Statement of Faith

What does the Bible say?

We Believe in God

We believe in one God, the Creator and Sovereign Lord of the universe, Who exists as one in essence and substance, and three in person, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - as our Creator Father Jehovah, as our Savior Jesus Christ, and as our ever-present Counselor Holy Spirit. He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. We believe that God in His character defines holiness, truth, justice, love, mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness, and He alone is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.
See: Genesis 1, Deuteronomy 6: 4, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Isaiah 46:9-10, 1 John 1:5, Psalm 145:17, Romans 11:33-36 Revelation 4:11

We Believe in Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, the second person of the Trinity. Through the virgin conception and birth, the Son of God took on human flesh and lived a sinless life, and became the sinner's sacrificial substitute through His death on the cross, fully satisfying God's wrath once and for all towards those who trust Him. After His bodily resurrection from the dead, He ascended to heaven where He presently intercedes for believers and awaits His physical return to the earth to establish His earthly kingdom
See: John 1:1-14, 20:26-31, Hebrews 1:8, Colossians 1:15-18, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 5:8, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 John 2:1-2, Romans 8:34

We Believe in the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the eternal God, the third person of the Trinity. He presently convicts the world of sin, brings individuals alive spiritually, dwells within Christians, places God's permanent seal of ownership on them, and becomes their Teacher of God's Word and Guide for daily living.
See: Acts 5:3-4, Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 6: 19-20, Romans 8:9, Ephesians 1:13-14, John 16:8, 14:16-18

We Believe in Creation

God spoke, and all things came into being from nothing. We believe the creation account of a literal 24-hour day, with the whole of creation being completed within six literal days. We follow the Bible timeline of a young earth. God created human beings in His own image, and as male and female to procreate and complement each other.
See: Genesis 1-2, 2:24, 5:1-2, 9:6, Psalm 24:1, 33:6-9

We Believe in Salvation

We believe that without Christ we are spiritually dead, and therefore separated from our holy Creator, and only through the atonement of those sins can we be made righteous before God. No amount of good works can atone for sin. Only through turning from our sin and placing our faith in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection can we be made right with God and have our sins eternally forgiven. This faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is brought about by the regenerating work and will of God and is demonstrated in obedience in witnessed baptism and a changed life that reflects the indwelling Holy Spirit.
See: Ephesians 2:1-10, Romans 3:23-24, 4:1-8, 5:6-8, 6:23, 8:5-8, 10:9-13, John 1:12-13, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 7:20, 28:18-20, Galatians 5:22-23 Mark 16: 16, Acts 2:38, 22:16

We Believe in the Holy Bible

We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God. Every word of the sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation is "God-breathed" and written by men "carried along" by the Holy Spirit. Through the Bible, God has made Himself and His will known and has unveiled the absolute truth about mankind and the world around us; therefore, we seek to teach and follow the Bible as our authority in all we do, say, and think.
See: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21, Matthew 5:18, Psalm 119:105, John 17:17, 1 Peter 1: 22-25, Psalm 18:30

We Believe in the Return of Christ

We believe in the return of Christ to gather up His universal church, both dead and alive, to meet Him in the air. Those who have rejected salvation through Christ alone will be cast into the everlasting punishment of hell, while those whose sins have been forgiven through Christ will live in the presence of God in His kingdom forever. No one can predict the exact date of Christ's return.
See: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 3:10, 1 Corinthians 15:42-54, Daniel 9:25-27, Matthew 24:29-31, Isaiah 11:1-9, Zechariah 14:4-11, Revelation 19:11-16, 20-22, Psalm 9:7, 145:13, Matthew 24:36-44

We Believe in the Church

We believe that the universal church is one body, and consists of all those who have genuinely trusted in Jesus Christ for their salvation from sin, with Christ Himself as the Head. We believe God's plan is for believers to congregate into local bodies to (1) worship Him together, (2) build one another up by the teaching and preaching of God's Word and by the use of spiritual gifts, (3) spread the salvation message locally and around the world, and (4) demonstrate to society the love and righteousness of God. The true church follows the principles of the New Testament, observing the ordinances of communion and believer's baptism by immersion and establishing leadership by elders and deacons, whose qualifications and responsibilities are defined in the Scriptures. We believe that each local assembly of believers is to be self-governing in areas of membership, discipline, service, and policy.
See: Acts 2:41-42, Ephesians 1: 22-23, 5:23-24, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts1:8, 6:1-7, 15:13-18, 20:17-28, Ephesians 4:29, 1 Corinthians 11:23-32, 1 Timothy 3:1-13

Abortion

We believe that life begins at conception, and that since all humans are created in God's image, all unborn children have intrinsic value and are to be treasured and nurtured. Willfully taking the life of an unborn child is reprehensible to God and against His will.
See: Psalm 106: 37-37, 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5, Genesis 1:26, Exodus 21:22-23, Isaiah 46:5, 49:5

Faith and Experience

The Bible is our final authority in all matters of faith and experience. While God has given us explicit moral absolutes to live by, we also recognize that it should not be our focus to prescribe lifestyles not clearly defined by Scripture. Instead, we strive to teach and encourage each person to think through the principles of Scripture, applying them in a way that honors God and builds others up. Each believer is to be guided in these areas by God, to Whom he or she alone is ultimately and individually responsible.
See: Romans 13, 14:1-15, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, 10:23-33, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Homosexuality

We believe that homosexuality and similar deviations from the natural created order (lesbianism, transsexualism, transvestitism, transgenderism, et al) are sins against God. Nature reveals the distinctions between male and female and the need each has for the other. Men and women are designed to complement each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually
See: Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:25-28, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Mark 9: 42-48, Jude 7

Marriage

We believe that marriage is a sacred union, ordained by God to be a lifelong, sexually and emotionally exclusive relationship between one biological man at birth and one biological woman at birth. Marriage has served from the beginning as the foundation for continuation of the human race.
See; Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6