About Berean Holiness
Guiding believers out of fear and shame
and into the gospel of grace
Berean Holiness is a nonprofit organization on the mission of guiding believers out of fear and shame and into the gospel of grace. We accomplish this goal by providing educational resources and faith-based support to those who are disentangling from hyper-fundamentalism and/or high-control groups. Our aim is to cross-examine harmful theology, equip believers to recognize spiritual abuse, and be a source of encouragement and information as they rebuild theology, faith, and faith community after difficult church transitions. The end-goal is to see believers thriving in healthy, local churches, with a right understanding of the gospel of grace, and most importantly, a secure, joy-filled, personal relationship with God.
“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” —Acts 17:10-11
Our Beliefs
Statement of Faith
We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, trustworthy and true, without error, Word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
We believe there is one God who eternally exists in three consciousnesses: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-3; John 14:26; 1 Peter 1:2)
We believe Jesus Christ is God, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His death that paid for our sin 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. (John 1:1; Matthew 1:18,25; Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 9:15-22; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:27-28)
We believe that acceptance of Jesus Christ and the corresponding renewal of the Holy Spirit, by grace through faith in Christ alone, is the only path to salvation for sinful men and women. (John 3:16; John 5:24; Ephesians 2:1–18; Titus 3:3-7)
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, who lives within and guides Christians, so they are enabled to live godly lives. (John 14:15-26; John 16:5-16; Ephesians 1:13-14)
We believe in eternal life and that through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, we spend eternity with the Lord in Heaven. We believe that in rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we receive eternal suffering in hell. (Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ that all believers are members of His body, the Church. (Philippians 2:1-4)
We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage. God instituted marriage between one biological man and one biological woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9)
We believe that God created all human beings in His image. Therefore, we believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; that we must honor the physical and spiritual needs of all people; following Christ’s example, we believe that every person should be treated with love, dignity, and respect. (Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21; Galatians 6:10)
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Berean Holiness’ faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Board of Directors are the final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.
FAQs
“Where are You Located?”
Berean Holiness does not have a physical headquarters at this time. All of our volunteers work remotely.
“Is Berean Holiness a Church or Church Movement?”
No. Berean Holiness is a nonprofit organization/parachurch ministry. We exist to equip believers with resources to help recognize and transition to healthy, local churches. We desire to connect believers with faith community and faith-based support through difficult church transitions. However, we have no desire or intention to ever replace or be a local church.
“Is Berean Holiness a Calvinist/Reformed Organization?”
No. We’re not a Calvinist/Reformed organization. We’re also not an Arminian organization. We have intentionally chosen not to take an organizational stance on this issue. We see it as a matter of secondary importance, a theological nuance that every believer should study out for themselves, but not one with enough practical weight or significance to divide the Body of Christ and sever fellowship.
This said, we understand that a common misrepresentation of our Reformed brothers and sisters in Christ is to claim that they advocate for antinomianism (the idea that Christians have no obligation to follow God’s commands, i.e. “you can sin all you want to”). In our experience, this is a straw-man argument. However, if antinomianism was actually practiced, Church discipline would be in order (1 Corinthians 5:1-13).
Although we do not take an organizational stance on Calvinism vs. Arminianism and welcome volunteers from across the doctrinal spectrum, neither of our founders, Natalie Edmonson and Nathan Mayo, hold to Calvinist/Reformed theology.
“Is the Goal of Berean Holiness to Get People to Leave Certain Church Movements?”
No. Our mission statement is guiding believers from fear and shame into the gospel of grace. Our goal is to see Christians thriving in healthy churches, right relationship with Christ, and an accurate understanding of the gospel. No matter what their denomination is, if there’s a healthy church within it that they can attend, then praise God!
Unfortunately, some hyper-fundamentalist denominations have harmful theology at the core of their group identity. Thus, finding a healthy church within them is next to impossible (since they all teach the same erred theology). It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, when many members of these denominations choose to leave after carefully holding up their beliefs to God’s Word (Acts 17:10-11).
When believers from hyper-fundamentalist and/or high-control churches transition to healthier churches, it is often a distressing experience that comes with deep grief and loss. Depending on how cult-like their particular former group has become, they may lose their ministry, their friends, their reputation, their identity, and more. They’ll likely be black-listed as a “backslider,” “rebel,” “compromiser,” etc. by their former group. The gaslighting is so extreme, it is not uncommon for Christians to begin second-guessing their salvation and wondering if God too has abandoned them. It is a season of intense loneliness.
If believers in this situation reach out to Berean Holiness, we will endeavor to support them in their faith in every way we can. They’re in a spiritually vulnerable place during this season, thus, extra support and resources could be the difference between successfully moving to healthy churches and thriving in Christ or sinking into despair and giving up entirely.
Offering support and resources to Christians during this difficult season—helping them disentangle harmful theology from biblical faith—is nothing to be ashamed of. Our loyalty must be to Christ and His Word above denominational affiliation. Although this is a difficult choice to make, it is the denominations’ own doing that puts believers in this predicament. We are cheering those on who choose to please Christ rather than men (Galatians 1:6-10).
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”