Our Core Beliefs

1.      God: There is only one true living God. He is eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things, both in heaven and on earth. God is perfect and holy in every way, limitless in knowledge, sovereign in power, and is present everywhere at all times. (1 Chronicles 17:20; Psalm 18:30-31, 99:9, 139:7-12, 147:5; Isaiah 43:10b, 44:6; John 10:30, 14:16-18; Acts 17:24-28)

 2.        God the Father: A relational Being who created humans in His own image. God the Father is actively involved in His creation, especially desiring to have a personal relationship with all people.  For this reason He graciously determined before the creation of the world to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory. He is compassionate, gracious, merciful, forgiving, and abounding in love. (Genesis 1:26; Exodus 34:6; Leviticus 26:11-12; Isaiah 45:22; Ezekiel 18:32, 34:15-16; Romans 9:25-26; Ephesians 1:3-8; 2 Peter 3:9, 13; Revelation 21:5)

3.       God the Son: Jesus Christ is God's Son who became God in the flesh; fully God and fully human. As the promised Savior, He was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to God the Father and, being our perfect representative and substitute, served as the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. We believe in His miracles, that He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, that He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate, and that He will one day return in power and glory. (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1-2, 14, 29-30; Acts 1:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:14-16, 9:28, 10:5-7, 12-14; 1 Peter 3:18-19; Revelation 19:11-16, 22:20)

4.     God the Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the fully divine Spirit of God. Jesus promised that when He had returned to the Father He would send the Holy Spirit in His name to be our Counselor. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of what would become known as the Bible and He enables men to understand God's truth as revealed in His Scriptures. He convicts the world of its guilt and regenerates sinners into children of God. As the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth as He indwells, equips, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service. We believe that in all that He does, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. (John 14:16-17; John 16:7-11; Romans 8:9-11, 14-17; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 John 4:13)

5.       The Bible: We believe the Bible, which is made up of both the Old and New Testaments, is the divine revelation inspired by God. It is the sole basis of our belief, being the complete revelation of God's will for salvation. Through it God speaks with His authority to shape and guide our lives. The Bible is God's full and final statement on all matters in our church fellowship. It is perfectly dependable and without error. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises. (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 5:13)

 6.     Satan: We believe Satan is a real spiritual being. Created as one of God's angels, pride caused him to seek a position above God. As a result, Satan was cast out of heaven and is now the adversary of both God and man. As the deceiver, he convinced Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden. Though he has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has allowed Satan as the tempter to have a degree of authority on earth and influence over humans. We believe that at the allotted time, Jesus will return to finally end Satan's reign and cast him, along with his demons, into the burning lake of fire which has been prepared for them. (Ezekiel 28:12b-15; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 25:41; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 19:19-20, 20:7-10)

7.       Sin and Judgment: We believe sin is disobedience to God. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden when they yielded to the temptation of Satan and ate the fruit of the tree from which they were instructed not to eat. As descendants of Adam, all humans are sinners by nature, thus alienated from God and subject to His judgment. The judgment of sin is death. We believe that at the final judgment all people will give an account for what they have done on earth. (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, 22-24; Romans 3:23, 5:12, 14, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 4:26-27; Revelation 20:11-15)

8.       Salvation: We believe salvation can only occur by grace through faith in God's saving work in Jesus Christ; that faith in Jesus Christ, His atoning death and victorious resurrection is the only means for salvation. Salvation cannot be earned by human works - Jesus said we must be born again.   We believe salvation is offered to all people and that all who call on the name of Jesus Christ will be saved. (John 3:5-7; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-9)

9.       The Church: We believe the Church to be the Body of Christ on earth, of which Jesus is the Head. Jesus promised that He would build His Church and that the powers of death would not be able to prevail against it. We believe the Church is made up of all who have been justified by God's grace through faith in the saving work of Christ. It is the community where together the redeemed devote themselves to worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching of the Word, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper. Out of obedience to Christ, believers are to not give up meeting together as they use their spiritual gifts and talents to build up the Body of Christ. We believe that one day Christ will return to receive His Church as His spotless bride. We believe the main purposes of the Church are to make disciples and spread the Good News of salvation to those who are lost. (Matthew 16:18; John 14:1-3; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:27-31; Ephesians 2:19-22, 4:11-12, 5:25-27; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:25;1 Peter 2:4-5)

 10.   Baptism: We believe Christian baptism is the public declaration of a believer's faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and is to be administered only to those who have the maturity to understand its profound significance: resurrection to new life in Christ. Through the act of baptism a believer identifies with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection symbolized by immersion in water. We believe baptism does not ensure salvation but rather is an act of obedience to the commands of Christ. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41, 8:34-39; Romans 6:3-6)

 11.   Lord's Supper: We believe that those who have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation are to partake in the Lord's Supper to remember that Jesus shed His blood on the cross for us. In remembrance of Him we observe the bread and cup that symbolize His broken body and shed blood and look forward to His return. (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:20-29)

 12.     Prayer: We believe prayer is a personal conversation with God. Through this avenue of communication we can share both gratitude and grief, praise and petition. We believe that since Jesus Christ is acting as our high priest in heaven, we can each personally communicate with God the Father and that He both listens and responds to our prayers. (Matthew 6:9-13; Hebrews 4:14-16)

 13.   Heaven: We believe that heaven is a real, physical place. It is a place of indescribable beauty and glory where God dwells. Throughout all eternity heaven is the final dwelling place of the saved. (Matthew 6:20, 25:34; Mark 9:41; John 14:2; Luke 10:20)

 14.     Hell: We believe hell is a real, physical place. It is a place of complete separation from God where there is indescribable torment and punishment. Throughout all eternity hell is the final dwelling place of all who have not accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. (Isaiah 33:14; Daniel 7:10; Matthew 13:42; Revelation 14:10)

 15.    The Great Commission: We believe all believers have been commissioned by Jesus Christ as His witnesses to go into all the world and make disciples from among all nations. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. As His ambassadors, we are to bring to the world the message of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. This is the highest calling both of individual believers and of the Church. (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; 1 Peter 3:15)