OUR BELIEFS
Read. Know. Believe.
Like a house built on a firm foundation, the Christian faith is founded on fundamentals that are eternally true. Our culture today seems to be changing and redefining core values all around us. Thus, the call to build one's life upon a sure foundation is all the more vital (Matt 7:24-5). That's why we look to the Holy Scriptures to establish the essential truths and doctrines of how to view God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, the Bible, or how we understand salvation, humanity, sin, marriage, etc. The Bible is the lens in which we view theology, ministry, and all aspects of life.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS
We believe in the plenary verbal inspiration of both the Old and New Testament scriptures, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life. It is truth by which God brings people into a saving relationship with Himself and leads them to Christian maturity (John 20:31; Matt 4:4; I Pet 2:2; II Pet 1:20, 21;II Tim 3:16, 17).
We believe in one Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; eternal in being, one in nature, equal in power and glory (Deut 6:4; II Cor 13:14).
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell. Each person inherits a sin nature and consequently alienation from God and comes under the judicial sentence of death (Gen 1:26; Rom 5:12; Rom 3:23).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came into this world to manifest God to man, to fulfill prophecy, and to redeem a lost world. To this end He was conceived of the Holy Ghost and was born of the virgin Mary, becoming true man without ceasing to be true God (John 1:1,2, 14; Luke 1:26, 27, 35; Isa 7:14). We believe that He accomplished our redemption on the cross as a propitiary and substitutionary sacrifice, and that our redemption is made sure to us by His resurrection from the dead in the same though glorified body in which He was crucified (I Pet 1:3-5; I Pet 3:18; Rom 3:24, 25). We believe that He ascended into Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy (Mark 16:19; Heb 8:1; Heb 7:25; I John 2:1). We believe in the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church, the Great Tribulation in the earth, and His own glorious return to establish His kingdom (I Thess 4:15-18; Matt 24:21, 29-31; Rev 20:2, 3, 6).
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, in this age convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; regenerates, indwells, and baptizes into one body, and seals unto the day of redemption, all who believe; anoints believers to teach them all truth, and continually fills for power and service and holy living, those who are yielded to Him (John 16:7-11; Titus 3:5; I Cor 3:16; Eph 1:13, 4:30)
We believe that no one can be saved unless born again, and that the new birth of the believer is the gift of God by grace, and is received only by a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3; Eph 2:8, 9; John 1:1- 13; 3:16). We believe that all true believers once saved shall be saved forever (Rom 8:1, 30, 38, 39; John 10:27-30; I Cor 1:4-8; Phil 1:6).
We believe the Church is the body of which Christ is the head and all who believe in Him are members (Eph 1:22-23; Rom 12:4-5). Christians are commanded to be baptized upon profession of faith and to unite with a local church for mutual encouragement and growth in discipleship through worship, nurture, service and the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world (Acts 2:41-42, 47; Luke 24:45-48).
We believe the ordinances of the church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:18-20). It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s identification with the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior Jesus Christ (Rom 6:3-5). The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is the partaking of the bread and of the cup by believers together as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ. It is an act of thankful dedication to Him and serves to unite His people until He returns (I Cor 11:23-26).
We believe in the gathering of the saints for worship. This Church is established to provide opportunity to assemble for worship, to encourage one another in love, and to exhort one another to good works (Heb 10:24-25).
We believe that the Bible teaches that marriage is a covenant relationship before God for life between one man and one woman only, and to recognize other unions as legitimate marriages would be contrary to our understanding of Scripture (Gen 1:27, Gens 2:24, Mark 10:6-9). Sexual intimacy is legitimate only within the bounds of marriage (Matt 19:9). Chaste singleness and marriage are both honored as faithful and holy lifestyles ordained by God (1 Cor 7:2-9, Heb 13:4, 1 Thes 4:1-8, 1 Cor 6:18).
We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in a denominational organization. Such an organization, whether a regional or district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in a conference is voluntary and may be terminated at any time. Churches may likewise cooperate with interdenominational fellowships on a voluntary independent basis (Acts 15; I Cor 6:1-3).
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God and is responsible to God alone in matters of faith. Church and state exist by the will of God. Each has distinctive concerns and responsibilities, free from control by the other (Matt 22:21). Christians should pray for civil leaders, and obey and support government in matters not contrary to Scripture (I Tim 2:1-4; Rom 13:1-7; I Pet 2:13-16).
We believe that there is a personal devil, the enemy of God and of the people of God, appearing as an angel of light, counterfeiting the works of God, and is now ruling under God’s restriction, as the “god of this world.” We believe that Satan was defeated at the cross, though not then executed; that he will be bound during the Millennium and then released for a little time, ultimately to be cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone to suffer everlasting torment (Gen 3:1-19; Rev 12:10; II Cor 11:13-15, II Cor 4:3, 4; Col 2:15; Rev 20:1-3, 10; Jude 6; Heb 2:24).
We believe that at death, the believer passes immediately into the presence of Christ, there to remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of his glorified body forever in glory. The unbelieving remain after death, conscious of condemnation and misery until the final judgment of the great white throne. When reunited with their bodies, they shall be cast into the Lake of Fire; not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction (II Cor 5:8; II Thes 1:7-9; Rev 20:11-15; I Thes 4:13-18; Rev 21:8).