WHAT WE BELIEVE
ABOUT GOD
We believe there is one God, who exists in three distinct Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—all being co-equal in nature and majesty. God is Creator and exists apart from His creation. He is holy and sovereign and above everything. He is eternal in nature and His is the glory for all of eternity. (Isaiah 45:5, Matthew 28:19, Genesis 1:1, 27, Isaiah 57:15, 1 Timothy 1:17)
ABOUT SCRIPTURE
The Bible consists of 66 books found in the Old and New Testament. It is the eternal, alive, Word of God, written by human authors but is God-breathed and therefore exists without error. Scripture is God revealing himself to humans--who He is, His nature, His will, and His plans for us. We read and interpret Scripture not to merely apply His Word into our lives, but to understand Who God is and how we as humans are invited into the Kingdom of God and His will. (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, Matthew 24:35)
ABOUT CREATION
God created the world and everything in it both visible and invisible. All things have been created through Christ and for Christ. And it is in Him that all things are held together. God created humans in His image and made them male and female. Since humans are made in the image of God, they have intrinsic worth and value. The creation of God’s world reveals Who He is. This is called natural revelation. We believe the physical creation will never contradict God’s Word. Rather, both work in unison to reveal God’s nature. (Colossians 1:16-17, Romans 1:20, Psalm 139:13-14, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:7)
ABOUT MANKIND
Humans are made male and female in the image of God, holding intrinsic worth given by God. They are set apart from the rest of creation and tasked with its stewardship. Man sinned which created a separation between himself and a perfect, Holy God. There is not one righteous person who stands before God. Man must be reborn by the Spirit to be brought into the Kingdom of God. (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 3:11-13, Romans 3:10-12, John 1:12-13, John 3:5-8)
ABOUT JESUS
Jesus is the second Person in the trinity. He is both fully God and fully human, the incarnate Son of God. He was born of a virgin mother, Mary, as the scriptures tell. The events and life of Jesus are told in Scripture, including His life, death and resurrection and His eternal, divine nature. He lived a sinless life, doing the will of His Father who sent Him. He willingly gave up His life on the cross to atone for all the sins of mankind and to reconcile us back to our Holy Father. It is the blood of Christ that covers us from the penalty of death that our sins bore us. We have the gift of everlasting life if we believe in His name as Lord and Savior and that God raised Him from the dead. He now exists as our eternal High Priest advocating for us in our weakness. He will return to judge all of mankind. (Colossians 2:9, Luke 1:26-37, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 10:9, 1 John 2:1-2, Hebrews 4:15, Revelation 1:7)
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the third Person in the trinity. Every believer, upon placing their trust in Jesus Christ and receiving salvation, receives the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them. He is Jesus’ promise to us as our advocate and helper, a deposit of assurance of our eternal security. The Holy Spirit has many roles in the life of a Christian. Romans tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in our weaknesses. He also convicts a Christian of sin and prompts us to live according to God’s will. He helps restore us to God’s design and helps us to live a holy life. (Genesis 1:2, John 14:15-17 and 26, 2 Corinthians 5:5, Romans 8:2, Romans 8:26-27)
ABOUT SALVATION
One is saved the moment they declare with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead. Salvation is the free gift of God, through His grace and faith, and therefore cannot be earned or lost based on works. The Bible tells us that our sins earn the wage of death of body and spirit, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hell is a real place and those who are not reborn by the Spirit into the Kingdom of God will exist there for all of eternity. Salvation means that we will be united with our Creator for all of eternity and that there is assurance for the things we hope for. (Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23, Matthew 13:40-43, Hebrews 11:1)
THE CHURCH
The church is the body and bride of Christ. He loves the church and gave up His life for it. Christ followers make up the church and are each given different spiritual gifts to build up and form one body of Christ. Jesus is the chief cornerstone of the church, and His followers are the members of God's own household. The power of hell will not overcome the church. (Ephesians 5:25-27, Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 2:19-20, Matthew 16:18)
LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN
A Christian is called to go out and make disciples of all nations, tribe, and tongue through the power of the Holy Spirit at work within them. They are called to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God through keeping repentance and turning from sin. Jesus calls Christians to be in this world but not of this world, bringing the grace and truth of His gospel to all corners of our lives, all for His glory. (Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Matthew 3:8, Romans 12:2, Matthew 5:13-16)
POSITION ON SEXUALITY
We uphold the scriptural position that all sexual relations belong within the exclusive context of marriage between one man and one woman only. Anything outside of this context, including pornography, fornication, adultery, and homosexuality is considered sin in the eyes of God. (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6)
POSITION ON SANCTITY OF LIFE
We believe that all human life is a gift from and created by God in His image. As such, we uphold the value, worth, and protection of human life at every level of development from the moment of conception through the moment of death. (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13-14, Luke 1:41-44)