Core Beliefs

The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testament) is the complete and fully inspired Word of God. Fully inspired and without error in its original writings and that it has supreme and final authority in faith and life (Jn. 16:12-13; 17:17; Rom. 15:4; Gal. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:19-21). It is only through God’s own personal and gracious revelation that any man has the opportunity to know Him and to enter into a personal, growing and effectual relationship with Him (1 Cor. 2:9-11).

The Godhead

We believe that there is one God (Deut. 6:4; Is. 44:6; 1 Cor. 8:4-6) and that He has always existed, coeternally, in three distinct and yet equal persons (Gen. 1:26-27; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; Jn. 1:1-14; 14:26). God the Father being the source (Gen. 1:1) and the giver of the Son (Jn. 3:16), God the Son being the mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), Savior (Lk. 2:11; Acts 5:30-31) and the provider of life (Jn. 10:10; 14:6; Col. 1:15-17) and the Holy Spirit as enabler, helper and God in us (Jn. 14:15-26; 16:7-16; Eph. 1:13-14). These three persons of the Godhead, although they are equal in essence and are distinguishable in their actions, role and relationship with one another (Jn. 14:15-26; Rom. 8:1-4; 2 Thes. 2:13-14; Tit. 3:4-6) are never separable.

Person & Work of Christ

We believe that the divine Word of God became a man by taking on flesh and stepping into our world as the man known as Jesus (Jn. 1:1-3; 14). He existed before this incarnation and before the creation of the world (Gen. 1; Psa. 33:6-9; Jn. 8:58; Col. 1:17-18), is the Son of God (Matt. 3:16-17; Mk. 5:7; Lk. 70-71), affirmed and stated His position as Messiah (Matt. 16:13-17; Mk. 14:61-62; Lk. 4:16-21; Jn. 4:25-26) and is the second member of the Trinity (Jn. 10:30; 14:9). Jesus Christ is both fully God (Jn. 8:58; Col. 1:15-20; Tit. 2:13) and fully man (Mt. 1:18-25; Lk. 19:41; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1Jn. 1:1-3). One person with two unconfused, unchangeable and inseparable natures (Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:16). We believe that Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived, being born of a virgin through the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-37). He walked this Earth as the God-man, displaying the full image and glory of the Father. To know Jesus is to know God Himself (Jn. 14:6-8; 17:22). During Jesus’ earthly life He was tempted in every way, just as we are (Heb. 2:18; 4:15), yet did not succumb to any of it. He lived a sinless life in everyway (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:14-15; 1 Pet. 2:21-23) and was therefore able to pay the penalty for sin as the perfect Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29; Rom. 3:21-26; Heb. 4:15-16; 1 Pet. 2:24). Jesus died but death could not contain Him, triumphing over it through His resurrection (Matt. 28:5-7; Lk. 24:1-8; 1 Cor. 15:4). His victory over death was seen and witnessed by many people over a 40-day span (Jn. 20:10-29; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:4-8) and at the close of this resurrected ministry He ascended into Heaven (Lk. 24:51; Acts 1:9) where He sits exalted at the right hand of God (Lk. 22:69; Eph. 1:20-23).

Person & Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity of God (Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 13:14) and as such is fully divine, sharing in the full nature (Acts 5:3-4), attributes (1 Cor. 2:10-12; Psa. 139:7-10) and responsibilities (Acts 13:4; 1 Cor. 12:4-11) as the Father and the Son. After Pentecost (Acts 2), the promised Spirit (Jn. 14:16-26; 16:7; Acts 1:8) was sent to convict the world – believers and nonbelievers alike – of sin, righteousness, judgment (Jn. 16:8-11) and to open the eyes of believers (2 Cor. 4:4-6). He is at work in regenerating and making believers “new” (2 Cor. 5:17; Tit. 3:5-6) and coming and dwelling within them in this new birth (Jn. 3:3-8; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 5:16-26). Once the Spirit takes up residence in a believer, He is there to stay and the individual has a hope (Rom. 5:5-9; Heb. 10:23) that remains past this life without fear of Him ever leaving (Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14).

