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Our Purpose
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The Corporation is organized exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law), including, but not limited to, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding Section of any future tax code and to provide religious and scientific education service to adults and children, to make, sell and distribute educational videos, books, programs, and other materials consistent with our religious, educational purpose and to act as a professional association for other charitable religious organizations with a similar purpose, providing them with assistance, direction, support and access to whatever benefits we can negotiate as a collective of said charitable religious organizations; and to engage in any other activity not prohibited to Corporations under the Florida Not-For-Profit Corporation Act that is in furtherance of tax-exempt purposes.
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Our Statement of Faith
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Section 1: Priorities of the Christian Faith
o The scientific aspects of creation are important but are secondary in importance to the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ as Sovereign, Creator, Redeemer, and Judge.
o The doctrines of Creator and Creation cannot ultimately be divorced from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Section 2: Basics of the Christian Faith
- The 66 books of the Bible are the written Word of God. The Bible is divinely inspired, inerrant, and infallible throughout. Its assertions are factually true in all the original autographs [preserved by God in its verbal and plenary inspiration]. It is the supreme authority in everything it teaches [for every age and every life]. Its authority is not limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes but includes its assertions in such fields as history and science.
- The final guide to the interpretation of Scripture is Scripture itself.
- The account of origins presented in Genesis is a simple but factual presentation of actual events and therefore provides a reliable framework [read: essential supporting structure] for scientific [inquiry and] research into the question of the origin and history of life, mankind, the earth, and the universe.
- The various original life forms (kinds), including mankind [who were created in the image of God], were made by direct creative acts of God. The living descendants of any of the original kinds (apart from man) may represent more than one species today, reflecting the genetic potential within the original kind. Only limited biological changes (including mutational deterioration) have occurred naturally within each kind since creation.
- The great Flood of Genesis was an actual historic event, worldwide (global) in its extent and [catastrophic] effect.
- The special creation of Adam [who was the first literal man] and Eve [who was the first literal woman], and their subsequent fall into [literal] sin, is the basis for the necessity of salvation for mankind.
- Death (both physical and spiritual) and bloodshed entered into this world subsequent to and as a direct consequence of man’s sin [which wrought curse upon the entirety of creation, including humans, who were all born, starting with Cain and Abel all the way to present, with a sin nature].
Section 3: Theology & Practice
- The Godhead is triune: one God, three Persons [eternally co-existing, completely co-equal, and each fully possessing the attributes of Deity]—[revealing Himself in three persons,] God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
- All mankind are sinners, inherently from Adam and individually (by choice), and are therefore subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
- Freedom from the penalty and power of sin is available to man [on an individual basis] only through the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ and His complete and bodily resurrection from the dead.
- The Holy Spirit enables the sinner to repent and believe [abide and live] in Jesus Christ.
- The Holy Spirit lives and works in each believer to produce the fruits of righteousness.
- Salvation is a gift received by [grace alone, through] faith alone[,] in Christ alone[, according to Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone;] and expressed in the individual’s repentance [and belief], recognition of the death of Christ as full payment for sin, and acceptance of the risen Christ as Savior, Lord, and God [His work, leading to life and godliness in the believer].
- All things necessary for our salvation are expressly set down in Scripture.
- Jesus Christ [the only begotten Son of God] was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born [with a sinless nature] of the virgin Mary [to live a perfect life as true God and true man, teaching and performing mighty works and wonders and signs just as the four Gospels reveal].
- Jesus Christ [sacrificially died a sinner’s death as our substitute, paid the rightful penalty that we deserved, and atoned for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, then] rose bodily from the dead [on the third day], [then forty days later] ascended to heaven, and is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father [where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers], and shall return in person [in a manner which is personal, visible, audible, and glorious] to this earth as Judge of the living [the righteous living will be changed and joined with Christ; the unrighteous living will be condemned and eternally separated from Christ] and the dead [the righteous dead will be physically resurrected and joined with Christ; the unrighteous dead will be subject to hellfire and eternally separated from Christ].
- Satan [a created, fallen being] is the personal spiritual adversary of both God and mankind.
- Those who do not believe in Christ are subject to everlasting conscious punishment [without an intermediate state of life after death], but believers [being justified on the ground of His shed blood] enjoy eternal life in the presence of God [while eternal life is experienced by believers who are living here on the Earth through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of eternal life begins at the moment of a believer’s passing from this temporary life on Earth].
- The only legitimate marriage sanctioned by God is the joining of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other, and has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of sexual immorality, including but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, or any attempt to change one’s gender, or disagreement with one’s biological gender, is sinful and offensive to God.
- Human life is created in the image of God, which begins from the moment of fertilization and ends upon natural death, therefore we reject every notion to the contrary and condemn [in the strongest terms possible] violations concerning one’s right to life.
- It is the duty [in so much as it is our pleasure] of Christians to attend a local Bible-believing church [to live in fellowship and unity through Christ with fellow believers], as portrayed in the New Testament.
Section 4: General Statements
The following are held by the Board of Directors and Staff of International Association for Creation to be either consistent with Scripture or implied by Scripture:
- Scripture teaches a recent origin for man and the whole creation, spanning approximately 4,000 years from creation to Christ.
- The days in Genesis do not correspond to geologic ages but are six [6] consecutive twenty-four [24] hour days of creation [in which God created spherical planets, which revolve around the sun, including Earth having been made especially suitable by God for the water to be filled with living creatures and that birds would fly above the earth across the sky, that the land would be covered with living creatures, and that His image-bearers would be fruitful and multiply as to fill the Earth and carry out the will of God].
