WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe God is telling a story with our world and invites us to be a part of it. At the heart of this story is the conviction that Jesus is Lord and that His Kingdom is breaking into our world to offer reconciliation and tastes of heaven here and now. We orient our lives around this idea. We also affirm the central truths of historic Christian faith that help frame this story. We see ourselves in a long line of generations who believed these truths. Our statement of faith is how we articulate them...

THE HOLY BIBLE

We believe that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” We, therefore, believe that the very words of Scripture are the only complete and final revelation from God and are the supreme standard of all faith and practice. We further believe that Scripture “never had its origin in the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)

THE TRIUNE GOD

We believe in one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, eternally co-equal in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, without division of nature, essence, or being. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 9:14; Matthew 3:16, 17)

God the Father

We believe God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace. God is all-powerful and all-knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future. (Genesis 1:1, 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6)

God the Son

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and He became man when He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe that Christ led a sinless life, died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven. We further believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest and is the only and sufficient Mediator between God and man. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:15, 7:25)

God the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God. He convicts of sin, regenerates the sinner, reveals truth, and enables and energizes believers in matters of prayer, godly living and service. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth, and He empowers the preaching, teaching and understanding of the Gospel. (John 3: 5-6, 14:16-17, 14:26, 16:8-11; Romans 8:14, 16, 26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14)

THE EMENY & OUR SIN NATURE

We believe that Satan is an angelic being, the unholy god of this age and the leader of all the powers of darkness. We also believe that Satan tempted and deceived man into sinning against God, whereby his posterity inherited a nature and an environment inclined toward sin and are therefore, under condemnation. We further believe that Satan will be judged for his actions and ultimately cast into the lake of fire. (Genesis 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 20:1-3, 10)

THE CREATION AND THE FALL

We believe that God, who alone is uncreated and eternal, has formed and given existence to everything outside of himself. God created the human race male and female and that these two genetically distinct yet complementary sexes reflect the image and nature of God. Adam, the first man, sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. As a result of this original sin, all human beings are born with a sinful nature. That sinful nature is demonstrated through active rebellion and passive indifference to God. Man has absolutely no personal ability to merit God’s favor, change his nature or his spiritual condition. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:10-18, 5:12, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:8-9)

DEATH & RESURRECTION

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a perfect and substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, His ascension into Heaven and His present life there as High Priest and Advocate for us. (1 John 4:10; Romans 6:3; Matthew 20:28; 1 John 2:2; 1 Peter 1:18; 19, 2:5; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Acts 1:9)

SALVATION

We believe that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” We further believe that salvation involves repentance from sin and a turning in faith to Christ as personal Lord and Savior. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that each child of God is sealed by the Holy Spirit and preserved for eternity. As a result, we believe that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39, 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 3:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

THE CHURCH

We believe that the Church is defined as the body of Christ, with Jesus as its head, and is composed of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, thus embracing all the redeemed called by God, born of the Spirit, and justified by faith. The Church is called to meet regularly for worship, edification, equipping, fellowship, and correction so that God is glorified, the Gospel is communicated, and believers come to maturity. The Church, God’s chosen people, are ultimately sent on a mission to make His name known everywhere they go through everything they do. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11-13, 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18, 24; 1 Timothy 3:15; Acts 20:28)

THE LORD'S SUPPER & BAPTISM

We believe baptism and the Lord’s Supper are prescribed practices for the Church. Baptism following conversion is a testimony portraying the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper to remember and proclaim His death and resurrection until He comes again. (Matthew 26:26-30, I Corinthians 11:18-32, Matthew 3:13- 15, Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12, 1 Peter 3:21)

KINGDOM OF GOD

We believe the Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over local communities who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. (Matthew 24:27-31, 36, 25:31; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Jude 14; Zechariah 14:4-5)

THE END OF DAYS

We believe in the imminent, personal, and bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that all will be judged by God, which will result in the eternal state of blessing for the believer and the eternal state of punishment for the unbeliever. (Malachi 3:18; Matthew 25:31-46; John 3:36, 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Hebrews 9:28; James 5:8)

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