Our Core Beliefs
The Bible
We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inerrant and inspired words of God recorded and preserved by the work of the Spirit throughout history. We affirm that the scriptures are our sole authority for faith and practice.
The Church
We believe the Church is the body of Christ in this world through which He is continuing His work of making the Gospel known. The Church has two expressions, the universal body of all those who have believed on Jesus as their Savior and local body made up of believers who have united themselves together to carry out the great commission and keep the ordinances delivered by Jesus of Baptism and The Lord’s Table. (Ephesians 1:16, 4:4, I Corinthians 12:13, Hebrews 12:22-24, I Corinthians 11:18, I Corinthians 16:1-2)
Stewardship
We believe that every Christian is a steward of the material gifts God entrusted to him. Every Christian should grow in grace— understanding the generous heart of God and learning to reflect that heart with generosity toward God’s church and toward those in need. This generosity should be driven by grace (not obligation), empowered by gratitude, and should flow from a willing and cheerful heart for the development of the church and advancement of the Gospel. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9–10; Acts 4:34–37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6–7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17–18; 1 John 3:17)
The Trinity
We believe in one holy and loving God—eternal, self-existent, infinite, and immutable—and that He has one nature, essence, and substance; yet He manifests Himself to man in the Trinity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Timothy 1:17; James 1:17; 1 John 4:4)
The Father
We believe He is the first Person of the Trinity, and it was His voice that came from Heaven to affirm that Jesus was His Son. He is Whom our worship is addressed to, and to Him Jesus addressed His prayers. His love for the world is marked in His sending His Son to be the Savior. (Luke 2:22, 9:35, John 4:23, John 3:16, 17:1)
The Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and the only Savior of mankind. We believe He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. We believe He resurrected bodily and ascended into Heaven where He now dwells until His return. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 43:11; John 1:1, 3, 14, 18, 29; Romans 3:19–25; Romans 5:6–15; Philippians 2:5–11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Timothy 2:5, 3:16; Titus 2:10–15; Hebrews 7:26, 9:24–28; 1 Peter 1:19, 2:2; 1 John 1:3; Revelation 20:1–6)
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit of God is a Person of the Godhead whose ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He accomplishes this in convicting the unsaved of their sin under the wrath of God and presently indwelling and directing the development of believers and advancement of the Gospel in the world. The Holy Spirit is sent to regenerate, sanctify, seal, and indwell all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:2; John 3:5–6, 14:16; Acts 1:5, 11:15; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19–20; 1 Corinthians 12:13)
Salvation
We believe that God has provided and declared His love for humanity in the gift of His Son for the sins of the world. The message of the Gospel declares how sinners can be redeemed.
- God acted in His sovereignty to create a perfect world, and, as the crown of that creation, placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to exhibit His glory and have a relationship with them. God gave them the Garden to be their home and provided great freedom in the choices they could make in what trees they could use for food.
- Adam and Eve, in the exercise of their free will, broke the command of God in yielding to the temptation of Satan and took fruit from the only tree that God forbade them to eat from. Their act of rebellion broke their union with God, and they died spiritually at that moment. Their unrighteous action brought guilt before God on themselves, and they passed on their fallen nature and condemnation to all their descendants.
- God immediately made known to them His plans to redeem them from the penalty and power of sin. He promised to send a Child of the woman that would one day deliver a death blow to sin and Satan who tempted them. Further, He promised that this blow would be delivered at a cost to this Man. The remainder of the Old Testament gives further promises and predictions regarding the coming of this Man. The New Testament makes clear that Jesus Christ is the One that God promised would come and that He provided Himself as the sacrifice needed to restore humanity to fellowship with God and remove the curse of sin.
- It is the responsibility of each person to respond to the proclamation of the Gospel in belief to become a child of God. God does not force a person against his will to obey the Gospel but does hold all people everywhere responsible based on how they have responded to the news of how they can be forgiven of their sin. All those that hear the good news of Jesus’ sacrificial death and believe Him as their Savior, by faith, will receive eternal life and forgiveness.
Christlikeness
We believe it is the will of God for every believer to be conformed to the character of Christ in terms of his thoughts, words, and actions. We recognize God’s performance of this transformational work as we abide in Jesus. (Romans 8:29, Galatians 4:19, John 15:1-7)
Miracles
We affirm all miracles as they are recorded in the Scriptures and believe they are the work and power of God being manifested in this world to accomplish His will and purposes. (John 5:36, 20:30-31)
Humanity
We believe that God created man and woman in His image and for His glory. Sadly, Adam rebelled against God’s Word and died spiritually. That spiritual death has been passed on to all his descendants. Due to this spiritual death, every person who comes into the world does not have a desire or ability to please God and is in need of responding in faith to God’s offer of redemption through Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:26; 2:17; 3:1-7; Romans 3:10-18; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-7)
The Last Days
We believe in the literal interpretation of the scriptures in context and with a dispensational view of biblical prophecy. This literal approach provides the following timeline of future events: first, the rapture of the church, followed by a seven-year tribulation and the return of Jesus to the earth, followed by His literal rule of one thousand years ending with the Great White Throne Judgment, culminating with the creation of a new Heaven and new earth. (1 Corinthians 15:51–58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, 5:1–9; Revelation 19–22)