What do we believe?
The Arche Church is an evangelical Reformed church in Hamburg with the gospel at its center — the good news of Jesus Christ. He took upon Himself the sins of humanity and died on the cross as a substitute so that all who believe in Him receive forgiveness, acceptance by God, and eternal life. The Arche believes this based on the Bible, the inspired and inerrant Word of God, which serves as the standard in all areas of life.
The Arche acknowledges God’s omnipotence and His sovereignty over the world and salvific history, which is also visible in His electing grace. The Holy Spirit actively works in the hearts of people, giving them saving faith and equipping them with various gifts so that they are strengthened in Him and transform more into the likeness of Jesus.
Jesus has established His church for this purpose. In worship services, we worship God together and listen to sermons that are faithful to the biblical text. Beyond the local church family, Jesus’ Great Commission to reach the ends of the earth applies. The Arche is engaged missionally and socially in various countries worldwide and focuses on spreading the gospel through television, the internet, and literature.
OUR PROFESSION OF FAITH
Why reformed?
Since 2008, the church and missions organization, Arche e.V., has included “Evangelical Reformed Free Church” in its name. This change has led to frequent questions about the meaning of “reformed”.
As one might expect, it relates to the Reformation. However, it is not limited to the well-known reformers like Luther and Calvin but also encompasses many other Christian leaders who have continually worked to restore the gospel to its biblical foundations. These reformers include John Wyclif, John Knox, John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, George Whitefield, Georg Müller, Johann Gerhard Oncken, and many others. Their common goal was that the Holy Scriptures remain the sole standard. The church must always be reformed in light of the Holy Scriptures.
Over the centuries, these reformers wrote passionate confessions of faith and called their biblically faithful convictions “reformed theology”, a tradition that Arche proudly upholds. Correctly understood, reformed theology is simply the theology of the Bible.
