About Us

Affinity Core Apostolic Church

A united community in Christ, motivated by love, guided by truth, under God's controlling influence.

Affinity Church is a community of Christians who seek to be united in a community motivated by love, guided by truth, and under God’s controlling influence. We affirm that there is one God, the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 8:5-6). We confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God’s anointed Messiah, and that there is no other name given among men by which we might be saved. (Acts 4:12)

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We are part of the Kerygmatic movement, a growing network of believers committed to recovering the original apostolic proclamation as the foundation of Christian faith and practice. Those within the movement identify as Kerygmatic Christians or Core Apostolics, terms that express the same conviction: that the apostolic kerygma, as preserved in the Core New Testament, is the standard of our faith.

The Apostolic Kerygma

At the heart of our faith stands the apostolic kerygma — the foundational proclamation of the earliest church. The Greek word κήρυγμα means “that which is proclaimed,” and it refers to the core message the apostles announced publicly in synagogues and marketplaces across the Roman world. This is the message we hold as the basis of our faith:

The age of fulfillment has dawned; the promises God made through the prophets have been realized.
This fulfillment has taken place through the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
God has exalted Jesus at His right hand as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).
The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ’s present power and glory.
Forgiveness of sins is offered to all who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).

This kerygma is what Peter proclaimed at Pentecost, what Paul proclaimed across the Gentile world, and what we proclaim today. We measure our faith and practice not by the creeds of later centuries but by this apostolic proclamation as preserved in the earliest Christian documents. Whether then it was Paul or the other apostles, so they preached, and so we believe (1 Cor 15:11).

Affinity and Theophilic Christianity

In the context of the church, affinity applies to our relationship with God and to the relationships among brothers and sisters in Christ. Having an affinity for God involves a deep, personal connection and closeness to God. It entails a natural, heartfelt attraction to God, a sense of belonging to God’s family, and the recognition of God as the central part of our lives.

Believers with an affinity toward God are Theophilic Christians. The term “theophilic” is derived from two Greek words: theo, meaning God, and philic, meaning loving or being attracted to. A theophilic Christian is a God-seeker with an affinity toward God.

Having affinity with our brothers and sisters in Christ consists of mutual affection and support, which cultivates a strong sense of community. A shared faith, seeking to be of one accord, and fostering spiritual unity bring us closer into fellowship according to our collective identity as children of God and members of the body of Christ.

The Core New Testament: Our Scriptural Foundation

We are also Theophilic in the sense of regarding both Luke and Acts, addressed to Theophilus, as the most credible foundational witnesses of the Gospel narrative and of Apostolic Christianity. By extension, Paul’s writings have more affinity with Luke-Acts than with the other Gospel narratives. Together, Luke-Acts and Paul’s letters constitute what we call the Core New Testament: the earliest and most historically grounded witness to the apostolic kerygma. These writings give us the clearest snapshot possible of Apostolic Christianity within a few decades of Christ’s ministry. Many may regard additional books as Scripture, but we can all agree on the Core New Testament as the shared Scriptural authority from which our confidence in the apostolic message is derived (see CoreBible.app).

Like the most excellent Theophilus referred to at the beginning of Luke and Acts, we are friends of God concerned with knowing the truth from someone who reviewed everything carefully from the beginning (Luke 1:1-4). We regard Luke as the preferred Gospel with the highest historical accuracy and reliability (see NTcanon.com).

As Apostolic Christians, we emphasize the essential Gospel message as affirmed by the Core New Testament, with the core emphasis being the kerygma preached by the apostles in the Book of Acts: that this Jesus, whom they crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ. We affirm the apostles’ doctrine of Acts 2:38: repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (see ApostlesDoctrine.net). Taking these foundational authorities to heart, they are sufficient as the basis for a saving faith.

Kerygmatic Christology

The earliest apostolic kerygma identifies Jesus as a man attested by God with mighty works, whom God raised from the dead and exalted as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:22-36). This kerygmatic Christology is the Christology we confess.

We are Biblical Unitarian in our theology, understanding that although Jesus was a prophetic reality in God’s plan and purpose before he was conceived, he was not a pre-existent incarnate being (see TrueUnitarian.com). Rather, Jesus, whom Paul calls the “last Adam,” came into existence as a human with no prior conscious existence, in the likeness of the first Adam. We know it is within the biblical tradition to call agents of God “God” in a limited or qualified sense, as those empowered yet subordinate to the one God and Father (see BiblicalAgency.com). However, the Father is the only true God in his nature or essence. As God’s anointed agent, Jesus’s power and authority are not derived from himself but are given to him by God. Correct theology is summed up in a single sentence by Paul: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life as a ransom for all, the testimony at the proper time” (1 Tim 2:5-6).

We read all of Scripture through the lens of the apostolic kerygma. The explicit proclamation of Acts and Paul’s letters provides the interpretive framework within which the more figurative language of John’s Gospel is understood. Although John’s Gospel is explicitly Unitarian when read carefully, its metaphorical and esoteric language has historically lent itself to misguided notions about Christ. We affirm that for any Trinitarian “proof-text,” there is a perfectly reasonable Unitarian explanation. Most relate to Jesus being at the center of God’s plan and purpose to provide salvation to humanity and being exalted by God with power and authority.

Restorationist Identity

We are Restorationist Christians who seek to follow the model of 1st-century Apostolic Christianity. We are part of the Kerygmatic movement (Core Apostolic Church), a growing network of believers committed to recovering the original apostolic kerygma as the foundation of Christian faith and practice. We affirm that mainstream Christianity has deviated from the faith of Christ and his apostles through theological developments spanning the first 500 years and in later periods. “Orthodox” Christianity (including Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and mainstream Protestantism) embodies many alterations and expansions to Christian belief and practice (see OrthodoxCorruption.com). The apostolic kerygma provides the standard by which these later developments are measured and found wanting.

Freedom Under the Law of Christ

We assert our freedom under the law of Christ, distinguishing it from the Mosaic Law (see NotUnderTheLaw.net). We reject the necessity for believers to adhere to the observances mandated by the Mosaic Law, such as feasts, dietary restrictions, and other rituals. Instead, we emphasize that faith in Christ liberates believers from these Old Testament requirements. Furthermore, we do not insist on using Hebrew names, terms, or Hebrewized versions of the Bible. We believe the message and teachings of Christianity transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Contact

Affinity Church is the ecclesiastical vision of Theophilus Josiah (Josiah Verkaik), the founder of Integrity Syndicate. Contact Josiah if you are interested in helping build this movement: [email protected]. You can also join the Affinity Church Discord server at this invite link: https://discord.gg/mkzyVuHQar