What We Believe

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, sovereign, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three distinct and equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe God the Son became fully man, without ceasing to be God, in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that he might reveal God and redeem sinful man.

We believe Jesus accomplished our redemption when he died on a cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. All may personally appropriate (take for themselves) his work on the cross by solely believing in (trusting in or relying on) Jesus for their redemption. Those who trust in Jesus are declared righteous, i.e. not guilty, before God on the basis of Jesus’s finished work alone, by grace, through faith.

We believe in the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead, his ascension into heaven, and his present life there for us. Jesus is now exalted and, as our High Priest, fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate, on our behalf, with the Father.

We believe in the imminent return of Jesus for the church. At that time, the bodies of all the members of the church, whether living or deceased, will be changed and caught up, to be together with the Lord forever. We believe in the glorious physical return of Jesus to the earth, with the church, to set up a kingdom in which he shall reign for one thousand years in righteousness and peace, in fulfillment of promises God made to Israel.

We believe God the Holy Spirit is the Author of Scripture. He is that person of the Trinity who restrains evil in the world, convicts man of sin, points man to Christ, regenerates believers, and baptizes them at the moment of belief into the body of Christ. He indwells believers permanently and seals them unto the day of redemption. He progressively makes those yielded to his control more like Jesus, setting them apart from sin unto God, and preparing and empowering them for service.

We believe the Holy Spirit gives one or more spiritual gifts to every believer for the building up of the body of Christ and for reaching those who do not believe. We encourage believers to discover and exercise the gifts with which they’ve been entrusted, since their faithfulness to exercise them will be judged by God.

We believe mankind was created in the image of God and in perfect fellowship with God, and when Adam sinned the entire human race fell. Consequently, mankind experiences not only physical death but also spiritual death (separation from God). All human beings are born with a sinful nature. Man is depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

We believe God offers forgiveness for all sins to all who confess their sins, seeking his mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Concerning man’s salvation, God has revealed that he is sovereign, in some way he is behind everything else that is or happens, he is not willing that any should perish, and in his sovereignty he holds man responsible. The intellectual tension man feels between God’s sovereignty and man’s choice (freedom of will) is due to man’s finite vantage point and God’s limited revelation. In reality there is no tension. God is absolutely sovereign. In his sovereignty, he has devised and revealed a plan whereby salvation has been made available to all mankind; this sovereign plan involves the will of man, for God has said that whoever will, may come to Him through Jesus.

We believe God offers redemption and restoration to all who seek his mercy and forgiveness through Jesus. By personal faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the Son of God, everyone who receives Jesus as Savior is rescued from the penalty of his/her sins, and at that moment becomes a child of God forever. This salvation is a gift given by God because of his love and grace, wholly apart from any human effort or merit, and is the only way of forgiveness, victory over sin, and escape from eternal judgment. As understood by his promises, believers are kept eternally secure by the power of God, and it is their privilege to enjoy the assurance of salvation based solely on faith in Jesus through the testimony of God’s Word.

We believe in the bodily resurrection and judgment of all mankind. Those who die without believing on Jesus will be resurrected to experience judgment, then suffering apart from God in the Lake of Fire forever. The bodies of believers who have died will be resurrected, transformed, and reunited with the immaterial part of their being (mind, emotions, will) already in heaven enjoying eternal life with God.

We believe every believer, while now possessing a new nature, still possesses a sinful old nature which cannot be eradicated in this life. God has made full provision through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit for believers to control this sinful nature and live holy lives. No one except Jesus has ever lived a perfect and sinless life. All believers are to give attention to becoming spiritually mature and fruitful. They are not to use their liberty in Christ as an occasion to sin.

We believe Satan is real, a fallen angel, and the author of sin. He is the open and declared enemy of God and man. His fate was sealed when Jesus died on the cross. He is presently overcome when believers apply biblical truth and he will someday be cast into the Lake of Fire forever.

We believe the church, in its invisible form, is universal and the true body of Christ. All believers, from the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) until the church is caught up to be with the Lord, are members of the universal church regardless of organizational affiliation. For the church Jesus ordained the water baptism of believers and the regular observance of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) until he returns. Obedience to Jesus in the practice of these ordinances is not a means of salvation.

We believe the visible church is the local gathering of people who profess faith in Jesus for salvation, who have been baptized, practice the Lord’s Supper, and are organized to fulfill God’s mandate to the church. That mandate is fourfold: worship of God, learning about God and his plans, building a Christ-centered fellowship of believers, and living out the gospel as salt and light in our immediate community as well as among the unreached people in our world.