About
Christ Fellowship
A gospel-centered community on mission.
Christ Fellowship is a statement of identity. We believe that every human being suffers from the same problem. Because of his sin, he has been alienated from his Creator-God. Left alone, every person will pursue in some form, a God-substitute. But no matter what he pursues, he will come up empty. Man was created to worship God and until he repents of his sin and turns to Christ in faith, he will wander hopeless, pursuing joy and fulfillment in things that cannot deliver what they promise.
We believe that Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Scriptures was God in flesh. We believe that through His miraculous birth, His sinless life, His substitutionary death, His glorious resurrection and His victorious future return, He alone has the ability to change everything. By His grace, He has provided a way for sinful man to be reconciled to holy God. Jesus Christ cancelled the debt and paid the penalty for sin so that man’s deepest and most profound problem could be remedied. In fact, this is fundamentally what a church is-a group of pardoned rebels. Through Christ’s work, a new family is created and it consists of people that are different ages and nationalities; that don’t like all the same things or look exactly the same. But what they do share in common is the reality that they have been transformed by the power and grace of God in Jesus Christ. The church is a fellowship created by Christ and centered on Christ.
Gospel
We are a people who have been changed and are being changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Community
We are a people who have been created into a new community by the grace of Jesus Christ!
Mission
We are a people who have been commissioned to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ!
Pastoral Leadership
Dale Stinson
Pastor
Dale grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville, and came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in his early twenties through the ministry of a local church. Years later he, after being called to vocational Gospel ministry, Dale began serving that same church in the pastoral ministry office.
Dale was called to serve as the Pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in early spring of 2020. Since 2009 Dale has served in various ministerial capacities, from a large Gospel Rescue Mission to small discipleship ministries. Most recently he served as Associate Pastor at Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Dale has a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Biblical Counseling from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also a certified member of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.
Dale believes that God has called him to help people fall in love with Jesus Christ, learn how to live for Him, and how to “go” for Him. He believes that the best way to do this is through the ministry of the local church, where people are taught the Bible so they can know and understand God’s plan for redemption culminating in Jesus Christ.
Dale’s desire is to see Christ Fellowship be a local church where disciples of Jesus are made, shepherded, and then sent out as Christ’s people to both proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to lovingly minister the Gospel in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities.
Dale and his wife Amie have been married since 1996 and they have four sons—Cade, Blake, Elliott, and Kitts. The Stinsons love the Midwest and her people. They are thankful to call Sun Prairie, Wisconsin home!
Servant Ministry Teams
Deacons:
Paul Bennett
Brady Shaffer
Matt Tanis
Ministry Team Leader:
Doug Wagner — Hospitality
What We Believe
We hold to a revised version of the New Hampshire Confession of Faith from 1853.
1. The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
2. Of The True God
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, whose name is JEHOVAH, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
3. Of The Fall of Man
We believe that Man was created in holiness, under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy and happy state; therefore all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but by choice; being by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God, positively inclined to evil; and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse.
4. Of The Way Of Salvation
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God; who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon him our nature, yet without sin; honored the divine law by his personal obedience, and by his death made a full atonement for our sins; that having risen from the dead he is now enthroned in heaven; and uniting in his wonderful person the most tender sympathies with divine perfections, he is every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all-sufficient Savior.
5. Of Justification
We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification; that Justification includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through repentance of sin and faith in the Redeemer’s blood; thereby graciously benefiting the believer with His perfect righteousness freely imputed by God; that it brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity.
6. Of The Freeness Of Salvation
We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a repentant and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth, but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel; which rejection seats him in the state of eternal condemnation.
7. Of Grace In Regeneration
We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again; that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind; that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; and that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.
8. Of Repentance And Faith
We believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger and helplessness, and of the only way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with sincere remorse, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest and King, and relying on Him alone as the only and all sufficient Savior.
9. Of God’s Purpose Of Grace
We believe that Election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, it is a most glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable; that it utterly excludes boasting, and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of his free mercy; that it may be established in all who truly believe the Gospel; that it is the foundation of Christian assurance.
10. Of Sanctification
We believe that Sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of his holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it begins at regeneration; and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means, – especially, the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer.
11. Of The Perseverance Of Saints
We believe that only real believers endure unto the end; that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
12. Of The Harmony Of The Law And The Gospel
We believe that the Law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government; that it is holy, just, and good; and that the inability which the Scriptures ascribes to fallen men to fulfill its commands, arises entirely from their love of sin: to deliver them from the law, and to restore them through a Mediator to sincere obedience to the holy Law, is one great end of the Gospel.
13. Of A Gospel Church
We believe that a visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His word; that its only scriptural officers are Elders or Pastors, and Deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.
14. Of Baptism And The Lord’s Supper
We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a regenerate believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, also signifying our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is pre-requisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord’s Supper, in which the members of the church by the sacred use of bread and wine, are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ; preceded always by solemn self-examination.
15. Of Civil Government
We believe that Civil Government is of Divine appointment, for the welfare and good order of human society; and that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed; except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
16. Of The Righteous And The Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in unrepentant unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death.
17. Of The World To Come
We believe that the end of the world is approaching; that at the last day Christ will descend from heaven, and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy; and that this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness.