Our Beliefs
1. We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the divinely inspired Word of God. This inspiration extends through every word of the original writings (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21). We believe the Bible is God’s complete and final revelation of Himself to man (Proverbs 30:5, 6, Revelation 22:18, 19) and is the supreme authority in all matters pertaining to Christian faith and life (John 14:21, Joshua 1:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2. We believe in one infinitely perfect God who exists eternally and equally in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4, John 10:30, Acts 5:3-4, John 1:1, 14, Titus 2:13).
3. We believe Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:27, 35) and is in one person true God and true man (Matthew 1:23, 1 Timothy 3:16). He lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15), died on the cross as the substitute for our sins (Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 3:18), arose bodily from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6) and ascended into heaven where, at the right hand of the Father, He is now our High Priest and Advocate (Acts 1:9, Hebrews 8:1, 1 John 2:1).
4. We believe in the existence of Satan (1 Peter 5:8). He is the ultimate source of all sin and the embodiment of all evil (John 8:44). He leads a host of fallen angels against God, the Church and all mankind (Ephesians 6:12) who tempt the believer to sin (1 John 3:8, 1 Peter 5:8). He accuses the believer in the presence of God (Revelation 12:10, Job 1:7-11) and, having been defeated at the cross (Hebrews 2:14), will himself finally be cast into the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:10).
5. We believe mankind was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) which places special value on them. However, this image was marred by sin as a result of Satan tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which then infected mankind. Because of this sin nature, mankind sins and, (Romans 3), by this choice, is separated from God. Sin brings forth both physical and spiritual death (Genesis 3:19, Romans 6:23). Mankind is incapable of restoring his relationship with his Creator. Salvation is fully a work of the grace of God brought about through Christ’s shedding of blood, death on the cross, and resurrection from the grave and realized on man’s part by faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 3:4-6, John 3:5, 16). Because of what Jesus has done for us through His sacrifice on the cross and not what we do, our salvation is secure. (John 5:24, 1 John 5:11-13).
6. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice for the sins of all men (Isaiah 53:5-6, 1 Peter 3:18), and all who receive Him as Savior by faith are born again into the family of God (John 1:12, 3:5-7, 5:24, Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8, 9) and on the grounds of His shed blood are forgiven, justified and possess the assurance of eternal life (John 10:28-29, Romans 8:35-39, Ephesians 1:7, Philippians 1:6, 1 John 5:11-13). Jesus is the only way a person can enter into a relationship with God. (John 14:6)
7. We believe it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to glorify the Son (John 16:14). At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit indwells every believer (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Galatians 4:6) and baptizes them into the body of Christ which is His Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). He is the Divine Comforter, available to all Christians to guide, instruct and empower the believer for godly living and effective service by sovereignly bestowing various spiritual gifts upon all believers (John 16:13, Acts 1:8, Romans 8:13-14, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 1 Peter 4:10). We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at the time of conversion and is the act of placing the believer into the body of Christ, but is not a second work of grace. It is different from the filling of the Holy Spirit which is an ongoing process that may occur at any time in the believer’s life. Neither of these aspects is normally accompanied by unusual signs such as speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 5:18).
8. We believe in the Great Commission and making disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing, them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”(Matthew 28:19-20). All who respond and are born again in this age comprise the true Church of Jesus Christ. All born-again believers are members of the true Church and therefore are eligible for membership in this local Church (Ephesians 2:17-22). We believe during this present dispensation of grace (Ephesians 3:2), two ordinances are enjoined upon the Church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 6:3-4, 1 Corinthians 11:23-24, Galatians 3:26-27). Baptism is for those who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and marks them as His disciples. (Matthew 28:19, 20)
9. We believe in the personal, visible, pre-tribulation rapture and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Acts 1:11, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, Revelation 19:11-16), and in His millennial reign upon the earth (Zechariah 14:9, Revelation 20:1-6).
10. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust (John 5:28-29), the saved to everlasting life and joy in the presence of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:51-54, Revelation 21:1-4), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:41, 46, Revelation 20:11-15).
11. We believe that God wonderfully and unchangeably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person (Genesis 1:27, Genesis. 5:2). We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive, lifelong union, as laid out in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-24, Matthew 19:4-9, I Thessalonians 4:3). We believe that Holy Scripture grants two life-enhancing options for human sexual behavior: (1) the conjugal “one flesh” marital union of one man and one woman and (2) celibacy. Either is a gift from God, given as He wills for his glory and the good of those who receive and rejoice in His gift to them. Celibacy and faithful singleness is to be celebrated and affirmed within this church (Genesis 2:18, 21-24, Matthew 19:10-12, I Corinthians 7:1-8). We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, and attempting to change one’s biological sex or otherwise acting upon and disagreement with one’s biological sex) is sinful and offensive to God (Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 18:7-23, Leviticus 20:10-21, Deuteronomy 5:18, Matthew 15:19, Matthew 5:27-28, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Hebrews 13:4, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 4:17-19, Colossians 3:5).
12. We believe that God has created mankind in his own image (Imago Dei) and that human life is sacred, beginning at fertilization and ending at natural death. God, in His infinite sovereignty, uniquely formed human beings and gave them a special dignity, personal freedom, and individual accountability among all the works of creation. Human beings have been made for relationship with God and to be faithful stewards of creation. God created each person’s inmost being, knitting each person together in his/her mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13). As God’s individualized and personal creation, each person is fearfully made. (Psalm 139:14). God has ordained all the days of each person’s life before they came to be. (Psalm 139:16).
