Our Statement of Faith

We believe that the Bible, consisting of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the authoritative and powerful Word of God, verbally inspired by God, and without error in the original manuscripts. We believe that God's intentions, revealed in the Bible, are the supreme and final authority in testing all claims about what is true and what is right. In matters not addressed by the Bible, what is true, and right is assessed by criteria consistent with the teachings of scripture. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21, 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:13, 14:37; Mark 13:31; John 8:31-32, 14:26, 16:13-14, 17:17, 20:31; Acts 20:32; Matthew 22:29, 22:43-44, 24:35; Numbers 23:19; Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6, 19:7-10, 119:9-16; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2; 1 Timothy 4:13)

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; and that these are the same divine essence, are equal in every divine perfection, but that they have distinct and complementary roles. (Genesis 1:1, 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1, 1:3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:5-6; Peter 1:2)

We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal spirit perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin, spiritual death, and punishment all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Matthew 6:6,8, 23:9; John 3:16, 4:23-24, 6:27; Luke 10:21-22; Romans 10:9-13; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:3)

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. He was conceived in the flesh by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, true God, and true man. We believe in His sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and visible return to earth. (Matthew 1:18-25, 20:28; Luke 1:26-38, 4:1-21; John 1:1, 20:28, 30-31; Romans 3:21-26, 5:6-8, 6:9-10, 7:25, 9:5, 8:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Peter 2:21-23; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Timothy 3:16)

We believe that humanity was created by God in His own image and for His glory; but that we sinned and fell short of God's glory, and thus incurred physical, spiritual, and eternal separation from God. We believe that all humans are born with a sinful nature and thus are completely sinful and are under divine condemnation and in need of salvation. We reject justification based on any human effort, and we believe that only those who, by God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of their sins and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, by virtue of His atoning death on the cross, are born again, justified, adopted, delivered from condemnation, and receive eternal life. We believe that this faith leads to a preserving, Spirit-empowered resolve to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ as we submit to Him as Lord and embrace Him as the supreme Treasure of our lives. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:1-24; Ecclesiastes 2:11; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 13:44; Luke 24:46-48; John 1:12-13, 3:14-17, 5:24, 8:12, 10:26, 16:7-11, 17:3; Acts 26:15-23; Romans 3:19-28, 5:19, 6:11, 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:7-8; 2 Tim 2:25-26; Hebrews 3:12-14, 6:11-12, 10:39; James 1:13-15; 2 Pt 3:9; 1 John 1:9)

We believe the term "marriage" has only one meaning and that it is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, or any attempt to change one's sex, or disagreement with one's biological gender, is sinful and offensive to God. We understand that those who have committed sexual sins have, in some settings, been treated as unforgivable and have experienced hateful and harassing behavior. We disagree with this treatment and believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with scripture or doctrines of the church. (Genesis 1:27-28, 2:23-24; Matthew 5:27-30, 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:24-32; Exodus 20:14,17; Leviticus 18:6-7, 23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11,18-20, 7:2; Luke 10:27; 1 John 4:8-9; Romans 1:18-32, 5:8)

We believe all human life begins at conception, is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition. (Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:25; Psalm 127:3; Job 12:10)

We believe in one holy universal church made up of all who trust Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, and supreme Treasure of their lives. We believe that God calls us to unite with other believers in local churches to help each other to value Jesus above all, to praise Him together, to grow in our love and knowledge of Him, to stir each other up to good works, to make disciples among the nations and to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Him. We believe that Christians should be baptized in obedience to God and as an open confession of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We practice baptism by immersion because it is the best external symbol of God's internal work as described in the Bible. Christians should regularly share in the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus until His return. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Acts 15:36, 15:41, 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:1; Galatians 1:1-3; Matthew 28:18-20; Revelations 1:4, 1:10-11; Hebrews 10:24-25; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

We believe the next great event of the fulfillment in prophecy will be the coming of the Lord in the air to remove His Church from the earth. At this time, He will receive to Himself both the saints who are living and those who have fallen asleep in Christ. This "blessed hope" is imminent, and we are to be watching for it.

Another event yet to come is the seven-year period of tribulation during which the judgements of God will be poured out on the unbelieving world. These judgements will climax with the return of Christ in glory with His saints. He will destroy His enemies and restore Israel to her land. Christ will then establish His thousand-year kingdom in which the saints will reign with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth. At the close of this millennium, the unsaved will be raised and committed to eternal punishment and the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God. (Matthew 16:27, 24:30, 25:31-46; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 1:7, 19:11-16, 20:11-15)