Knowing what people believe is important because what they believe influences how they think and act. Observing what people do is important because actions serve as windows into what they believe. It’s important to us that you see our stated beliefs lived out in our church community.
About God
There is only one God, and He exists eternally as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He exists in that unified community in a relationship of mutual love and submission from eternity past. It was in God’s chosen time and in His own way that He created everything that exists from nothing. His power, alone, sustains everything that exists today. God, as Creator, is never distant but is always intimately involved in His Creation.
(Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 10:30; 2 Corinthians 13:14, Hebrews 1:3; Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17; Colossians 1:17; Matthew 10:29-31)
About Jesus CHRIST
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was, in time, born of a virgin and, in the mystery of God, became fully human and fully God. He lived a perfect life in obedience to the Father, but at God’s appointed time, He shed His blood and died on a cross as payment for the sins of man. Jesus physically rose from the dead, was seen by many witnesses, and returned to the Father. One day, He will return to earth in power and glory.
(Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-4, 29; John 3:16; Acts 1:11 and 2:22-24; Romans 8:34; I Corinthians 15:3-4; II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-4 and 4:15.)
About THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit exists as the eternal third person of the Godhead. He was present at the creation of the world. When Jesus returned to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower all believers to live a Godly life. The Spirit makes His home within believers as a helper, teacher, and as a guiding light. The fruit of the Spirit is the supreme evidence of a Spirit-filled life. The Spirit opens our eyes to the Truth.
(Genesis 1:2; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-8; John 14:16-17; John 16:7-11; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:17; Romans 8:16 – 17, 1 Corinthians 12:13-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; Colossians 2:6-10)
About THE BIBLE
The Bible is God’s powerful and completely reliable message to man. The Bible is without error, entirely trustworthy, and is the absolute, unchanging Truth. God’s message represents the highest standard on which man’s beliefs, thoughts, and actions are based. The Bible is the written record of God’s revelation of Himself to man.
(Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Psalm 119:89, 105; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
ABOUT MAN
In the beginning, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world. Since then, everyone is born in disobedience. Because of sin, each man loses fellowship with God and stands to be judged by Him. But God’s amazing love for humanity caused Him to send Jesus to pay our sin debt. Jesus Christ is the only way to be united in fellowship with the Father. So, one’s faith in the work of Jesus and repentance of personal sin restores fellowship with the Father and a new life guided by the Holy Spirit.
(Luke 24:46-47; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23; II Corinthians 5:10-11; Ephesians 1:7 and 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7)
ABOUT SALVATION
At the time of Creation, God was satisfied that everything, including the first man and woman, was very good. Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with their Creator until they chose to disobey Him. As a result, every human being born since that time enters the world with a sinful nature, a will to disobey God, and a sentence of condemnation. Unforgiven sin carries with it a sentence of physical, spiritual, and eternal death. Despite man’s sinful nature, God’s amazing love provided a way to escape the penalty for sin. The Father sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to shed His blood on a cross as payment for our sin debt. People who hear the Gospel message and come to believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ, and repent, are forgiven. They are saved from God’s judgment, restored to fellowship with Him, and live in the promise of abundant life in Him.
(Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3; Genesis 5:2; John 1:12; John 3:14, 16; John 5:24, 30; John 8:12; John 10:26; Psalm 51:5)
ABOUT THE CHURCH
Jesus Christ is the architect and builder of His Church. The local church body serves as a visible demonstration of God’s Kingdom here on earth. We worship God by sharing His love and grace with all people, especially people who are not in a relationship with Him. The church body is composed of imperfect people, blessed by God’s mercy and grace, who strive to walk in the footsteps of Jesus every day. In due time, Christ will return to earth and gather His Church as His bride for all eternity.
(Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:46-47; I Corinthians 12:12, 27; Ephesians 1:22- 23; Hebrews 10:24-25)
ABOUT FAMILY
At the beginning of human history, God established the family as the basic building block for human society. The joining of one man and one woman in a lifetime relationship models the way God relates to His people. It was by God’s design that the sexual union between a man and a woman would be God’s means for reproducing the human race. Children, at the moment of conception, are special in the eyes of the Lord. He expects parents to teach their children to live according to His created order.
(Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:15-25; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalms 78:1-8; Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Ephesians 5:21-33; Ephesians 6:1-4; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.)
ABOUT MISSIONS
The decision to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ gives believers a new heart and a love for others. The Holy Spirit leads believers to dedicate themselves to becoming more like Jesus. As the author and builder of the Church, Jesus honors every disciple with the opportunity to join Him in the mission of making other disciples. He gives all believers the mission to make sure the Gospel message is preached in all nations. He provides every believer and every church with the power of the Holy Spirit to go and share the Gospel message with the lost sinners by word and by deed. The mission of the local church is to faithfully carry on the work of Christ by continually making it possible for the lost to enter the Kingdom of God.
(Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; Matthew 24:15; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 10:45; Mark 16:15; Luke 10:2; John 14:11-12; Acts 1:8; Acts 13:47; Acts 20:24; John 20:21; Romans 10:3-15; Romans 15:5-6; 1 Peter 2:4-10)