What We Believe
Poema Mission & Beliefs
Poema is an interdenominational campus ministry organization. We are not a church nor are we affiliated with a particular denomination. We exist to serve within the Gospel work taking place on college campuses through churches, para-church organizations, other institutions, and individual kingdom stakeholders for the sake of depth, breadth and sustainability.
Our Mission
Expand the work and witness of Jesus in the world by fostering campus movements in which students:
- Encounter the Gospel in community
- Experience holistic transformation
- Are empowered for just and fruitful lives
(Acts 1:8; John 20:21; Matthew 9:9-13, 36-38, Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 4:16-21; Colossians 1:9-14; Hebrews 10:19-25; Revelation 7:9-10; 21)
Partnership is our guiding value, therefore we pursue our work within the framework of:
- Community Building
- Co-Creation
- Collaboration
- Co-Learning
Our Beliefs
As an interdenominational missions expression, Poema has no creed or confession. It is critical to our work that we remain doctrinally minimalistic. Yet we affirm orthodoxy as expressed in The Apostles Creed and The Nicene Creed (325 AD).
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.
The Lausanne Covenant
Additionally, we recognize and affirm The Lausanne Covenant (1974), produced and ratified within The International Congress on World Evangelization, in recognition of our own participation within the global work of Christian mission.
The Authority and Power of the Bible
Lausanne Covenant, Section 2
We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the power of God’s word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all men and women. For God’s revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God’s people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly through their own eyes and thus discloses to the whole Church ever more of the many-colored wisdom of God.
(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; John 10:35; Isaiah 55:11; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Romans 1:16, Matthew 5:17, 18; Jude 3; Ephesians 1:17, 18; 3:10, 18)
Cooperation in Evangelism
Lausanne Covenant, Section 7
We affirm that the Church’s visible unity in truth is God’s purpose. Evangelism also summons us to unity, because our oneness strengthens our witness, just as our disunity undermines our gospel of reconciliation. We recognize, however, that organisational unity may take many forms and does not necessarily forward evangelism. Yet we who share the same biblical faith should be closely united in fellowship, work and witness. We confess that our testimony has sometimes been marred by a sinful individualism and needless duplication. We pledge ourselves to seek a deeper unity in truth, worship, holiness and mission. We urge the development of regional and functional cooperation for the furtherance of the Church’s mission, for strategic planning, for mutual encouragement, and for the sharing of resources and experience.
(John 17:21,23; Eph. 4:3,4; John 13:35; Phil. 1:27; John 17:11-23)