Sin & the Depravity of Man

We believe that from the beginning mankind was created in a perfect, harmonious relationship with God (Gen. 1:31; 2:15-25). Through the temptation of Satan – the great deceiver (Gen. 3:1-6) – Adam and Eve, of their own accord, chose to turn their backs on that perfect relationship and attempt to live life by deciding on their own what was right and wrong, good and evil (Gen. 3:6-7). The outcome of man and woman choosing willfully to go on their own resulted in death, both physically (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22) and spiritually (Eph. 2:1; Rom. 5:14), as well as eternal separation from their Creator (Rom. 5:18; 6:23). This is a separation and condemnation that God Himself did not create, but came about as man chose to be disobedient and to reject the perfect will of God. The resulting consequence was immediate (Gen. 3:7-12) and the effect had forever implications on all of mankind (Gen. 3:16-19; 23). We believe that death and condemnation originated in Adam and as his descendants we all inherent the consequences and guilt of his actions (Rom. 5:12; 15-19). There is nothing that we can do, in and of ourselves, to change that (Rom. 3:10-20). Though we are all born into the sinful state of Adam, it is because of our own personal sin that we will stand before God to be judged (Rom. 2:5-9). Despite the ugliness of the state in which we are now in, man still remains in the image of God, though this state is now marred and stained by our imperfection (Gen. 9:6).

Salvation

We believe that mankind had a problem and there was nothing that we could do to fix it (Rom. 5:6) but our God is One that desires for all to have a second chance (Jn. 3:17, 1 Tim. 2:4). Therefore God sent His son, (Rom. 8:3; Gal. 4:4) Jesus Christ, to Earth to pay the price required to cover our sin debt (Rom. 3:25; 5:18-19; 1 Jn. 4:9-10). By our faith in that atonement alone can we realize the ultimate reality of God’s saving grace (Eph. 2:8-9) through which we are embraced and welcomed into God’s family as His sons and daughters (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 3:26-29). This grace is abundant (Ps. 86:15; Rom. 5:17), sufficient (2 Cor. 9:8; 12:9) and by definition – free (Rom. 5:15). We believe that it is God’s heart and desire for all of mankind to choose Christ and be delivered from sin (Jn. 1:12; 3:16: 1 Tim. 2:1-4; Titus 2:11-14). We believe that to be in Christ is to be justified – to be declared righteous – before God (Rom. 3:24; 4:22-25; 2 Cor. 5:21). This means that at salvation the believer’s sin is imputed (transferred or moved) to Christ (Jn. 1:29) and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the believer (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, the believer can not stand on his/her own merit, but is acceptable only because of Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 5:1-2; Gal. 2:16). The results of justification for the believer are forgiveness of sin (Jn. 5:24; Rom. 8:1), real and full life – both now and forever (Rom. 5:18; Titus 3:7), reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:20-21) and adoption into the family of God (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5). We believe that salvation is a gift received by the believer from God and is based on nothing that we can do on our own. Therefore once we are “in Christ” we can never lose that “in Christ-ness,” as we did nothing to receive it in the first place – other than having faith (Rom. 8:35-39; Eph. 2:8-9). Consequently in Christ we have confidence and are assured of our eternal security (Rom. 8:28, Eph. 1:13-14) as we know our God to be a God of consistency (meaning He does not change) and love (Heb. 13:8, Jms. 1:17; 1 Jn. 4:7-16).

Christian Growth

We believe Christian growth happens when a believer, in light of what Christ has done and through the power of the Holy Spirit, engages in an ongoing process of offering themselves in a greater and fuller way to God and to His service, being made more and more into the likeness of Christ (Rom. 6:19; 12:1-2; 1 Thes. 4:3-7). This growth (sanctification) is a work of God in us and is not instantaneous or automatic nor is it ever completed in this life (2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:25; 2 Pet. 1:3-7).

