What We Believe
THE WORD OF GOD – We believe the 66 books of the Bible comprise the written Word of God, that it is fully inspired and flawless in the original manuscripts written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (2nd Timothy 3:16; 2nd Peter 1:20-21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31-32, 20:31; Acts 20:32)
THE TRINITY – We believe that there is one true God, eternally existing in three persons. These persons are equal in every divine perfection and exist in perfect harmony. (Genesis 1:1, 26; John 1:1, 3, 14; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 1:1-14; Ephesians 4:5-6)
GOD THE FATHER – We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in all virtues. He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass. He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men. He hears and answers prayer. He is a forgiving God willing to save from sin and death all who request his forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Luke 10:21-22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16, 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1st Timothy 1:1-2; 2:5-6; 1st Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6)
JESUS CHRIST – We believe in Jesus Christ, God's unique Son. We believe in his deity, virgin birth, sinless life, and reign over all creation. We believe in his substitutionary atoning death, physical resurrection, ascension, perpetual intercession for the Church, and his personal, visible return to earth. (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1, 20:28; Romans 9:5, 8:46; 2nd Corinthians 5:21; 1st Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30-31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8-10; Hebrews 7:25, 9:28; 1st Timothy 3:16)
THE HOLY SPIRIT – We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in his personhood and deity, that he indwells every believer in Christ, and that he is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide. (John 14:16-26, 15:26-27, 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 1st Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26)
THE NATURE OF MAN – We believe God created humanity in his image. Consequentially, all human beings possess inherent dignity and value. This aspect of man's nature has not and cannot be rescinded as it is intrinsic to human nature. Because man's federal head, Adam, failed to fulfill the requirements of righteousness, man incurred physical, spiritual, and eternal death – separation from God. As a consequence, all human beings are born with a sin nature. Man is totally depraved and therefore is under condemnation. We believe those who repent and trust in the finished intercessory work of Jesus Christ will become new creatures, delivered from condemnation, and receive eternal life. (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-3, 9:6; Genesis 2:17, 3:19; Ecclesiastes 2:11; John 3:14, 5:24-30, 7:13, 8:12, 10:26; Romans 9:22; 2nd Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 19:3 & 20, 20:10-15, 21:18; Psalm 51:7; Jeremiah 17:9; James 1:14; Romans 3:19, 5:19; Proverbs 28:13; 1st John 1:9; John 3:16, 1:13; 2nd Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:1)
DISCIPLESHIP – A disciple is a person who is progressively growing toward surrendering every area of their life to the lordship of Jesus Christ; they live for the glory of God. Discipleship is the Christian pursuit. It is a joyful and surrendered stewardship of time, talents, treasures, and affections. The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. (1st Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:1-3; Hebrews 12:1-2; John 14:15-24; 1st John 2:3-6; 2nd Corinthians 9:6-9; 1st Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 1:9-10)
THE CHURCH – We believe in the Universal Church, a living spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a multicultural fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a sincere profession of faith and associated for fellowship, worship, and work. The Church is the embassy of heaven, a family that engages the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. The primary duty of the Church is to disseminate the disciple-making gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations, therefore, adding to the choir of God-glorifying worshipers. (Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:19-21; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25)
THE SACRAMENTS – We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed the Church to the execution of two sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist (Lord's Supper). We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the confessing believer into water in the name of the triune God. It models man's death to sin and his resurrection to a new life in Christ. We believe that the Lord's Supper commemorates the Lord's sacrifice. These two ordinances are worshipful duties until the return of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; 1st Corinthians 11:23-26)
THE LAST THINGS – We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth and the establishment of the kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked. (Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Philippians 3:20; 1st Thessalonians 4:15; 2nd Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13)