What We Believe

Welcome

THE WORD OF GOD: 
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.

THE TRINITY:
We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We believe that these are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.

GOD THE FATHER:
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love.  We believe that He 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 Jesus Christ.

JESUS CHRIST:
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, who has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  We believe further that He is not only true God, but true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.  We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible, premillennial return from heaven.

HOLY SPIRIT:
We believe in the Holy Spirit, His personality, and His work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation.  His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, to implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost and to empower the believer for godly living and service.

MAN:
We believe that God originally created persons, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin.  We further believe people are sinners by nature and choice and are spiritually dead.  We also believe that those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

SALVATION:
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We further believe that this salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received by faith, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual.  We further believe that salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern.

THE CHURCH:
We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head.  We believe that the true church is composed of all persons who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  We believe that this body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have been immersed upon a credible confession of faith and associated themselves for worship, for instruction, for evangelism and for service.  We believe that the ordinances of the local church are the believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.  We also believe in the interdependence of local churches and mutual submission of believers to each other in love.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE:
We believe that each local church is self-governing in function and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority.  We further believe that every human being is directly responsible to God in matters of faith and life, and that each should be free to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.

CHRISTIAN CONDUCT:
We believe that the supreme task of every believer is to glorify God in their life and that their conduct should be blameless before the world.  We further believe that they should be a faithful steward of their possessions; and that they should seek to realize for themselves the full stature of maturity in Christ.

LAST THINGS:
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, and the eternal existence of all people in heaven or hell, and in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.

SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE:
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image.  Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death.  We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life (Psalm 139).

MARRIAGE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY:
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female.  These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27).  Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.  We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25).  We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4).  We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.  We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

FINAL AUTHORITY FOR MATTERS OF BELIEF AND CONDUCT: 
The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs.  The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe.  For purposes of the church’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Leadership Board is our final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

(Revised October 2015)