Core Doctrine

The Trinity
We confess one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not an abstract formula. It is the shared life of love that every act of worship and every sacrament flows from.

Jesus Christ
We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, fully God and fully human. His life reveals the heart of God. His death reconciles us. His resurrection restores creation and anchors our hope.

The Holy Spirit
We trust the Holy Spirit to guide, heal, and renew the Church, speaking through Scripture, moving through the sacraments, and raising up gifts in every generation.

Scripture and Tradition
We receive Scripture as the authoritative witness to Christ, read within the living Tradition of the Church: her creeds, her liturgy, and the discernment of those who came before us.

The Church
The Church is the Body of Christ, not a building or an institution. It is a people gathered around Christ, shaped by the Spirit, and sent into the world.

Apostolic Succession
We maintain apostolic succession through the laying on of hands. This is not a claim to exclusive authority. It is a sign of continuity with the historic Church.

Mission
The Gospel calls us to the margins first: to the excluded, the overlooked, and the people the broader church and society have made to feel invisible. That is not a program. It is the reason this communion exists.

The Sacraments

Grace does not stay abstract in this tradition. It comes to us through water, bread, wine, oil, and the laying on of hands, ordinary matter carrying real presence. We hold to seven sacraments handed down through the ancient Church.

Baptism
Baptism is the doorway into the life of Christ and the community of the Church, welcoming each person as God's own.

The Eucharist
The Eucharist is the center of our worship. Everything we believe flows from and returns to the table. We practice open communion because we do not believe grace is something the church rations out to the deserving.

Confirmation
Confirmation seals the gifts of the Spirit already at work in a person, strengthening their commitment to Christ and to the mission of the Church.

Reconciliation and Healing
Confession, anointing, and prayers for healing are part of our shared life, trusting God to mend what is broken in body, mind, and spirit.

Ordination
Ordination is the Church's recognition of a call to serve. Clergy do not minister alone. They serve within a communion that supports and holds them accountable.

Marriage
Marriage is a covenant rooted in love, faithfulness, and mutual service. We bless the marriages of all who seek to live that covenant in Christ's love.

What Sets This Communion Apart

Radical Inclusion
The ACCA has welcomed all people since our founding in 1984, at a time when that welcome came at real cost. That was never a modern update to who we are. It was there from the beginning, and it remains non-negotiable, along with full inclusion regardless of race, gender, marital status, or life history.

Shared Authority
No single person or office holds all the doctrinal authority here. Clergy and lay people share responsibility for the life of the church, and each local community has the freedom to live out this faith in the way that fits the people it serves.

Love Is Not a Footnote to the Gospel. It Is the Gospel.
Doctrine, structure, and tradition exist to help us love better. They do not exist to gatekeep who is allowed to receive it.