STATEMENT OF FAITH
ABOUT THE BIBLE:
The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the final authority for Christian faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Psalm 119:105).
ABOUT GOD:
God is the eternal and true God who exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He has revealed Himself as the Creator, as righteous in all things and perfection in all things (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 90:2, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Peter 1:2).
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST:
Jesus is God, the Son. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and was crucified as a sacrifice for our sins. He was bodily resurrected from the dead (which was witnessed by more than 500 people) and returned (ascended) to heaven to prepare a place for those who accept Him as Savior and Lord. He will come again to receive His Church unto Himself (Matthew 1:22-23, Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 4:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 1:3-4, Titus 2:13, Acts 1:9-11, John 1:1-5, John 14:10-30).
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, who convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Upon conversion, He resides in the believer and is our teacher. He is the power to live the Christlike life and is our guarantee of our salvation (John 16:7-13, Acts 1:8, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Corinthians 2:12, 1 Corinthians 3:16, John 14:16-17, Galatians 5:22-25).
ABOUT PEOPLE:
People are created by God in His own image and are not a product of evolution. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Thus, we are condemned by our own sin against God. At the same time, we are the most valuable thing in all of God’s creation. We have never met a human being that God did not desperately love and care about. By acceptance of God’s plan, we can be saved, our sins forgiven, and we can become His children (Genesis 1:27, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:36-39).
ABOUT THE CHURCH:
The Church is the Body of Christ on earth. Christ is the Head of His Church. The Church, as a Body, is made up of many parts (people) who have become Christians through faith, repentance, confession, and baptism into Him. We not only belong to God. We belong to each other (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4).
ABOUT ETERNAL LIFE:
We were created to worship God for eternity, but our relationship with Him on earth will determine whether we are able to experience that for which we were created. Every person who has been saved by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior will be eternally united with Him in heaven. Those who persist in rejecting God will live eternally separated from Him in a place called hell (John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 24:36-51, Matthew 7:21-23).
ABOUT FOLLOWING JESUS:
We believe that all followers of Jesus Christ will seek to live a life of righteousness, exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, seek to make disciples, and to gather together for worship, teaching, fellowship, service, and prayer (Matthew 28:19, Titus 2:11-12, Galatians 5:22-23).
ABOUT CHURCH ORDINANCES:
Jesus never asked His disciples to remember His birth, but He did instruct them to remember His death and resurrection by giving the church two visible symbols (called “ordinances”) as reminders. These two ordinances are: communion and baptism (Luke 22:19-22, Matthew 28:19).
ABOUT COMMUNION (ALSO KNOWN AS THE LORD’S SUPPER):
Whenever we celebrate communion, we remember the price of our salvation, proclaim the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection, examine our own hearts, and express Christian love (1 Corinthians 11:23-34, Luke 22:19-20).
ABOUT BAPTISM:
Water baptism is by immersion and an act of obedient faith. Immersion is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as well as a picture of the new birth (1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:1-5; Acts 2:38).