STATEMENT OF FAITH
SALVATION
According to the Bible, God’s Word, those who believe in Jesus Christ as the one and only Son of God, believe that He died on the cross as an atonement for their sin, and confess Him as their Lord and Savior, are saved – and considered members of God’s family, the worldwide church.
We welcome all who hold this belief as our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Colossians 1:15–21 | Romans 3:21–25 | Romans 10:9 –10 | Ephesians 2:8–10 | John 14:6 | John 1:12–14
JESUS CHRIST
We are Christ-centered
We believe God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.
John 8:58 | Matthew 1:18–25 | John 1:14 | John 8:40 | Hebrews 4:14–16 | Hebrews 1:8
We believe Jesus Christ died for our sin as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed blood.
2 Corinthians 5:14 | Mark 10:45 | Romans 3:24–26, 5:8–10, 8:28–30 | 1 Peter 3:18
We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, His ascension into heaven, and His present life for us as High Priest, Intercessor and Advocate before God the Father.
John 20:25–27 | Acts 1:9–11 | Hebrews 7:25| 1 John 2:1–2
We believe the Church consists of all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Church is threefold: to give God the worship and praise He deserves; to build up every believer to spiritual maturity; and to proclaim and demonstrate the Good News and transforming power of Christ to all people.
Matthew 16:16–18 | 1 Peter 2:9–10 | Ephesians 4:11–16 | 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 | Acts 1:8 | Matthew 28:19
We believe Christ is the head of the Church, and the local fellowship is to be governed by elders, chosen for service on the basis of biblical qualifications and ministries.
Colossians 1:18 | Ephesians 4:15–16 | Acts 14:21–23 | 1 Timothy 3:1–8 | Titus 1:5–9
We believe Christ has commissioned His Church to observe the baptism of believers and the Lord’s Supper until He returns.
Matthew 28:19 | Acts 2:37–38, 8:26–39, 10:44–48, 16:31–34 | Romans 6:1–4 | Luke 22:14–20 | 1 Corinthians 11:17–34
We believe in the personal, bodily, and visible return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom, over which He will reign in righteousness and peace.
Acts 1:10–11 | Matthew 24, 25 | Revelation 20:4–6 | Isaiah 9:6–7, 11:2–5
We believe Jesus gives His body leadership to equip us all to do the work of ministry and He calls everyone to be models of Christ-likeness. We are to express His love to the world by meeting human need with true compassion wherever we find it. As such, we strive to live a lifestyle honoring to God in our actions, words, and relationships. We believe in the biblical definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.
Corinthians 3:16, 6:12–20 | Psalm 119:2,9,28, 50,52,54,105 | Ephesians 4:11–16 | Romans 14:19 | Acts 20:32 | Philippians 2:3–8 | Luke 14:26 | Titus 3:8 | Matthew 25:31–40 | James 1:27 | Ephesians 5:31–32
HOLY SPIRIT
We are Spirit-led
We believe all who by faith receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born again by the Holy Spirit, who brings them into the Body of Christ as children of God. This salvation is not a result of any human effort or merit.
John 1:12, 3:1–16, 10:27–30, 14:16–17 | Ephesians 2:8–9 | Romans 3:28, 8:9, 8:31–39 | 1 Corinthians 12:13 | Galatians 3:26–27 | Philippians 1:6
We believe all Christians still struggle with sin but God is in the process of transforming them into the likeness of His Son by the indwelling of His Spirit.
1 John 1:8 | Romans 5:3–19, 8:11–13 | Galatians 5:16–17 | Philippians 1:9–11, 19
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, who attempts to defeat all people through deception. Believers overcome Satan’s schemes by applying biblical truth in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 10:18 | Job 1:6–12 | John 8:44 | Mark 4:15 | Revelation 12:9 | 1 Peter 5:8 | Ephesians 6:10–19
We believe the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each believer to be used for building up the Body of Christ – the Church – according to biblical guidelines and priorities.
1 Corinthians 12:1–14 | Romans 12:6–8 | 1 Peter 4:10–11
BIBLE
We are Bible-based
We believe the Bible consists of 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired and inerrant written Word of God.
Psalm 19:7–11 | 2 Timothy 3:16–17 | 2 Peter 1:20–21
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Deuteronomy 6:4 | Hebrews 1:8 | Colossians 1:1–17 | Genesis 1:26–27
We believe man was created in the image of God, but sinned and therefore experienced physical and spiritual death (separation from God). As a result, everyone who does not receive Christ as their Savior, is separated from God and eternally lost.
Genesis 2:17, 3:6 | Romans 5:12–19 | Ephesians 2:1–3, 4:18–19 | Mark 7:20–23
We believe Christ builds His Body, the Church, through His Word, His Spirit, and His people. The Word builds us up by teaching us the ways of God; by strengthening, comforting and giving us hope; by keeping us from sin; and by guiding us in righteousness. We believe in the biblical definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.
1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:12–20
We believe God uses the Holy Spirit and His people to build the Body. Therefore, all believers are ministers for Christ.
Ephesians 4:11–13 | 1 Peter 4:10
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people for judgment. Believers will be judged, but will be found blameless because of the covering of the blood of Christ, and will enjoy eternal life with God. Unbelievers will be judged according to what they have done and will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Corinthians 15:52 | 1 Thessalonians 4:16 | Revelation 20:4–6, 21:1–8 | Galatians 5:19–21 | John 5:28–29 | Daniel 12:2
We believe all Christians should order their lives according to biblical priorities, among them being:
▪ Cultivation of their personal fellowship with God.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 | John 15:1–2, 17:17 | Colossians 3:16–17
▪ Expression of love to fellow believers by the commitment of prayer, time, effort, ability and resources.
Galatians 6:10 | Philippians 2:3–8 | Romans 15:1–17 | John 15:12–13
▪ Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers in both word and deed.
John 15:26–27 | 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 | Matthew 5:16
ROOM TO DISAGREE
We agree to disagree
There are some doctrines on which two Christians may agree to disagree, even though they are in the same local church and part of the same leadership team. Examples include: the dating of events in Genesis, order of events associated with the Lord’s return, and degree of separation from worldly practices. When teaching in any such area, it is made clear these beliefs are not essential for salvation or leadership in the church. We may state the case for our position, but will also acknowledge that sincere and intelligent Christians hold different views. We are committed to nurturing the unity we share as the family of God, and to obeying His command to love one another.
Romans 14:1–15:7 | 2 Timothy 2:23–24 | Titus 3:9