers to individuals, small groups, and churches. We serve people from all Christian denominations and also non-Christians. We seek to warmly welcome each person, recognizing God loves and cares for them. To effectively serve this diverse group of people from different backgrounds and beliefs, we established a Statement of Belief, Ministry Guidelines,  and a Statement of Unity that clarifies our position on the Essentials and Non-Essentials of the Faith. 

To summarize this Statement of Unity: In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; in all things, Charity. We adhere to the essentials. In the non-essentials, on which beliefs may vary among Christians, we encourage respect for others and request participants refrain from debate and outward expression. We encourage love and goodwill in all things as we respect the many denominations and backgrounds who gather together to draw closer to Jesus.

This document is supportive and aligned with our Statement of Belief.

We share this statement in love and with the desire to honor God in all things.

Tom & Mary Ann Otley

•  Deity of Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God, and the second person of the Trinity.
• Salvation by Grace: We believe that Salvation is a free gift from God, not something earned through good works.
• Resurrection of Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, conquering death and offering eternal life to those who believe.
• The Gospel: We believe that the Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, offering forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe.
• Monotheism: We believe in one God, the Father, who is the creator of the universe.
• The Holy Trinity: We believe in one God who exists in three co-equal persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit.
• Second Coming: We believe that Jesus will return to earth again in what's known as the Second Coming.
• The Sacred Covenant of Marriage: We believe that God ordains marriage to be a sacred covenant between one man and one woman.
• The Inerrancy of Scripture: We believe in the inerrancy of scripture and that scripture is the inspired Word of God in the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). All subsequent translations result from human effort and endeavors, and different translators and translation committees may have different approaches to accuracy and readability.
• Our Identity: Each person is made in God's image, male and female, and our identity is established in and by Him. We are always of significant value to Him, and He has made us for and with a purpose, and He has perfect plans for each of our lives.

• Eschatology (how and when the end times will unfold, the rapture, the millennium, the role of Israel today, etc.)Earth Age (young v. old earth creationism, etc.)
• Bible translation preferences (King James v. modern translations, word-for-word v. thought-for-thought, paraphrase, etc.)
• Ecclesiology (church government models, the roles of clergy and laity, are Apostles and Prophets for today, etc.)
• Soteriological Systems (Arminianism v. Calvinism, etc.)
• Demonology (can a Christian have a demon, spiritual warfare, etc.)
• Sacrament practices for Holy Communion or The Lord’s Supper (wine v. grape juice, leavened v. unleavened bread, who can administer, etc.)
• Modes of baptism (sprinkling v. full immersion, infant baptism, etc.)
• Worship styles (liturgical v. contemporary, hymns v. choruses, choirs, drums v. organs, dancing, flags and banners, etc.)
• The gifts of the Holy Spirit (tongues v. no tongues, cessationism v. continuationism, etc.)
• Worship observances (Sabbatarianism v. Sunday worship, observance of special holy days, tithing, etc.)
• Food and drink (consumption of alcohol v. abstinence, kosher v. non-kosher food, etc.)
• Various dos and don'ts (tobacco consumption, playing cards, dancing, makeup, "acceptable" dress, movies, etc.)