What We Believe
BIBLE We believe the Bible is the complete Word of God; that the sixty six books as originally written, comprising the Old and New Testaments, were verbally inspired by the Spirit of God and were entirely free from error; that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and the true basis of Christian union. (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)
GOD We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 146:5,6; Matthew 3:16,17)
GOD THE FATHER We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from the penalty of sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (John 3:35; John 5:26; John 6:46; John 10:29; Matthew 11:27)
GOD THE SON We believe in the absolute and essential deity of Jesus Christ, in His eternal existence with the Father in pre-incarnate glory, in His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, triumphant ascension, mediatorial ministry and personal return. (Hebrews 1:1-4, 8)
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT We believe in the absolute and essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit Who convicts of sin, convinces of righteousness, and of judgment; Who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates, equips and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ. (John 14:16, 17, 26; 16:8-14)
SATAN We believe that Satan exists as an evil personality, the originator of sin, the archenemy of God and humanity. (Jude 6; 1 Peter 5:8)
HUMANITY We believe that humanity is divinely created in the image of God to glorify and enjoy fellowship with Him; that through Adam's sin all become guilty before God, resulting in the corruption of his soul morally, ethically, and spiritually, and separation from God, thereby incurring physical and spiritual death. (Romans 5:12)
SALVATION We believe salvation is by the grace of God alone; that by the appointment of the Father, Christ voluntarily suffered death and bore our burden of sin on the cross. We believe that justification is by faith alone in the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and that those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and finally perfected in the image of the Lord. (John 5:24)
FUTURE THINGS We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; (Revelation 1:17); in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust (John 5:28,29); in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and in the judgment and conscious, eternal punishment of the wicked. (John 14:3; Matthew 35: 41-46)
THE CHURCH We believe the church is a company of born-again believers, called out from the world, separated unto Jesus Christ, voluntarily associated for the work of evangelism, the ministry of the Word, the mutual edification of its members, the propagation of the faith and the observance of the ordinances. (Acts 2:42-47)
THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH We believe the universal church to be comprised of every born again believer in Jesus Christ, past, present, and future, united under the headship of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:25; 1 Corinthians 12:28)
THE LOCAL CHURCH We believe the local church to be comprised of born-again believers in Jesus Christ who form a local, sovereign, independent body, exercising its own divinely awarded gifts, precepts, and privileges under the Lordship of Christ, the Great Head of the church. (Ephesians 4: 15, 16; Romans 16:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:1) The scriptural officers of the church are pastors, overseers, elders whose primary function is shepherding, leading, and teaching; and deacons whose primary function is to facilitate the ministry of the believing community. (Acts 6:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:1-10)
THE ORDINANCES We believe that there are only two ordinances for the church, instituted by Jesus Christ regularly observed in the New Testament.
BAPTISM Is the immersion of the believer in water, whereby he/she obeys Christ's command and sets forth his/her identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Acts 8:35-38)
THE LORD'S SUPPER Is the memorial in which the believer partakes of the two elements, the bread and the cup, which symbolize the Lord's body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)