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A christ Centered Church for This Generation
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WHERE ARE WE?
'the Place' is located in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. We serve the communities of Hesperia, Victorville, Adelanto, and Apple Valley. We are about 90 miles east of Los Angeles on highway 15. In the Upper Desert, we are located just north of Main Street at 9875 Seventh Avenue, Hesperia, California.

WHAT ARE WE?
'The Place' is a local Church founded upon the word of God, the Bible. Since the Bible is infallible, we look to is as our source of reference in how a local church should operate. Our church is governed by the local appointed elders and submitted to the Headship of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not a denomination; we are a gathering of believers committed to the Christian Faith.

WHAT IS OUR ORIGIN?
'The Place' was birthed in the fall of 1999 and actually became 'the Place' in the year 2000. It was the result of a call of God on the lives of John and Karen Ring. They felt sent to Southern California in August of 1991 to start the Care Counseling Center. At a ministers conference in June of 1999, in Anchorage, Alaska during an evening message, Pastor John felt the Lord tell him to go back and begin a work that would reach out specifically to generation X. It was to be an evangelistic church, building itself from new believers and calling itself 'the Place'. Pastor John Ring received his training in Anchorage Alaska at Abbott Loop Bible College and then served that church as an elder for three years prior to coming to California. He was ordained as a pastor of 'the Place' in October 1999 having served as an ordained elder for a total of seven years in two different churches.

ARE WE CHARISMATIC?
Rather than calling ourselves "Charismatic", we prefer to stick to a closer description of the Bible in defining the disciples of Jesus: "And they were called Christians first in Antioch..." Acts 11:26. By saying this, we are not implying disdain for the Charismatic movement for we do believe in and practice the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is a wonderful experience to witness God moving in our church through healing, prophecy, tongues and their interpretation, and whatever gift God chooses to use that is found in I Corinthians 12:8-10. The word "Charismatic" is derived from the Greek work "charisma", which means: a gift of grace. The gifts we see operate in our church are gifts that are freely given by God.

WHAT ABOUT OUR SERVICES?
We believe in order and structure in our services as described in I Corinthians 14. Our God is not a God of disorder or confusion. Therefore, we endeavor to conduct our services in an orderly manner. However in all of this we allow the Holy Spirit the liberty to control the course and direction of our services and do not discourage the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit dilineated in I Corinthians 12.

PRAYER
We consider prayer to be the lifeline of a Christians relationship with the Lord. We believe that more is accomplished in prayer than in all the endeavors our strength can accomplish.The pastor opens his office for corporate prayer one day a week and we encourage prayer in all that a Christian does.
Our services begin in prayer. We have "Pre-Service Prayer" scheduled at 9:15 on Sunday mornings to wait on God and enter into a worship of Him. It is our conviction that prayer enhances one being sensitive to the move of the Holy Spirit in the services, and it is also helpful in creating an atmosphere and environment for faith to flow and God to speak to us.

WORSHIP
The worship of the Lord is a vitally important part of each of our services. Therefore, a good portion of our service is devoted to the worship of our God. He is worthy to be praised and our worship of Him is to be done in Spirit and truth. During worship service, we sing songs from Scripture and hymns (Psalm 30:4), while being accompanied by musical instruments (Psalm 150). Sometimes we will clap our hands (Psalm 47:1), sometimes we will lift our hands (Psalm 30:4), and we may sit or stand (Psalm 134:1) during our worship service. We may also enter into a time of "free praise". During this time, we have opportunity to express from our hearts, in our own words, our love and adoration to the Lord, singing a "new song" (Psalms 33:1-3 & 40:1-3).

SPIRITUAL GIFTS
During our worship service, there may be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the way of Spiritual Gifts, as taught in I Corinthians 12-14. These must be done for the edification, comfort, encouragement of all who are present, as seen in I Corinthians 14:3 and 26. While we do not sing in tongues in our worship service, we do encourage the Gift of Tongues to be exercised during this time. In accordance with Scripture, it must be interpreted.

PREACHING AND TEACHING
A major portion of each service is devoted to the preaching and teaching of God's Word, the Bible. We use the Bible extensively in our sermons because of the effect it has on the listener (Hebrews 4:12, Romans 10:17), and because it is the foundation of our beliefs. We wish to present our teaching as supported by the whole bible. Doctrine is "precept upon precept, ... line upon line,... here a little, there a little" (Isaiah 28:10 KJV) and not by scripture taken out of context.

PERSONAL MINISTRY
Following the message, we take time to minister to those who need salvation, Spirit baptism, water baptism, or those who need healing or prayer, as described in the Word of God (Mark 16:17-18). We welcome participation in this body ministry. (Ephesians 4:16)

WE BELIEVE:

1. In one God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
2. That Jesus Christ always was and is the son of God.
3. In the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrections, and His ascension to the right hand of God the Father, and in His personal return to this earth in power and glory.
4. That all have sinned and that the only means of being cleansed from sin is through the Blood of Jesus Christ.
5. That regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for personal salvation.
6. That man is justified by faith in Jesus Christ, apart from works.
7. That the redemptive work of Christ provides healing for the whole man; body, soul and spirit.
8. That a person baptized with the Holy Spirit will speak with new tongues.
9. In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling presence the believer is enabled to live a godly life which manifests the fruit of the Spirit.
10. That the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as enumerated in I Corinthians 12-14 should be practiced and manifested in the church today.
11. In the Resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved to everlasting life, and the lost to eternal judgement.
12. In water baptism, by immersion; in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
13. That the Bible is the infallible Word of God, given to men by the inspiration of God.
14. In the reality and personality of our enemy, Satan.
15. We also remember the Lord's death in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. His blood purchased salvation for us. His broken body purchased healing for us.