Jesus

We believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and God in human form.  We believe that the virgin-born Son of God died for our sins, was buried, rose from the dead, and is coming again. We believe He is both fully God and fully man. - Philippians 2:5-7, John 14:19, John 8:58, John 1:1, 14, Colossians 2:9

 

Bible

We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content and without any error in its teaching and is “living and active” ever speaking to our present circumstances. - Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21

 

Sin and Salvation

We believe that all people are guilty of sin because all people are born with a sinful nature, which leads all people to sin. - Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:23

We believe the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross is the sole basis of atonement for the sins of mankind. - Isaiah 53:3-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:8

We believe that the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life are promised to those who trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. - John 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:8-9

We believe the New Testament teaches that the pattern for following and receiving Jesus as Savior is to believe in Jesus as God’s Son and Savior of the world, to repent of personal sin, to confess Jesus as Lord, and to be immersed in baptism. - Romans 10:9, Acts 2:38-39, Romans 6:3-4

We believe in the assignment of all people to heaven or to hell at their time of death or at the time of Christ’s return. - Hebrews 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Revelation 20:1, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

 

Holy Spirit

We believe that those who receive Christ also receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit: He marks them as the possession of God, manifests the fruit of righteousness in their character, and endows them with spiritual gifts for ministry. - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

We believe that a spiritual gift is a unique ability given by the Holy Spirit to every believer to minister to others and thereby build up the Body of Christ. - 1 Peter 4:10, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

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The Local Church

We believe the Church should seek unity with all believers in matters essential to the universal Christian faith and contend for liberty in all matters wherein the Lord has not spoken through His Word. - Ephesians 4:2-6

We believe the local church is an autonomous body that cooperates with many Christian agencies but is regulated or dominated by none.  - Ephesians 5:23B

We believe love is to be shown to all people as the central trait of the Christian faith. - John 13:35, 1 Peter 4:8

We believe the mission of the Church is to reach the spiritually lost for Christ, to teach with the goal of “forming Christ in them” and to mobilize believers to accomplish God’s purposes in the world. - Matthew 28:18-20

We believe that the pattern of the New Testament was to observe the Lord’s Supper each week. - Acts 2:42

We believe that each believer should give a generous, intentional, regular, proportional gift of his or her income to God, through the local church, as a spiritual discipline. Scripture gives us the tithe (one tenth) as the normal beginning point of giving for a believer.
Malachi 3:10, 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

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Final Authority For Matters Of Belief and Conduct

The statement of beliefs does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. - Genesis 1:27

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Social Issues

We are frequently asked to bring clarity to our position on these issues. We are aware there are many sins GOD desires to protect us from — racism, prejudice, gluttony, sexual promiscuity, adultery, etc. This is our attempt to address the complex social issues that surface most often in our setting. As you consider these, remember that we are all equally in need of God’s grace.

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect and value all human life. - Psalm 139:13-16

We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union between one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy is to occur exclusively within that union. - Genesis 2:24, Jeremiah 29:6, Isaiah 62:5, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. We believe that gender is assigned by God at birth and the Holy Scripture does not permit an individual to alter their sexual identity physically or otherwise. - Genesis 1:27

 

Doctrine of God

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We believe in one God eternally existing as one essence and three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God, yet there is one God.

We believe in one God eternally existing as one essence and three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each person is fully, equally and eternally God, yet there is one God. Each person has precisely the same nature and attributes and is worthy of precisely the same worship, honor and praise. The entire Christian faith is bound together with the confession of God’s Trinitarian nature (Matt. 28:18-20).

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We believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth. We believe in the Son, God from God, eternally begotten but not made, who in history assumed to Himself a human nature for the sake of our salvation (John 1:14; Heb. 1:3). He is fully God and fully man. Through Him, all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him, all things hold together by the word of His power (Col.1:15-20). He suffered, died, was buried, resurrected, ascended and sits at the right hand of the Father until He returns for the final judgment and consummation of the Kingdom. We believe in the Holy Spirit who eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son and is sent by the Father and Son to give new life (John 15:26-27). The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth and dwells within the regenerate (Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who, in turn, came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honored and worshiped as God, the third person of the Trinity.

The triune God, Father, Son and Spirit, is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. As the immortal and eternal Creator, He sovereignly rules over all of His creation (Ps. 24:1).

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Doctrine of Revelation

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God has made Himself known to the world in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures and creation.

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We believe that God has made Himself known to His creation. He has revealed Himself to us in His Son, the incarnate Word (Heb.1:1-2), in Scripture, the inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16), and in creation (Ps. 8; Rom. 1:20)

We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the perfect revelation of who God is. Jesus Christ is the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), “the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3) and a perfect reflection of God the Father (John 5:19).

We believe the Scriptures, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God and are therefore without error in their original writings. These writings alone constitute the verbally inspired Word of God, which is utterly authoritative and free from error. The Scripture is sufficient for all that God requires for us to believe and do and is therefore to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises (Is. 40:6-8). As God’s people hear, believe and obey the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel (Rom. 10:14-17).

