What We Believe

We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the accepted canon of the Scriptures as originally given, and is the inspired, written revelation of God’s character and saving purposes for humanity and all creation. They are infallibly and uniquely authoritative for belief and conduct and free from error of any sort in all matters with which they deal.

We believe there is one God, the Creator, who exists eternally in unity as three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in the Biblical creation account and the existence of Adam and Eve as the progenitors of all people. Formed in the image of God, both male and female, humankind is entrusted with the care of God’s creation as faithful stewards. As a result of human rebellion, sin and death entered the world, distorting the image of God and all of God’s good creation.

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, Mary, and was fully God and fully man. We believe that He lived a sinless life, died as the sacrifice for humanity’s sin, was buried, and rose again. We believe He appeared to his disciples, ascended into heaven, and will return again bodily for his church.

We believe that sin is a transgressing of, or falling short of, God’s standard in action, thought, and character. All individuals are born with a sin nature that affects their motivation, affection, volition, and actions. The results of sin include separation from God, and death.

We believe that salvation is available to all people by the loving, redemptive act of the triune God. Through obedience to the Father, Christ gave himself as a ransom. Christ, who had no sin, became sin for us offering himself and shedding his blood on the cross so that in him we might become right with God. The atoning work of Christ is the only way in which we can be saved. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ provide the way of salvation for those who, by God’s grace, repent from their sin and confess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

We believe the Holy Spirit was sent by God to empower all believers to live out their new lives as followers of Jesus. We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a distinct, subsequent experience with the evidence of speaking in tongues as well as the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to witness, conquer sin, and live a holy life. We believe the Holy Spirit is manifested in the church through a variety of spiritual gifts and that believers today operate in these gifts in harmony with Scripture and to build up the church.

We believe that the church is the Body of Christ and that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. All who are united with Christ are joined by the Spirit to his body. Each local church is an expression of the universal church whose role is to fulfill the Great Commission and extend his kingdom. We believe that every believer should be subject to God’s authority in a local church for spiritual protection and long term fruitfulness.

We believe in the practice of the Lord’s Supper, also commonly called Communion. This is a unique time in the presence of God where the elements of bread and grape juice symbolize Christ’s body and blood. Shared together, it proclaims his death in anticipation of his return.

We believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded to be baptized in water as a symbol of the believer’s identification with Christ in his death and resurrection.

We believe in marriage as the covenant relationship between a man and a woman, a sacred bond instituted by and publicly entered into before God.

We believe Jesus Christ will physically return to earth for the second time to receive his own, both the living in Christ who will be transformed, and the dead in Christ who will be resurrected bodily. At his second coming, Christ will liberate creation from the curse and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We believe that God will judge the living and the dead. Such judgment is God’s gracious answer to humanity’s cry for justice and is consistent with God’s character as loving, holy, and just. The unredeemed will enter into eternal punishment, but the redeemed into eternal life where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain.