Our Name
A familiar tree to the city of St. Augustine, the cedar is easily recognizable around town. In the book of Ezekiel, a towering and wide-spreading cedar tree gives shade, refuge, relief, and comfort. Further, the Bible describes the cedar tree as strong and durable; graceful, high, and beautiful; fragrant and wide-spreading.
Cedar Church desires to be those descriptors--both a place of refuge and a strong tower for the city of St. Augustine.
Our Doctrine
Cedar Church is a non-denominational church. As a Harbor Network church, we submit to the following doctrinal convictions:
Reformational Our theology is rooted in the Protestant Reformation--that salvation can only be found in the five solas: in God’s Word (sola scriptura) and by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone (solo Christo) and for God’s glory alone (soli Deo gloria). We sit under the authority of God's Word and rest under His sovereign rule. We therefore trust in God's promises as we faithfully produce good works, including evangelistic efforts.
Baptistic We believe baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision to follow Jesus Christ. We practice baptism by immersion. We believe baptism symbolizes dying to our old self and rising from the water, now cleansed by the blood of Christ, as a new creation.
Complementarian We believe that God uniquely created two complementary genders, man and woman--and that each gender is gifted with distinct, beautiful, and necessary roles that allow the church to flourish. We rely on Scripture to define those roles; in particular, we believe that the position of pastor or elder is reserved for men. As the word complement suggests, however, we further believe that the church cannot flourish without both genders, and we honor and celebrate the many gifts women bring to the church that men cannot.
Our Structure
Cedar Church is elder-led and deacon-served.
One of the many gifts God has given the church is shepherds for His flock. We call these shepherds pastors and elders. Yet He, in His wisdom, has also given the church deacons, a role we believe is for men and women, to serve the body. This beautiful picture reinforces our belief that God designed the church to be led by a team. And not just a team, but a diverse team led by a desire to pursue the varied community of which we are a part--people from different cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds.
For Harbor Network's beliefs in their entirety, please visit HARBOR NETWORK.
Further, Harbor adopts the theological confession written by The Gospel Coalition. That document can be found at THE GOSPEL COALITION.