t is important that each board member, staff member, and volunteer understand and affirm that the ministry of Ruth Harbor concentrates on the essentials of the Christian faith below. We are called together in unity focusing on the Word of God alone, not espousing any particular doctrinal stance which would divide us.

1. We believe there is one God eternal existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  (Gen 1:1; John 10:30, 37,38; Matt. 28:19-20)

2. We believe in the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.  (Apostle’s Creed)

3. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God.  (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21)

4. We believe that mankind is sinful by nature and that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential and an absolute necessity for salvation.  (Rom 3:19-25; John 3:16-19; John 5:25; Eph 2:8-10; Titus 3:5-6)

5. We believe in the present and continuing ministry of the Holy Spirit; by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. (Eph 4:30; Eph 5:18; I Cor. 3:16; I Cor. 6:10-20)

6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto eternal life and they that are lost unto eternal damnation. (John 5:28-29)

7. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Rom 8:9; I Cor 12:12-13; Gal 3:26-28)

8. We believe in the creation of man by the direct act of God.  (Gen 1:26-28; Gen 5:1,2)

9. We believe in the sanctity of human life as set forth in the scriptures:

Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality

Additionally:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  (Psalm 139:13-16)

Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast.  From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.  (Psalm 22:9-10)

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. (Jeremiah 1:5)

“…God is love” (1 John 4:8). We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accordance with Scripture nor the doctrines of Ruth Harbor Ministries.

We define, interpret, and apply the concepts of marriage, gender, and sexuality as taught in the Bible without regard to how mankind would like to redefine, misinterpret, or misapply those concepts.  In accordance with the teaching of the Bible, we believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male and female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage,” as understood in the light of the Bible, has only one proper meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a biological man and a biological woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a biological man and a biological woman.  We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.

We believe that the leadership of Ruth Harbor Ministries must lead by example on these areas in order to preserve the function and integrity of Ruth Harbor Ministries as a Christ-centered ministry, and to provide a biblical role model to Ruth Harbor Ministries’ fellowship and surrounding community.  Thus, it is imperative that all persons on the board of RHM, employed by RHM, or who volunteer and have contact with our clients agree to this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality.