WHAT WE BELIEVE
ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that every word of the original writing of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, were inspired of God, without error, and are the supreme authority in all matters of faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
ABOUT GOD THE FATHER
We believe that God the Father is the first Person in the Trinity, Father over all creation, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Father of all who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior. God the Father is perfect in His love and care and He never changes (Genesis 1; Ephesians 3:14-15; Malachi 2:10; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Matthew 27:46; John 20:17; John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
The eternal Son of God became incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ, being born of the virgin Mary, and is both true God and true man (John 1:1, 14, 18; 5:18; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:19, 2:9; 1 Timothy 2-5; Hebrews 1:1-9; 1 John 5:20).
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead, who regenerates, indwells, baptizes and seals all believers in Christ, and fills those yielded to God (Acts 5:3-4; Matthew 28:19; John 3:3-7; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 6:19; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 5:18).
ABOUT MAN AND HIS PURPOSE
Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but in Adam all mankind fell into sin with the result that all men are sinners, hopelessly sinful in themselves apart from the grace of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6; Romans 3:23; 5:12; 8:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3). The purpose of man’s life is to glorify God (Matthew 5:16).
ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN
The first sin of the human race came by Adam (Genesis 3:1-6), bringing about his ruin and that of the human race. Every human sin is of the same nature as Adam’s original sin resulting in death (Romans 5:12; 1 King 8:46; Psalm 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Romans 3:23).
ABOUT THE DESTINY OF MAN
Man will experience a physical death due to disobedience (Genesis 2:17). Spiritual death, a separation of the soul and spirit from God, takes place for those who do not accept Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14).
ABOUT SALVATION
Salvation is received by faith in Christ alone, who died as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures. All who believe on Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood and receive the gift of eternal Life (Acts 4:12; 16:31; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12, 3:16; Romans 5:1). Moreover, every believer has positional sanctification and is promised progressive and ultimate sanctification (John 17:17; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:26-2; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; 5:23-24; Hebrews 10:10, 14; 1 John 3:2).
ABOUT THE CHURCH
The church, composed of all believers, is the Body of Christ, is formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and exists in two aspects–universal and local. The universal church is an elect company of believers, baptized by the Holy Spirit into one Body; its mission is to witness to its Head, Jesus Christ; preaching the Gospel among all nations. The local church is a group of believers voluntarily joined together to worship God with praise and thanksgiving, and to glorify Jesus Christ through an aggressive effort to disciple others by the preaching of the Gospel and the exercise of spiritual gifts (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 12:4, 27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:24-30).
ABOUT SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that the purpose for which the Spirit gives ministry gifts to believers is to build up the Body of Christ as described in Ephesians 4:12-16 and that the gift of tongues was, like the gifts of apostleship and prophecy, given for the founding of the Church and is therefore not given today (1 Corinthians 14:21-22; Ephesians 2:20; Hebrews 2:3-4).
ABOUT BAPTISM
Baptism is an act of obedience to a command Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 28:19-20. In no way is baptism a means to salvation, but rather is an act of obedience that follows one coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12; 36-38). The purpose of water baptism is a public profession that one makes in which they identify themselves as a child of God through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12).
ABOUT THE LORD’S SUPPER
The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ the night before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20) and is a scriptural ordinance for all believers (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The bread represents the body of Christ and the cup represents His shed blood. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a reminder of the death of Christ and the life we now have in Christ, as believers.
ABOUT THE RETURN OF CHRIST
We believe that Christ will rapture His Bride, the church, prior to the Tribulation (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:16; 4:13-18; 5:4-10; John 14:1-3; Revelation 3:10) and that Christ will return following the Tribulation and establish His reign on earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6).
ABOUT GIVING
We believe that we are no longer under the law but under grace and that we are to give sacrificially, regularly and willfully to the Lord. That could mean 3% for one person and 20% for another. We give as much as we can to the Lord and believe that God desires us to give cheerfully (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9; 9:7).
ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
We believe that a good relationship with the Lord is one in which an individual is continuing to grow in their walk with and love for Jesus Christ until they are called home. This happens through the spiritual disciplines: prayer, reading Scripture, fellowship with believers, music and life experience. One’s love for Christ is demonstrated through their obedience to Him in everyday living. It also includes exercising the God-given gifts that one has received to bring glory to God and build up the body of Christ. As one grows spiritually the Word tells us that the fruit of the Spirit will become more evident in their life (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 26:41; Hebrews 10:24-25; Galatians 5:22-23; John 14:15; Ephesians 4:12-14).