What We Believe
“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 1:13
the word of god
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
salvation
We believe that all men are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as personal Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This is the only way to obtain eternal salvation. No ordinance, offering, or work can save anyone (John 3:5; 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23).
jesus
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and is totally God and totally man. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal, visible return to earth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-26; Luke 1:35; John 1:1; John 3:16)
God the Father
We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and eternal death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (John. 15:7; Ac. 1:7; James 5:13-20; 1 John 5:14-15)
The Trinity
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in divinity, and that they execute different but harmonious roles. (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 57:15; Matthew 28:19; John 14:7-12; 16:6)
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer in Christ, and that He is an a-biding helper, teacher, comforter, and guide. We believe that He gives every believer one or more spiritual gifts that are to be used to build up the church, promote unity of faith and knowledge, and bring spiritual maturity (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:11; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12-14)
The Church
We believe that the church consists of two distinctions, the universal Church (all true believers in Jesus Christ from all ages and all locations) and the local church. The purpose of both is to glorify God, evangelize the world and edify believers. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 15:5-9; 2 Thessalonians 11-12)
Christian Conduct
We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well being of his fellow man; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ (Romans 8:14; 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 4:17-25)
The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ in commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3:13-17; 26:20-30; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-24)
The Last Things
We believe in the personal, visible, and imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ to remove His church. We believe in a time of great tribulation and in the earthly kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men for final judgment, with eternal joy for the righteous and endless suffering for the wicked. (Luke 12:35-40; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelations 20).
The Value of All Human Life
We believe in the value and importance of all human life, including the unborn. We stand against the practices of abortion or the elimination of any person or persons based upon age, race, nationality, sex, religion, or physical condition. (Psalm 139:1-24; Isaiah 49:15; Matthew 5:21; 18:10; 25:40).
sexual Conduct
We believe that God created sexual relations to be enjoyed only within the bounds of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman. (Genesis 1; 18-19; Romans 1:18-32; Jude 7)
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as premarital sex, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s gender, or disagreement with one’s biological gender, is sinful and offensive to God.
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly. 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 every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with scripture nor the doctrines of the church.
Religious liberty
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.
The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe as interpreted and applied by our Overseers, which includes the Pastor(s) of the church. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible Word of God and is the final authority concerning morality and conduct of mankind.
