Statement of Faith
What we believe.
GOD
We believe in one God almighty, who is the creator of all things. He is a spirit being who is infinitely perfect, holy, and eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is changeless in his wisdom, power, grace, mercy, compassion, truth, and love. He is also the righteous judge of every individual.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 145:8; Malachi 3:6; John 4:24; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 4:8, 11
JESUS CHRIST
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, completely God and completely human, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in his incarnation. He lived a sinless life, died as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven, was exalted by the Father, and now intercedes as our High Priest.
Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1; Romans 1:2-4, 8-32; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 2:22; 3:18; 1 John 3:5; 5:20
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the Holy Spirit, coequal with the Father and the Son, who glorifies the Lord Jesus, convicts people of sin, gives new life to the believing sinner, and indwells all Christians. He guides, instructs, empowers, and gives spiritual gifts to believers for godly living, for service in building up the body of Christ, and for evangelism.
John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:11; Galatians 5:22-23
THE BIBLE
We believe in the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, as the inspired Word of God. It was written by prophets and apostles who were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit and is, therefore, entirely trustworthy and without error in the original writings. It is the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of people and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.
Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
MAN AND WOMAN WERE CREATED
We believe that man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God having intellect, freedom of will, emotions, and awareness of God. Human beings also have an unending self-consciousness that is capable of knowing God. All people have sinned against God, destroying fellowship with him, and are guilty before his holiness. We can receive forgiveness and complete salvation through a spiritual rebirth by the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:27; John 3:3-5; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12, 19; Titus 3:4-7
DEATH OF CHRIST
We believe that the death of Christ was a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all people. The death and resurrection of Christ provide the only basis for forgiveness, justification, and acceptance by God. All who trust Christ as Savior and receive him by faith are forgiven, “born again” of the Holy Spirit, and become children of God. They are sealed by the Spirit, have eternal life, and are preserved by the power of God. The death and resurrection of Christ were also the complete triumph over death and Satan, the archenemy of God.
John 1:12; 3:16-18, 36; 5:24; 10:27-29; Romans 3:21-26; 4:25; 5:6, 8-10; 8:1; Ephesians 1:7, 13-14; 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 Peter 1:3-5
RETURN OF JESUS
We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus to take all Christians to be with himself forever. His coming is to be expected at any time. All believers will appear before Christ to give account of their life and will be rewarded or deprived accordingly. The wrath of God will come upon unbelieving and disobedient society; there will be a restoration of God’s covenant with Israel and a thousand-year reign of Christ, the Messiah, on earth.
Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:1-10; Matthew 24:4-44; John 14:2-3; Romans 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:23-25; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Titus 2:13; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6
THE RESURRECTION
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead: of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord in heaven and of the unbeliever to everlasting conscious judgment and exclusion from the presence of God.
Luke 15:19-31; 23:29-43; John 3:36; 5:24-29; 1 Corinthians 15:12-58; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
BAPTISM
We believe in Christian baptism as an expression of a believer’s identification with Christ and commitment to follow Him. Baptism is not a means of, nor an aid to, salvation but is a testimony of one’s faith in Christ as Savior. It is expected of all believers in obedience to our Lord. Our practice is to baptize by immersion, symbolizing the believer’s death and burial with Christ and being raised with him to live a new life.
Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:12, 35-39; 16:31-33; Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12
COMMUNION
We believe in the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, as a memorial celebration of the Lord’s death and resurrection. It is the privilege and responsibility of all believers. Any person who gives a credible confession of faith is welcome to participate in communion unless that person is willfully engaging in sin, persists in spreading false doctrine, or is creating divisions in the church. All believers may express their common priesthood under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to remember and worship their Lord.
Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:15-20; Acts 2:42, 46; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-26; 1 Peter 2:9
THE CHURCH
We believe that the true church is a worldwide, living, spiritual Body of which Christ is the head. It is composed of all, both living and dead, who are genuine Christians united together by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18
LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that the Lord has called believers to fellowship together in local congregations which are directly responsible to Christ, the head of the church. These congregations, though autonomous in government, exist in an important spiritual union with all other believers everywhere. As Christians, we are to join in worshiping the living God, praying, building up one another in the faith, giving of our time and money as good stewards for the work of God, and proclaiming the message of Christ.
Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:24-25
ELDERS
We believe that designated leaders, the elders, are responsible before God and are to lead and guide the local church as overseers. The elders give various responsibilities to other spiritual and capable men and women who serve together for development and growth of the congregation.
Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:2-3
TEACHING AND PASTORAL MINISTRY
We believe that the teaching and pastoral ministry in the local congregation is the responsibility of the elders who work in conjunction with gifted people such as evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Women share with men in various spiritual ministries, except for the authoritative teaching of the Scriptures to the whole congregation.
Romans 16:1-5; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Timothy 2:11-14
RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH CHRISTIAN
We believe that it is the responsibility of each Christian to love God and neighbor. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth, study the Scriptures, pray, and encourage one another in the faith so that we might glorify God in daily living. We should be filled with the Spirit, share the Good News of salvation through Christ worldwide, and be zealous of good works as we look expectantly for the coming of our Lord.
Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:23-24, 15:16-17; Acts 1:8; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 2:10; 5:18-21; Titus 2:11-15; 3:8
Being a part of the fellowship of Christians here is not contingent on commitment to every detail of this Statement of Faith, but adherence to the principal doctrines of the Christian faith will be assumed. Those who engage in any teaching or counseling ministry on behalf of the church are expected to teach, positively and wholeheartedly, the beliefs to which this church is committed as expressed above. These beliefs are based on the Bible as indicated by the biblical references accompanying each section.