What We Believe

The Bible, consisting of both the Old and New Testaments, is a divine revelation verbally inspired by God and written by men moved by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are without error in the original writings and are the supreme and final authority in all matters about which they speak. They are to be interpreted in a natural and literal way with consideration to the context and culture when written and spiritually comprehended only as the believer is guided by the Holy Spirit of God. (John 16:12-15; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16)

God is a Person who has revealed Himself as a Trinity in unity and equality—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: three persons, and yet one God! He is eternally existent and makes Himself known to His creation in such ways that creation might personally relate to Him as witnessed by His various names in Scripture. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Adam and Eve, as the first of God’s creation and the “type” of men and women to follow, were created in the image of God and were meant to live in perfect love and fellowship with their Creator. But soon after their creation, they fell into disobedience and sin. Consequently, in their unredeemed state, they experienced not only physical death but spiritual death (separation from God) as well.

1. Salvation—Whoever, by faith, receives Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (i.e. whoever trusts in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness from sins) is saved from the penalty of sin, becomes a child of God and receives the gift of eternal life. This salvation is not the result of any human effort or merit. (John 3:16; Ephesians 2: 8-9; John 1:12, 6:47; Romans 10:9-11; 1 John 5:10-13; Revelation 3:20)

2. Security—All true believers are kept eternally secure by the power of God through the new birth, the indwelling and sealing by the Holy Spirit and by the intercession of Christ before the Father. (John 10:28-30, 14:16-17; Ephesians 1:3-7, 13-14, 4:30; 1 John 2:1; Romans 8:31-35; Hebrews 7:25)

At the death of the believer, the spirit leaves the body and immediately finds its eternal home in the presence of God. At Christ’s return for the Church, the spirit will be reunited with a new spiritual body. Those alive at Christ’s return will not die; their physical bodies will be exchanged for new spiritual bodies and will forever be with the Lord. The spirits of the unrighteous pass immediately into the place of torment and remain there until the judgment of Christ at the end of the age. After this judgment, the unrighteous will join Satan and his vast army for an eternity of torment in Hell, the Lake of Fire. God is  always just in His judgments. We need not fear a mistake in His ability to judge those who do not love Him.  (1 Corinthians 15:12-26, 51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 3:20-21; John 5:28-29; Revelation 19:20, 20:5-6, 15; Matthew 25:41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; 2 Thessalonians 1:9)

Satan is a reality. He is a personal being who opposes God at every opportunity. He carries out this opposition personally and through spirit beings, human persons, and social structures that have fallen to his control. Though eventually Satan will be totally defeated and consigned to eternal torment and punishment, his current delight is to discourage and defeat Christians. Christians can overcome Satan’s schemes by the knowledge and application of Scriptural truth and by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10-19; Luke 10:18; Job 1:6-12; John 8:44)

1. Composition—The church, the true Body of Christ, is made up of all true believers, regardless of organizational affiliation, from the day of Pentecost until the church is caught up to heaven at the return of Christ. (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:4-6; Acts 11:15-16; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Matthew 16:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)

2. Purpose—The purpose of the church is threefold and is the responsibility of every member who comprises the church: a. To glorify God b. To evangelize the world – i.e. to effectively and faithfully proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a  view to persuading others to receive Him as Savior and Lord. c. To edify its members—i.e. to build up and disciple every member of the church with Scriptural teaching and preaching and to encourage spiritual growth, maturity, and fellowship among its membership. (Ephesians 1:12, 4:1-3, 15, 16; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Acts 1:8, 2:42,46; Romans 10:12-15; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)

3. Ordinances—Christ has ordained the observance of two practices which should be continued until His return:  Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 8:12; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

4. Participation in Ministry—Recognizing that every believer is empowered with spiritual gift(s) imparted by the will of the Holy Spirit, every Christian has the responsibility before the Lord to be involved in the ministry of the church. Attendance at and participation in its worship, study, and fellowship and participation in outreach should be considered part of a believer’s lifestyle. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Hebrews 10:23-25)

1. Christ’s Return for the Church—At a point in time known only to the Father, Christ will return for the Church. His return is imminent and unexpected to the unbelieving world. All members of the Body of Christ, living or dead, will at that time be caught up to be with the Lord forever. (Matthew 24:36–44; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18;  1 Corinthians 15:51-53; Titus 2:13)

2. The Second Coming of Christ—Following the great tribulation, Jesus will return personally, bodily, visibly, and in the glory of the Father to establish on the earth a Kingdom in which He shall reign in righteousness and peace. He will exercise His supreme authority to judge the living and dead. (Acts 1:11; Matthew 24:30; Revelation 20:4-6; Isaiah 9:6,7, 11:2-5)

3. New Heaven and Earth—A final revolt of the Satanic forces at the end of the Millennial Kingdom will create a new heaven, a new earth and a heavenly city to be enjoyed by God’s faithful into eternity. God will make all things new – the old order of things will be destroyed. (Revelation 20:7-15, 21:1-22:5)

1. Sanctity of Life—All human life is a sacred gift from God and is to be protected and defended from conception to natural death. We uphold the sanctity of life and seek to show the grace and compassion of Christ to those who face the realities of unwanted pregnancy, previous abortion, or end-of-life illness. (Psalms 127:3-5, 139:13-14)

2. Marriage and Family—God instituted marriage to be a life-long union between one man and one woman, intended for their mutual joy, help and comfort for the procreation and nurture of godly children; and for the blessing of society. Divorce is always contrary to God’s original intention, though in a fallen world it is sometimes an all-too-frequent and tragic reality. The roles of the father and mother, exercised in a variety of ways, are God-given and profoundly important since they are the chief providers of moral instruction and godly living. The single life, either by call or circumstance, is honored by God. It is therefore important for unmarried persons to embrace and be embraced by the Church. (Genesis 2:21-25; Deuteronomy 11:18-21; Joshua 24:15b; Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 5:31-32, 19:3-9; 1 Corinthians 7:10-17)

3. Human Sexuality—We believe that sexuality is inherent to God’s creation of human beings in His image as male and female. All Christians are called to chastity: husbands and wives by exclusive sexual fidelity to one another, and single persons by abstinence from sexual activity. God intends and enables all people to live within these boundaries, with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the fellowship of the church body. (Genesis 19; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21)

As believers, we recognize that a Christian response to all social issues and our role in a secular society must be guided by the principles and admonitions of the inerrant Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In grateful response to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, we welcome every man, woman, and child regardless of race, social or economic status, sexual history, or past behavior. We oppose prejudice in ourselves and others, reject and abhor violence against others, and recognize that all have sinned and need to repent.