Church Strengthening Ministry is a
theologically conservative publisher who believes:
The Scriptures: The Holy Bible was written by men
divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It has God for its
author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error. It is the
standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be
tried. CSM will not publish anything that violates biblical truth.
God: There is only one living and true God. He is the
Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the Universe. God is infinite in
holiness and all other perfections. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us
as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without
division of nature essence, or being.
Man: Man was created by God as recorded in Genesis. He
created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. Through the
temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God and fell from his
original innocence whereby his posterity inherits a sin nature and environment
inclined toward sin. Men inherit a nature corrupt and in bondage to sin, are
under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become
actual transgressors.
Salvation: There is no salvation apart from personal
faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole
man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
who by his own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
The Church: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ
is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by
covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances
of Christ, (baptism and the Lord’s supper) governed by His Laws, exercising the
gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to
extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the
Lordship of Christ and each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as
Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. CSM believes that every
employee and Board member should be a committed Christian who actively exercises
his spiritual gifts through the membership and ministries of a local evangelical
church.
Evangelism and Missions: It is the duty and privilege
of every follower of Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. It is
one of CSM’s core values to provide materials and training that will strengthen
the believer and the local church toward this end.
Cooperation: Members of New Testament churches should
cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and
benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom. Christian unity in
the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for
common ends by various groups of Christ’s people. CSM is committed to
cooperation with other Christian denominations when such cooperation involves no
violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as
revealed in the New Testament.
The Family: God has ordained the family as the
foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man
and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to
reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and
the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of
sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation
of the human race. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral
values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving
discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and
obey parents.
