We are a Bible believing people, dedicated to ministering to the needs of the community through worship, training, fellowship, and service. We strive to enrich lives by the power of God who offers us salvation through Jesus Christ. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Guide.

 

The Bible: We believe that the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it has supreme authority in all matters.  (Mark 13:31; John 8:31-32; John 10:35, John 20:31; Acts 20:32; II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21.)

 

The One True God: We believe God exists eternally as three persons, but is one in divine essence: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Luke 3:22; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-3; II Corinthians 13:14.)

 

The Father: We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe He is all-knowing, infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, He is all-powerful, He is omnipresent, He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, He hears and answers prayer, and He adopts as sons and daughters all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:1, Luke 10:21-22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; John 6:27; Romans 1:7; Romans 8:15, Ephesians 1:5, I Timothy 1:1-2; I Timothy 2:5-6; I Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6.)

 

The Lord Jesus Christ: We believe in the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, buried and rose again on the third day to save us from our sins, sitting at the right hand of God the Father and coming again to take the Church home. (John 1:1-3, 1:14; Matthew 1:8-23; Hebrews 4:13, 14-16; I Corinthians 15:3-8; II Corinthians 5:21; Luke 24:36-43; Acts 1:11.)

 

The Holy Spirit: We believe in the Holy Spirit, His personality, deity, that He convicts men of sin, He effects the baptism and indwelling of the Spirit at the moment of regeneration, His work in each believer in sanctification and His filling to empower us for the Christian life and service. (John 14:16-17; John 16:7-15; I Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 3:16, 5:18; Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-25.)

 

Man: We believe man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. We believe that man was created in innocence, but by voluntary transgression (from the temptation of Satan) fell from his sinless state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but of free choice; inherit a sin nature and are therefore under just condemnation without excuse. Therefore, as soon as a person is capable of moral action, he or she becomes a transgressor of God’s law and is under the judgment of God. (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-6, 24; Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-19, 5:12, 18-21; Ephesians. 2:1-3; Ezekiel 18:19-20.)

 

Salvation / The Gospel: We believe salvation is offered freely to all who repent and believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes atonement, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Our good works do nothing to merit or add to our salvation but are merely the fruit (or result) of true saving faith in Christ. Thus, we are saved by grace through faith alone, but that faith will result in good works and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 3:1-8:39; Galatians 2:16-21, 3:1-29; Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:1-10; Philippians 3:9, Titus 3:1-11.)

 

A. Atonement of Sin: We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, Who by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our human nature, yet without sin, remained wholly divine, honored perfectly the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and substitutionary atonement for our sins; the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ bearing our sins in His own body on the cross, and having risen from the dead proved Himself the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Only through the blood of Jesus are we able to receive forgiveness from God by grace through faith. (Isaiah 53:4-10; Romans 3:23-26; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 9:11-15; I Peter 2:24, 3:18; I John 2:2.)

 

B. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. (John 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:4-10; Colossians 2:13-14; Titus 3:3-7.)

 

C. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sin upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God. When we place our faith in Christ, God no longer sees our sin in judgment (since it was placed on Christ on the cross), but He sees the perfect life of Christ applied on our behalf. (Romans 3:21-31, 4:1- 25, 5:15-21; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Philippians 3:9.)

 

D. Sanctification is the experience, beginning at regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life, but we do not believe that a person can obtain a state of sinless perfection here on earth, and thus repentance should be a regular part of the believer’s life. Believers are to walk in the Spirit by obeying the two greatest commandments of Christ: to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Believers should also exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. (Matthew 22:35-40, 28:18-20; Romans 8:1-39, 12:1-21; Galatians 5:14-26; Colossians 3:1-17; I John 1:5-10.)

 

E. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed in heaven with the Lord. (I Corinthians 15:12-58; II Corinthians 5:1-10; Revelation 21:1-27, 22:1-5.)

 

The Church: We believe in one true Church, the body and bride of Christ (those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior), the universal church; a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the head of which all regenerated people are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, service, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary work of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world and discipling those who believe in Him. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, we believe the offices of Senior Pastor, Elder and Deacon are limited to men as qualified by Scripture. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 5:19-21, 5:25-32; Matthew 16:18, 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2:42; I Timothy 3:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-25.)

 

Ordinances: We believe the Christian is commanded to observe water baptism (administered after a credible profession of faith) and the Lord’s Supper, and that such ordinances are to be administered by the local church. (Matthew 3:6, 11, 26:26-29, 28:18- 20; I Corinthians 11:17-34; Romans 6:1-4.)

 

Second Coming and Last Things: We believe in the personal, visible and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth before the tribulation and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth. We believe unbelievers will be consigned to hell, a place of everlasting punishment. Believers in Christ, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and will dwell forever in heaven with the Lord. (Matthew 24:1-51; I Corinthians 15:12-58; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:16-17; Revelation 3:10, 20:1-15, 21:1-27, 22:1-5.)

 

Marriage and Family: We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.  We believe marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to Biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

 

We believe the husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family, especially in spiritual matters. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

 

We believe children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

 

 

Religious Liberty: We believe God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom, no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God in Scripture. The church should not resort to civil power to carry on its work. The Gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by civil power. (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7,24; 16:26; 22:21; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20; Romans 6:1-2; 13:1-7; Galatians 5:1,13; Philippians 3:20; I Timothy 2:1-2; James 4:12; I Peter 2:12-17; 3:11-17; 4:12-19.)