- The Noachian Flood was a significant geological event and much (but not all) fossiliferous sediment originated at that time.
- The gap theory has no basis in Scripture.
- The view, commonly used to evade the implications or the authority of biblical teaching, that knowledge and/or truth may be divided into secular and religious, is rejected.
- By definition, no apparent, perceived, or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the scriptural record. Of primary importance is the fact that evidence is always subject to interpretation by fallible people who do not possess all information.
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Our Code of Professional Ethics
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Understanding the necessity of community outreach and educational opportunities for youth and adults alike, and the desire of the International Association for Creation to “see believers from every nation, tribe, and tongue enjoy quality Christ-centered education” the IAC recognizes the need to ”credibly promote, protect, and preserve the God-given, inalienable right of every individual human being to access quality Christ-centered education,” the IAC also recognizes that the general public looks to us to bring conformity to ethical behavior into our business operations, management, financial, and relational responsibilities.
Recognizing the Bible as our standard by which we must evaluate our daily lives, our service in ministry, and all of our actions both seen and unseen. Subject to the Corporate Purpose contained within the Bylaws of the IAC, we have adopted the following Code of Ethics for our Board, our personnel, and our members to be held to:
1. I shall conduct my personal life, corporate ministry, and business affairs that will uphold the name of the Lord, not bringing reproach to His name, the IAC, or its members. I will ensure that my speech and actions bring glory and pleasure to the Lord and encourage others to do the same.
2. I will speak the truth in love and honesty at all times.
3. I will respect the Lord and others by recognizing what the Lord is doing through individuals and organizations while not partaking in undue criticism of them.
4. I will not use my ministry to speak falsely against anyone.
5. When I believe a fellow member has sinned against me or the Lord or has violated the Code of Ethics, I will follow the Word of God in seeking reconciliation and repentance.
6. I will seek to honor my obligations to my local church, my family, my colleagues, my ministry partners, my vendors, my community, and the government. This includes both professional and ethical financial management in general, and when specific matters emerge, we will default to the guidelines provided by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (this does not require IAC members to be accredited by the ECFA, just defer to their guidelines).
7. Concerning matters of dispute, I pledge to submit my grievances to Christian arbitration as outlined in Holy Scripture for resolution rather than involving the courts of the land. However, I understand, that this shall not prohibit a member from expressing genuine concern to another brother in accordance to Matthew 18:15-17
8. I will refrain from any and all sexual misconduct or lifestyle, such as homosexuality or adultery, which are violations of Holy Scripture, or any promotion of the same.
9. IAC members that are 501(c)(3) organizations agree not to use their God-given platforms for political campaigning (e.g., since 1954, Congress imposed a requirement on all 501(c)(3) exempt organizations that they not engage in partisan political activity. Of course, this does not mean that we cannot speak to issues that have both Biblical and political significance, it simply means that we cannot specifically campaign).
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Our Declaration
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We, at the International Association for Creation, affirm that our mutual relationships are bound within the unity we have in Jesus Christ, reaffirm this day our devotion to the Sacred Scripture of God’s Holy Word and declare anew our unwavering commitment to using every resource available to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and share the wonders of His creation.
Believing that the days ahead are full of great opportunity in the Kingdom of God, we rededicate ourselves both individually and corporately to the calling that Jesus Christ has placed on our lives, that is to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28) and to purpose in unity to do our part in helping to fulfill the Great Commission given by our Savior and King. And in the strength Christ has given us through unity in His Spirit, we declare the following:
Declaration
We proclaim the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior and Lord over all things. As we proclaim this good news, that Jesus Christ came to rescue sinners, Holy Scripture is adamant that all who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ are welcomed by God into an eternal relationship with Him.
We profess that the redemption of Jesus Christ is the central truth of Holy Scripture, and that Holy Scripture defines who we are in Jesus Christ and is preeminent over all things. We must be careful to study the Word of God to accurately represent God’s Word in our community and our culture at large through being like Christ in our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
We acknowledge that as professionals in the Christian community, we bear a special responsibility to be good stewards of the gifts and talents that God has bestowed upon us. We must always have our first priority being that of speaking the truth of Jesus Christ, clearly putting forth the Gospel message that has been set forth to change lives for eternity through redemption and reconciliation by the power of Jesus Christ.
We recognize that it is our obligation before God to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to creatively engage the community through Christ-centered education to point to Our Creator and Redeemer.
We remember that it is our responsibility to refrain from such theological matters that tend to divide the household of faith, and instead to focus on the message of redemption found only in Christ Jesus.
We embrace our mandate before God to boldly proclaim the Word of God and the objective truths that are therein.
We confess that we do not always measure up to this high and holy calling which God has placed before us, however, despite our short-comings we shall continually strive to be like Christ in the way we demonstrate compassion and humility.
We affirm that our ultimate citizenship is within the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, yet we understand that our secondary citizenship coincides with this earthly kingdom and we will use our God-given rights and privileges here on earth that are given to us from Heaven.
We declare the sincerity of our faith through being of the mindset to advance religious liberty, which is an important foundation of any free society, and in this, we commit ourselves to exercise our rights within the framework of our nation’s laws to defend and preserve it.
We accept, fully and without dispute, our charge to be obedient to the commands of Christ and preach the Word of God, even if human governments and institutions attempt to oppose, constrain, or prohibit it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]