WHAT WE BELIEVE
1. We believe that the Bible, with 66 books of Old and New Testament, is the inspired Word of God, the self-revelation of God to mankind, inerrant in all things concerning our salvation, and the authority over our faith and conduct. It is superior to conscience and reason, yet should be approached with the tools of reason, historical precedent, and the experiences shared by faithful believers. (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25; Heb. 4:12)
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2. We believe in the one true God who is eternally self-existent in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each possessing all the attributes of Deity and the characteristics of personality. (Gen. 1:2; John 16:7-8; John 1:1-4, 8:58; James 1:17; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10-11; Matt. 28:19)
3. We believe in the Father, who is God Almighty, Creator of all things, revealed to mankind through His Son and through the Holy Spirit. (Ps. 146:6; Gen. 1:1; John 1:18; 1 Cor. 2:10)
4. We believe that man, though created upright and in the image of God, willfully sinned and was separated from communion with God, becoming morally corrupt in all his faculties. (Gen 1:27, 1:31; Isa. 59:2; Gen. 8:21; Rom. 5:12; Ps. 14:2-3; Mark 10:18)
5. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is mankind’s only hope of redemption from sin and condemnation. Jesus is the Word of God and is God. Miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, through virgin birth, He became man; He is fully God and fully man. (Gen. 1:26-31; Gen. 3:17; Rom. 5:12-21; John 1:1, 1:14; Isa. 7:14; Gal. 4:4-5; Matt. 1:20)
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6. We believe that Jesus lived a sinless life before willingly atoning for the sins of mankind through His death on the cross. He is the source of eternal salvation for all who repent and trust in Him alone. Jesus rose bodily from the tomb on the third day, imperishable and glorified. He ascended to heaven, to the right hand of the Father, to intercede for us as our High Priest and the only mediator between God and man. (2 Cor. 5:21; John 10:18; Heb 9:28; 1 John 2:2; John 3:36; Rom. 5:9; Heb. 5:9; Luke 13:3; John 8:24; 1 Cor. 15:45-50; Luke 24:51; Heb. 10:12; Heb. 7:25; 1 Tim. 2:5)
7. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God. He has spoken through the prophets and apostles, and He is at work in the world to reveal and glorify Jesus. He convicts the world of sin, draws sinners to Christ, and indwells every believer. Christians should seek to be filled and filled afresh with the Holy Spirit, who empowers us for godliness and service and gives spiritual gifts to each believer. (John 16:8, 16:14-15; Acts 2:38, 10:44-46; John 3:6; Eph. 4:30, 5:18; Acts 4:31; 1 Cor. 6:19; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11)
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8. We believe salvation occurs when the Holy Spirit regenerates a person through repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ as Lord. This is called being born again. The inward evidence of salvation is the witness of the Holy Spirit. The outward evidence is holiness, love, and the fruit of the Spirit. (Acts 20:21; Rom. 8:16; Heb. 12:14; John 13:35; Gal. 5:22-23)
9. We believe salvation is a work of God's free grace and is not the result of human works, goodness, or religious observance. Righteousness and justification are free gifts of God through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, accessed personally through hearing and believing the gospel message. (Gal. 3:2-7; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 1:16-17)
10. We believe sanctification is God's progressive work of making us holy. It begins at regeneration. Believers should eagerly pursue sanctification through knowing and obeying the Word of God, being devoted to prayer, fasting, and committing to redemptive community. Heart purity and sustained freedom from willful sin is a grace of God that is attainable by all believers through confession, repentance, and faith. It should be pursued and preserved. Conforming to Christlikeness, however, is a lifelong process. (Hebrews 12:14; 2 Tim. 2:22; Col. 4:2; Luke 5:35; Heb. 10:25; Jude 1:24; 1 John 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:21; 1 John 3:2; Gal. 5:17; Matt. 7:16-20; John 14:15)
11. We believe in the Church, the Body of Christ, which includes every human being who has been joined to Jesus, the Head, through saving faith, across all nations and time periods. The Church is the temple of God through the Holy Spirit and is entrusted to carry out Jesus’ Great Commission. Each believer is integral to the church, and the local church should meet regularly for worship, fellowship, prayer, teaching and preaching of the scriptures, and mutual edification through spiritual gifts and service. (Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 3:16; Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Thess. 2:4; Heb. 10:25; 1 Tim. 4:13; 1 Cor 14:26)
12. We believe that all believers are gifted and called to some work of ministry, as ambassadors of the new covenant and living demonstrations of God’s kingdom. The Lord has ordained all ministry, both vocational and non-vocational, for building up the body of Christ and evangelizing the nations. (Eph. 2:10, 4:11-13; 1 Pet. 2:9; 2 Cor. 3:18; Mark 16:15)
13. We believe that God ordained marriage, or holy matrimony, as a covenantal union between one man and one woman as “one flesh” before God. (Gen 2: 22, 24; Matt 19: 5-6)
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14. We believe that the Lord Jesus ordained Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, as a covenantal embrace of His death as our one source of life. We recall His suffering for our redemption, receive spiritual strength, and look forward to His return. (John 6:48, 51, 53-57; Luke 22:19-20; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 11:25)
15. We believe that the Lord Jesus ordained water baptism as an outward declaration of dying with Him to the old man and being raised with Him into new life. It is commanded by God and is an integral part of acknowledging Jesus before men (Rom. 6:4; Matt. 28:19).
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16. We believe in the biblical reality of divine healing, and we encourage that all believers pray in faith for the healing of the sick. God actively performs supernatural miracles, and He may also use medical science to heal us. (James 5:14-15; Matt. 4:23, 8:16-17; Mark 16:18; 1 Tim. 5:23)
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17. We believe in the biblical reality that every believer has authority, through union with Jesus Christ, to cast out demons. God’s will for His children is full deliverance from all demonic strongholds and influences. (Mark 16:17; Eph. 4:27, 6:11-12; Luke 10:19)
18. We believe that, immediately after death, believers enter conscious joy and fellowship with the Lord in His presence, until the day when their bodies are resurrected to eternal glory and blessing in heaven. Unbelievers, just after death, enter conscious agony, being cut off from fellowship with the Lord until the day when their bodies are resurrected to an eternal judgment in hell with the devil and his fallen angels. (2 Cor. 5:1-10; John 5:29; Matthew 25:31-46)
19. We believe that Jesus will return to the earth personally, physically, and visibly to all creation, thus concluding history, as He judges the living and the dead and establishes a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. (2 Pet. 3:13, Rev. 21:1; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5)