We have strived to:
At Fortis, we refuse to capitulate. We will stand firm.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory (Deut. 6:4; John 1:1-4; 16:7-15; Luke 1:35; Matt. 3:16-17).
We believe in God, who is Spirit and a person; infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth; sovereign (Deut. 4:15-18; John 4:24; Exodus 3:14; Num. 23:19).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinners (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:30-35; Phil 2:5-8; Heb. 4:15; Matt. 1:18-25). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood on the cross, where He died as a representative, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is ensured by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Rom. 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and now is exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1-2).
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, and not merely an influence; that He is the source and power of all acceptable worship and service. We believe that His work is to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, to convict and regenerate sinners, to dwell in the hearts of believers, to guide, comfort, protect, and sanctify them in this world, and to glorify Christ. We believe that He will never depart from the Church nor from the weakest believers (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:13-15; Acts 1:8, 5:3-4; Rom. 8:2, 16; I Cor. 6:19, 12:13; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 4:30, 5:18).
We believe that Christians should bear a good testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ by living lives separated unto God, abstaining from worldly practices (Rom. 12:1-2; I Cor. 3:16-17, 8:13; II Cor. 6:3, 14-18; I Thess. 5:22; I John 2:15).
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved in the sense that his whole being is affected and cursed by sin so that he cannot, in this state, please God. We believe that he is unrighteous in an absolute sense and can only accomplish relative good. We believe that he is lost and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Eph. 2:1-3, 12; Rom. 3:22, 5:12). We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and that man is justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and is thus given a new position of righteousness and holy standing before God, in which he becomes a son of God by spiritual rebirth, a new creation in Christ (John 1:12; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:14-15, 10:10; II Cor. 5:17). We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5). We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-14).
We believe in the imminent, personal, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ to gather His bride, the Church. This should be the joyful hope of every believer. While we generally hold to a pre-tribulation, dispensational view, the staff at Fortis Institute holds alternative orthodox positions re. eschatology (Acts 1:11; I Thess. 4:16-17, 3:13; Colossians 3:4; Revelation 19:11-16).
We believe that Satan is a fallen angel; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; that he is the prince of the power of the air, often appearing to man as an angel of light, but that he attempts to frustrate all of God’s purposes through hindering the faithful proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that eventually Satan and those separated from the goodness of God will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to be eternally tormented and separated from God (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matt. 4:2-11; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:10).
We believe that every unrepentant, unbelieving sinner whose sins have not been forgiven through Jesus Christ, will immediately be condemned after death to conscious torment until the Great White Throne Judgment, when they will be reunited with their body and cast into a literal, eternal place of conscious torment, never to be annihilated, but punished by God Himself, with everlasting torment for their sins, separated from all that is good about God. Further, we believe that all of those who have received the gifts of repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will, at death, immediately enter into His presence in Heaven and will there remain in conscious comfort until the resurrection of the body at His coming for His bride, the Church, when soul and body will be reunited and they, together with the saints from all ages, will dwell with Him forever in glory (Luke 16:19-26, 23:43; John 3:36; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; II Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15, 21:8).
We believe in the verbal, plenary God-breathed inspiration of the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, consisting of 66 books, inerrant in the original writings. The Bible is God’s sufficient revelation to man, and there is no need for any additional revelation from God (II Tim. 3:16-17; Matt. 5:18; II Peter 1:21-22; John 16:12-13).
We believe that the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age and is distinct from the nation of Israel (Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25-27; I Cor. 12:12-14; II Cor. 11:2). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
We believe that every new believer should be baptized (preferably by immersion) in water as a physical picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and as a picture of the believer’s death to self, and resurrection to new life in Christ. Baptism does not, by any means, confer forgiveness. Baptism is an outward picture of an inward work of grace (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 10:48).
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic meal of bread and wine that represents the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper does not confer forgiveness. The Lord’s Supper should only be partaken by those who are repentant believers who are willing to make amends with anyone in the body if there is division. The failure to rightly examine oneself in this manner could result in weakness, sickness, or even death (Mark 14:22-25; I Corinthians 11:23-24).
Phil Johnson is the voice of Grace to You and has founded several well-known websites, including The Spurgeon Archive, The Hall of Church History, and Pyromaniacs. He is an ordained elder and pastor at Grace Community Church. Phil resides in California with his wife, Darlene, and they have three adult children and seven grandchildren.
Emeal Zwayne is the President of Living Waters Publications. He studied Biblical Studies and Theology at Biola University and received pastoral ordination in 1995. Emeal served for nearly six years as a full-time Associate Pastor and Vice President of his Church’s board. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Rachel, and their five children.
Todd Friel is the current host of Wretched TV and Radio and the former host of Way of the Master Radio. He has authored six books and five evangelistic booklets and has produced more than two dozen Bible study courses. Todd and his wife have three adult children.
T Getterman graduated from Texas A&M University in 1975 with a BBA in Accounting. He worked at Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young) before running The Seven-Up Bottling Company of Austin. After operating his own CPA firm for approximately seven years, T served as Chief Financial Officer for Supercuts for fourteen years.
Gary Wetherhold retired from ABB after thirty-two years of service. He currently serves as Director of Counseling, Children, and Families at Grace Fellowship. Gary and his wife, Donna, have three children and nine grandchildren.
Tracing the history of Fortis and the conviction that has shaped it for 25 years.
Trusted voices, grounded in Scripture, equipping the Church for enduring faithfulness.
Todd Friel knows what it’s like to be a phony Christian; he studied to be a pastor without actually being saved.
Oops.
That is why Todd is so passionate about:
Libby Glosson believes most women are looking for joy in all the wrong places.
That is why Libby is so passionate about:
Tim Challies has spent years convincing Christians that what happens on Sunday morning is the most extraordinary thing happening on earth.
That is why Tim is so passionate about:
Greg Gifford served as a U.S. Army Captain before God called him to a different kind of battle—the human heart.
Turns out, the church needed better weapons than it had.
That is why Greg is so passionate about:
John Crotts has spent thirty years watching men fill their heads with good theology and still fail to lead their families.
That is why John is so passionate about:
Andrew Walker watched a culture abandon its moral foundation and realized most Christians had no idea how to respond.
The silence had to stop.
That is why Andrew is so passionate about:
Brad Bigney has counseled enough Christians to see the pattern: our real problem isn’t our circumstances. It’s our idols.
That is why Brad is so passionate about:
Adam Tyson left a career in cardiovascular surgery because he realized the most urgent heart problem isn’t physical.
That is why Adam is so passionate about:
Jason Lisle earned a PhD in astrophysics, spent years studying the sun, and discovered something most scientists won’t say out loud: the universe is exactly what Genesis says it is.
That is why Jason is so passionate about:
As a pastor, Jason Allen is absolutely committed to helping churches and Christians access sound biblical teaching without barriers. Jason is committed to developing initiatives, events, and resources designed to equip believers, strengthen local churches, and advance the gospel.
Jason is passionate about:
Jimmy Hicks spent twenty years spinning discs on country radio in Tennessee. A consummate radio professional, nobody delivers the news like Handsome Jimmy Hicks (as he was known on country radio).
Jimmy is passionate about:
Gary Varvel spent 24 years as a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist saying what most people were afraid to say.
He hasn’t stopped.
That is why Gary is so passionate about:
