God

There is only one living and true God. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) with distinct attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

 

God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and all things according to His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. 

 

God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. He is fully God, fully man. In His incarnation He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a human life dealing with the burdens, temptations, and joys that humans deal with everyday, but as God he lived this life without sin. Through his perfect life and his death in our place, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God. He is the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. 

 

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through his mysterious ways he reveals truth and enables men to understand it. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was physically written by men, but divinely inspired. It is God’s revelation of Himself to man. All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human behavior and religious beliefs should be tested. 

Humans

Humans are the special creation of God, made in His own image. In the beginning the first two humans were innocent of sin and were endowed by their Creator with freedom of choice. Through the temptation of Satan, and by human’s free choice, they sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. 

 

Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, humans become transgressors and are under condemnation. Every person of every ethnicity possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Salvation & Sanctification

Salvation is offered freely to all who surrender to  Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who obtained eternal redemption for every believer by His own blood and resurrection. There is no salvation apart from a personal relationship  in Jesus Christ as Lord.

 

Sanctification is the believer being set apart to God’s purposes, and through the Holy Spirit who dwells within as the believer continually walks into spiritual maturity.

Eternity

We believe in the bodily resurrection of those who follow Christ, and those who do not. We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. We believe that those who place their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with Him, and those who reject His free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from God in Hell.

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The Church

The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the local gathering and global church. Knowing God’s intentions and heart for mankind, as revealed in scripture, we believe the reason for being a part of the local body of believers is: 

1. To encourage others and be encouraged

2. To be held accountable and help others walk in their faith

3. Pray, Read Scripture, and Worship corporately

4. Share the Gospel and disciple locally as well as to the ends of the Earth

Baptism & the Lord’s Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience, symbolizing the believer’s death with Christ through immersion, and being raised again in new life with Christ who physically rose from the grave. Our newness of life is first as we become a believer, and second as we rise from the dead upon his return.

 

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby the church partakes of bread and the fruit of the vine, remembering the goodness and works of God (as the Israelites did through Passover), remembering Christ’s death, and anticipating His second coming.

The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full unveiling of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is both already and not yet.

 

Evangelism and Missions

The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. We do this both by word and in deed, and any other methods that are in line with God’s Word. It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ, and of every church, to make disciples of all nations. Discipleship is more than making converts, rather it is teaching believers how to walk out their faith and continue to grow in it whether they are young or old in their pilgrimage.

 

 

Marriage and Sexuality

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct and complementary sexes reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

 

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as portrayed in Scripture.We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that there should be no engagement of intimate sexual activity outside of marriage. 

 

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.

 

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture.

 

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.