We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament in their original writings are fully inspired of God, and accept them as the final and complete authority for faith and life.
We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that God created man in His own image; that man sinned and thereby incurred the penalty of death, both physical and spiritual; and that all human beings inherit a sinful nature.
We believe that the Lord Jesus died for our sins, as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are justified and forgiven solely because of His shed blood. We believe that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become a children of God. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven, and His present life as our High Priest and Advocate. We believe in the personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ, at a time only known to God the Father.
We believe in the personality of the Holy Spirit, His regenerating work, and abiding presence in the true believer. We believe that every born-again believer is sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit and is therefore eternally secure in Christ. We believe that Spirit baptism is the internal, spiritual event by which the Holy Spirit places every believer into the body of Christ immediately at conversion and preach that believers must allow the Holy Spirit to have freedom to make us more Christ-like, allowing Him to bring forth fruits (Galatians 5v22-24) and works which were prepared for us to do from eternity past before the foundation of the world.
We believe and teach that all Christians are called to a life of holiness, devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and service for Him, to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and to keep Him central to our worship and related activities.
Because we believe in the priesthood of all believers, we are all responsible and privileged to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures and to make every effort to attract the ‘unchurched’ in our community to our Fellowship, [Matthew 28:18-20].
To provide fellowship and instruction for believers, we are also responsible in seeking to build them up to the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ. [Ephesians 4:13].
We believe in the resurrection both of the just and the unjust, the eternal blessedness of the redeemed, and the eternal banishment of those who have rejected the offer of salvation. We believe in the autonomy of the local church and therefore do not fall under or report to any umbrella body. The elders and deacons are subject to the principles and directives as set out in Scripture, as they apply to the New Testament Church.
PEF is an evangelical church that teaches a ceassationist view of the gifts of the Holy Spirit but we welcome all born again believers who may believe differently. All we expect is a respect of our viewpoint if they wish to become part of the PEF family. As far as future prophetic events are concerned, though we have a pre-millennial standpoint, we do not exclude those who have a post- or A-millennial viewpoint as we all believe in the soon second coming of our Lord.
We practice the two foundational sacraments: firstly, the need to regularly proclaim the Lord’s death till He come, in what is known as Breaking of Bread and Communion. All are welcome to participate, but that participation by unbelievers and those who are struggling with unconfessed sin in their lives are not encouraged. Secondly, we teach the practice of believers’ baptism for all those who have genuinely surrendered their lives to Christ by confessing him as Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead. This baptism requires full immersion and is in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This ceremony normally takes place in the Keurbooms Lagoon after a Sunday service. Though we don’t practice infant baptism, we do dedicate babies at the request of believing parents. This does not imply salvation of the baby, but only a public commitment by the parents to bring the child up in a Christian family with Christian influence.
We do not have a formal membership as our understanding is that any born-again believer is a member of the body of Christ, the Church, however, to facilitate proper administration of the local church, any person, who after a period of visitation desires to be recognised as a regular attendee to the fellowship, shall be included on our church contact list.
The present pastor is a registered marriage officer and has authority to marry believers who regularly meet with us at PEF. Any other requests will be treated on its merits by the elders.
All congregants are encouraged to attend the weekly bible study and prayer groups.