STATEMENT OF FAITH
We Believe
We Believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all according to the purpose of His will.
God the Father
We Believe that God is essentially Spirit, personal, transcendent, sovereign, life, love, truth, almighty, timelessly eternal, unchangeable, wise, just, holy, relational, pure actuality, dynamic, infallible in all things, including His foreknowledge of all future decisions and events.
We Believe that God the Father concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
God the Son
We Believe in Jesus Christ—the second person of the Godhead, God's only begotten Son, the promised Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit.
We Believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, teachings, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal, visible return to earth.
We Believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, possessing two distinct natures which are co-joined in one person, and that He provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious, substitutionary death on the cross.
God the Holy Spirit
We Believe in the Holy Spirit—the third person of the Godhead, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ for ministry.
We Believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
We Believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit, to be employed within scriptural guidelines. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
The Bible
We Believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error in their original manuscripts and are the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Bible is the foundation upon which the church operates and is the basis for which the church is governed. We believe that the Bible supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures.
We Believe that we are to faithfully teach the Bible in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual's life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ. We do this by explaining the relevance of the Bible to empower and transform lives for service.
Creation
We Believe that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and of every basic form of life. We believe that God created all things ex nihilo (out of nothing) as taught in the book of Genesis, calling it good. We believe that God exercises providential care for every life form in His creation, and calls Christians to be faithful stewards of the natural world.
We Believe that God created man and woman as unique biological persons made to complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female, sanctioned by the church and recognized by the state as evidenced by a marriage ceremony.
Humanity
We Believe that man is created in the image of God; however, after the fall of Adam and Eve, all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are offered as a free gift by the Lord Jesus Christ to all based on His grace alone.
We Believe that when a person repents of sin and receives Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
We Believe that Jesus Christ baptizes the seeking believer with the Holy Spirit and empowers believers for service, often subsequent to regeneration.
The Church
We Believe in the universal church, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the Head, and all regenerated persons are members.
We Believe that Jesus committed two ordinances to the church: 1) baptism and 2) the Lord's Supper. We believe in baptism by immersion and Communion open to all believers.
We Believe in the laying on of hands for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons, and receiving from the Holy Spirit through the believer the gift of healing.
We Believe that the church has the responsibility to worship the Lord and share the good news of Christ's death and resurrection to the world, making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching them to observe sound doctrine and to live a holy life.
Christ's Return
We Believe in the personal, visible return of Christ to the earth and the establishment of His kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.
Historic Witness
We Believe in what is termed the Apostles' Creed as embodying the fundamental facts of Christian faith.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal church,
the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
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"Your teaching helps me to understand God. My life is not easy and there was a time I was jealous of my husband because he is in heaven and I have to deal with so much. I almost couldn't take it. One day I told God to quit, but then He let me know He is always there, so I decided to go further in my life with Him. It's still not easy but I know one day I will understand."
—Myriam
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