Statement of Faith

God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He created the universe in love. He created man in His own image for fellowship and called man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.

Genesis 1:1 | John 3:16 | Romans 8:14-17 | Ephesians 1:3-6

Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man's redemption, He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two natures—God and man—in one person.

John 1:1-14 | Romans 1:1-4 | John 3:16 | Matthew 28:18-20 | John 14:5-14 | John 10:22-39 | Galatians 4:1-7 | Hebrews 4:14-16 | Luke 1:26-38 | Matthew 1:18-24 | 1 Timothy 2:5-6

The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature and conforms us to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 | Luke 11:13 | John 7:37-39, 14:16-17, 16:7-14 | Acts 2:1-18

We affirm that the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is alone the only infallible, inspired Word of God, and that its authority is ultimate, final, and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction, and reproof. It contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct.

2 Timothy 3:16 | Hebrews 4:12 | 1 Peter 1:23-25 | 2 Peter 1:19-21

Christ's vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, but its benefits are only applicable to those who receive Jesus as their personal Savior. Healing—body, soul, and spirit—and all of God's provisions for His saints, are provided for in the atonement, but these must be appropriated.

Acts 4:12 | Romans 4:1-9, 5:1-11 | Ephesians 1:3-14

We believe that man, in his natural state, is a sinner—lost, undone, without hope, and without God. As God's most precious creation, God gave his very best for each and every human to ever be born, but it is up to each individual to receive Him.

Romans 3:19-23 | Galatians 3:22 | Ephesians 2:1-2, 12

We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the primary evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, is for all believers as promised by John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter. The fulfillment of this promise was witnessed by early disciples of Christ and operates in many present-day disciples of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 14 | Matthew 3:11 | Acts 1:4-8 | Acts 2:38-41 | Acts 2:4, 10:44-47, 19:1-6

The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is effected by personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification), and personal acceptance of Him into one's life as Lord and Savior (regeneration). The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the kingdom of God's beloved Son. Salvation is an act of free will in response to God's personal love for mankind.

Acts 4:12 | Romans 4:1-9, 5:1-11 | Ephesians 1:3-14

We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the saint in this world to be one of balance between what is imputed to us as Christians and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests, and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.

Matthew 7:21; 16:27 | Romans 12:1-3 | 2 Corinthians 6:17 | Galatians 6:14 | Ephesians 5:11 | Colossians 3:17

The goal of the Church is to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19)—make disciples of all nations and to present the saints complete in Christ. The five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4 governs the Church, along with the offices of elder and deacon. It is essential to the life of the Church that scriptural patterns of discipline are practiced and that oversight for Church discipline, individual and corporate, is exercised by the leadership of the Church.

Acts 10:34-35 | 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 | Matthew 16:18, 28:19-20 | Ephesians 4:15; 5:22-32 | 1 Timothy 3:15

We believe God has used doctors, medicines, and other natural means as channels of healing; however, we also believe divine healing is provided for believers in the atonement made by Jesus' blood shed on the cross. We believe divine healing may be received by the laying on of hands by the elders, by the prayer of an anointed person gifted by the Holy Spirit for healing the sick, or by a direct act of receiving this provision by faith.

Isaiah 53:5 | 1 Peter 2:24 | James 5:14-16 | 1 Corinthians 12:9 | Mark 11:23-24

The Word of God enjoins on the Church two perpetual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first, baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual's life and is a testimony to all that the person now belongs to Jesus. It is identification with Jesus and is effected in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our participation in Him. Both institutions are restricted to those who are believers.

Matthew 28:19 | 1 Corinthians 11:24-26

We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the millennium, and the final judgment. The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, based on their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We affirm the final state of the new heavens and the new earth.

Matthew 23:39 | Romans 11:15 | Acts 1:10-11 | 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 | 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 | James 5:8 | Revelation 1:7 | John 14:2-3

We believe Scripture clearly speaks on the doctrines of eternal punishment for the unsaved and eternal salvation and complete happiness for the saved—a literal hell for the unsaved and literal Heaven for the saved.

Matthew 25:34, 41, 46 | Luke 16:19-31 | John 14:1-3 | Revelation 20:11-15

We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history. Because of the longstanding importance of this definition of marriage to humans and their relationships and communities, and most importantly the fact that God has ordained that marriage be between one man and one woman, as clearly conveyed in God's inerrant Scriptures, including for example in Matthew 19:4-6 where in speaking about marriage Jesus referred to the fact that "he which made them at the beginning made them male and female."

Genesis 2:18-25 | Ephesians 5:22-33 | 1 Corinthians 7:39-40 | Romans 7:1-3 | Genesis 1:26-31 | 1 Corinthians 7:1-7