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Doctrine of Creation and Providence

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We believe that God created the world from nothing and governs all things at all times in all places. God created the whole world from nothing (Gen. 1:1-2; Ps. 24:1). God’s creative work is the overflow of the love present within the Trinitarian fellowship. Creation, according to the design of God, was good (Gen. 1:3-31). God doesn’t let the world exist, He makes the world exist. He upholds the universe by the word of His power, and He holds the world together in himself (Col. 1:17).

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Doctrine of Humanity

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We believe that all humanity is created in the image of God and possesses intrinsic dignity and worth. God made humanity—male and female—in His own image (Gen. 1:27-30). Set apart as His image bearers, every human being is sacred. All men and all women, bearing the image of God, are meant to represent God in His creation (1 Cor. 10:31). God declares the created order to be very good, distinguishing men and women as His agents to care for, manage and govern over it. They enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church and civic life. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union in the covenant of marriage that establishes the only God-ordained pattern of sexual relations for men and women. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways.

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Distinctive || Complementarianism

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Men and women are absolutely equal in essence, dignity and value but are distinct by divine design. As part of God’s good created order, men and women are to have different yet complementary roles and responsibilities in the home and church. As it relates to the church, men and women are both expected to lead; however, the office of elder is reserved for qualified men (1 Tim. 3; Titus 1). For more on this distinctive, read our Women in Ministry Statement.

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Doctrine of Sin

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We believe that sin has fractured all things, leaving the world in desperate need of salvation.

Through the temptation of Satan, humanity transgressed the command of God and fell from their original holiness and righteousness (Gen. 3). Now the entire human race inherits a corrupt nature that is opposed to God and His law (Rom. 3:9-20). Therefore, all humans are under condemnation. This depravity is radical and pervasive. It extends to the mind, will, body and affections. Unregenerate humanity lives under the dominion of sin and Satan (Eph. 2:1-3). He is at enmity with God, hostile toward and hateful of God.

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Doctrine of Salvation

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We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

We believe that, due to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again (John 3:5-8); that salvation is only by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ; and that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ through faith are declared righteous by God and become children of God (Heb.10:19-25).

We believe the Scriptures teach that regeneration, or the new birth, is that act of God by which the Holy Spirit imparts a new nature and a new spiritual life, not before possessed, and the person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:20). The mind is given a holy disposition and a new desire to serve God, the dominion of sin is broken, and the heart is transformed from a love of sin and self to a love of holiness and God.

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Distinctive || Sovereignty of God in Salvation

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The salvation of humanity is fundamentally the work of God. Before the foundation of the world, God elected His people, setting His affection and grace upon them (Rom. 8:29-30). In love God predestined His people for adoption (Eph. 1:4-6). Faith is a gift of grace that is given by the mercy and pleasure of God, so that no one may boast. Apart from the intervention of God, humanity cannot choose of his own accord to worship God and pursue righteousness (Rom. 3; Eph. 2:1-3). God’s sovereignty in salvation is comprehensive: from first to last, all of salvation is the work of God.

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Doctrine of the Church

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We believe that the Church is the body of Christ sent into the world to shine forth the glory of God. God, by His Word and Spirit, creates the Church, calling sinful humanity into the fellowship of Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:12-31). By the same Word and Spirit, He guides and preserves that newly redeemed humanity. The Church comprises those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The ministry of the Church is an extension of the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Spirit.

The Church's ultimate mission is to bring glory to God by making disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). The Church is called to make disciples through worship, prayer, teaching the Word, observance of the ordinances, fellowship, exercising our gifts and talents, and proclamation of the gospel in our community and worldwide.

We believe there are two ordinances of the Church. One is the believer’s baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the other is the Lord’s Supper.

Water baptism is only intended for those who have received the saving benefits of Christ through the new birth of the Holy Spirit. In obedience to Christ’s command and as a testimony to God, the Church, oneself, and the world, believers are baptized by water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that a former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts the release from the mastery of Satan, sin, and death. As with water baptism, the Lord’s Supper is only observed by those who have become genuine followers of Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf. It is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death. As we come to the table with faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls, and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body.

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Distinctive || Gifts of the Holy Spirit

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The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we see on display in the New Testament are still active within the church's life. These gifts did not end with the close of the New Testament or the death of the last apostle (1 Cor. 12:1-11).

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Distinctive || Baptism by Immersion

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The precedent in the New Testament is baptism following conversion by immersion into water. Baptism by immersion is meant to symbolically depict the believer’s real union to Christ in His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-14). (For more on this distinctive, consider attending one of our Baptism classes, held several times throughout the year.)

Doctrine of Resurrection and Consummation of the Kingdom of God

We believe that Jesus Christ is returning to the world in the future to judge the living and the dead. The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the glorification of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, is finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment (Rev. 20:7-15), but the righteous, in glorious bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new (Rev. 21:1-5).