What We Believe

We believe in God the Father - an infinite, personal spirit; perfect in holiness, justice, wisdom, power, and love.  We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of each person, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves all who come to Him through Jesus Christ from sin and death.  (Exodus 34:6-7; Isaiah 40:21-31; John 3:16-17)

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe that He is 100% God and 100% man. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, continual intercession for His people and personal visible return to earth.  (Philippians 2:6-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 9:24-28; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

We believe in the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and sent to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ.  We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ and that He is our helper, teacher and guide. (John 14:15-21; 16:5-16; Ephesians 1:13-14)

We believe that there is one living and true God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that these are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.  (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:5)

We accept the entire Protestant Canon as God's revelation to us. It is the supreme authority in matters of Christian belief and practice, fully capable for instruction and correction.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation  (Romans 1-3).  We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone (apart from works) as their Savior are made new by the Holy Spirit. They are then reconciled to God, forgiven, justified, and will spend eternity in heaven.  (Romans 3:23-4:7; 5:12; 6:23; Titus 3:4-8, Ephesians 2:8-9)

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members.  We believe in the local church, which consists of a company of believers in Jesus Christ who are baptized on a credible profession of faith and associated for worship, work, and fellowship.  We believe God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of extending the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world and making disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12)

We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of others, that their conduct should be blameless before the world, that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions and that they should seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ. This process of growing to be more like Christ as the Holy Spirit convicts, teaches, and guides us is a journey of grace that is called sanctification.  (1 Peter 1:13-16; Philippians 1:8; John 13:1-17)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: Baptism and Communion.

Baptism
   We believe that water baptism is being immersed into water to publicly demonstrate an identity change that has already
   taken place when a believer has repented and trusted in Christ’s payment for their sin. Being immersed in the water
   represents their old identity as someone estranged from God and under His judgement completely gone and crucified
   with Christ. Coming out of the water represents and declares to the community of believers that they are now a new
   creation, forgiven, redeemed, and made righteous by Christ. Water baptism is not required for salvation, but is important
   in the life of the believer.

Communion
   We believe that Communion was instituted by Christ to commemorate His death.  It is for the purpose of remembrance of
  Christ’s payment for our sin. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return
   of the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32)

We believe that Christian marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God for the happiness of mankind and the propagation of the human race. It is the spiritual and physical union of one man and one woman; this is the only legitimate sexual relationship according to scripture (Genesis 2:24-25, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:22-33, Romans 1:18-32). Accordingly, we affirm this biblical view of marriage as the only legitimate form of marriage.

We believe in the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ when he will establish His Kingdom on earth.  We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal well being of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked.  (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12; Romans 14:9-12)