The Church

We believe that the universal church is made up of all believers in Christ who have been sealed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Tit. 3:5) regardless of time, race, gender or other (Eph. 4:4-6; Gal. 3:26-29). This universal church manifests itself as organized assemblies of believers gathered together in local communities (1 Cor. 1:2; Philem. 2; Rev. 2-3). It is far more than a building or a location, the church is people (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19-20). More specifically, it is the gathering of Spirit indwelled individuals meeting together for the common purpose of worshipping God and encouraging and challenging one another in their walks with Christ (Col. 3:15-17; Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Pet. 4:1-2). We believe that the church is more than just a gathering but that God has placed us here for a very specific purpose and that purpose is to offer the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:7-8; 2:38-40; 2 Cor. 2:14-17). Every believer that is living in obedience is participating regularly and actively as a member of one of these local assemblies (1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10:25). Only those who believe in Christ and have been born again are qualified to become members (1 Cor. 1:2; 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2). We believe that the local church should regularly practice the sacraments of baptism (Matt. 28:19-20) and the Lord’s Supper (Lk. 22:17-20), both of which were established and laid out for us by Christ. Baptism is a believer’s way of proclaiming to the church and the world about their identification and commitment to Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:41; 8:36). Baptism, in no way, saves an individual. It does not regenerate or convey any kind of future grace. It is an outward picture of a reality that has already taken place on the inside of the individual as well as a visual proclamation of the Gospel and of the union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 1-11). The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic reminder of the redemptive work of Christ that we repeat over and over again (Lk. 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-34) .We have come to put our life and hope in Christ and what He has done for us and this is a way of remembering that on an ongoing, regular basis. It also serves as a sobering reminder, a celebration of our salvation, a participation and connection with God and His people (1 Cor. 10:16-18) and an anticipation that one day He will come back and take us to be with Him (1 Cor. 11:26).

Partnership in the Church

We believe that God has called us to work together in partnership within the body of Christ and that this call extends beyond the people that make up our local church. This call is to work together with other bodies of Believers for the cause and sake of the Gospel (Jn. 17; 1 Cor. 1:10-17). Our heart and desire should not be for competition with these other brothers and sisters but for partnership, unity and love to be the message that we send through our actions and speech (Rom. 12:9-21; 1 Cor. 3).

Ministry & Gifts of the Spirit

We believe that the local church is a diverse gathering of uniquely gifted individuals (Rom. 12:4-8; 1Cor. 12) that are all needed in using their personal giftedness for the health and wellbeing of the church, to fulfill its purposes and to serve one another (1 Cor. 12:4-7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). As we use these gifts that have been blessed to us, we should not seek glory for ourselves, but all should go to Christ (Rom. 12:3-8; Jms. 1:17). Therefore, in regard to the Spirit’s gifting, He has the ability to give whatever gift He desires but as those gifts are played out in our lives, it is our duty to make sure that the gifts are biblical and used in proper biblical ways (1 Cor. 14:39-40; 1 Thes. 5:19-22; 1 Jn. 4:1-4).

The Future

We believe that one day Jesus will return again to gather His faithful to Him (Acts. 1:10-11; 1 Cor. 15:20-57; 2 Thes. 1:7-10; Rev. 22:12-14), to judge and condemn the disobedient to an eternity apart from the presence and goodness of God (2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thes. 1:6-9; Rev. 22:15) and to establish His eternal Kingdom (1 Thes. 4:13-18; Rev. 19:1-5). As believers in Christ, we eagerly anticipate that the final confidence of our salvation is in the reality that death has no hold on us in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1-10; 1 Cor. 15:50-52). This life now with its trouble and hardship is nothing in comparison to how amazing our future glory will be through the gracious gift of our Savior (Rom. 8:18). One day we (as those who have put their faith in Christ Jesus) will stand before God, in His presence, for all of eternity, with all of the other saints who have come before us, and those that follow us and live forever in perfection (Jn. 6:39-40;