Beliefs

We believe there is one God eternally existent in three distinct persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Each member of the Godhead, while executing distinct but complementary roles in redemptive history, has precisely the same nature, attributes, and being, and is equally worthy of the same glory and honor and obedience (Deu. 6.4; John 1.1-4; John 17.3; Acts 5.3-4).

God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, seen and unseen, through Jesus Christ the second person of the trinity. All things are created for His glory and by His sovereign will (Gen. 1.1; Eph. 4.6; Col. 1.15-17; Rev. 4.11.).

Jesus is the second person of the trinity. He is son of God—fully God and fully man—who entered into creation for the purpose of redeeming those who would, by faith, receive salvation. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, was buried, and raised again to life in power. He will come again one day to judge creation and usher in the new kingdom of God over which He will rule (John 1.1; John 3.16; Luke 1.30-35; Phil. 2.5-8; Col. 2.9; 1 Pet. 3.18; Heb. 1.3; Acts 1.11.).

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. He enlightens believers to understand Scripture, convicts believers of their sin, empowers believers to live Godly lives, and seals believers till the day of their redemption (1 Cor. 6.19; John 16.7-8; Eph. 1.13-14; Rom. 8.12-13; John 16.13.).

Mankind was created by God, male and female, sinless and in the image of God. However, through willful disobedience, mankind corrupted all of creation with sin. Man is sinful both by nature and by wilful action, and thereby separated from God without defense or excuse. Because of sin, mankind is subject to God’s righteous wrath. Mankind is unable to save himself or, under his own power, to repair his relationship with God, and is in desperate need of the Savior. (Gen 1.26; Gen. 3.17-24; Rom. 3.9-19; Rom. 3.23)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as the substitutionary atonement in our place, and that salvation is found in none other than JesusChrist. Before Creation, God chose those who would be saved and granted this unearned grace solely based on His sovereign good pleasure. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was the sole and complete payment for sins, fully satisfying God’s righteous wrath, for each person that turns from sin in repentance and places their faith in Christ alone by grace alone. At salvation each person is made a new creation by the Holy Spirit, declared righteous before God, and secured as an adopted child of God forever. Genuine faith continues in obedience and love for Jesus Christ with a life eager to glorify God and persevere to the end (Romans 8:37-39; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Rom. 5.8; Rom. 10.9; Eph. 1.7; Eph. 2.8-10).

We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments of Scripture. All sixty-six books of Scripture, as they exist in their original manuscripts, are inerrant and comprise the complete revelation and self-disclosure of God to mankind. Scripture is inspired by God, inerrant, and is the only authoritative source for all matters of life and faith. (1 Tim. 3.16; 2 Pet. 1.20-21).

There exists one, spiritually unified church with Christ as the head, which is comprised of all people who are redeemed by Jesus. This unified church is expressed in local church bodies across the world, wherein believers gather to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, fellowship, the ordinances of baptism and communion, service to the local body, and outreach to the world to make disciples. Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to these commands, and under the care of a plurality of elders, there is the local expression of the Church. A church’s members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ (Eph. 1.20-23; Acts 1.8; Mat. 28.18-20).

We believe that Christian baptism is a public declaration of the believer’s salvation in Christ, identifying with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, and symbolized by immersion in water. The Lord’s Supper is the united commemoration by believers of Christ’s death until He comes and should be preceded by a careful self-examination (Acts 2:41; Romans; 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:20-29).

We believe the church exists as God’s missional organization in creation with the purpose of revealing God’s love, mercy, glory, and truth as expressed within the Gospel of Jesus, and to make disciples of Him. It is the aim, duty, and privilege of all believers within the body to be active participants in the Great Commission call of Jesus Christ. This missional mandate is to be expressed through both personal discipleship and the multiplied establishment, strengthening, and reproduction of biblically-based churches. (Mat. 28-19-20).

We believe in and expectantly await the glorious, visible, personal, return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessed hope of His return has vital bearing on the personal life, service, and mission of the believer. We believe in the conscious, bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The lost will be raised to judgment and experience eternal suffering in hell, separated from God. The saved will be raised to eternal joy in the new heaven and new earth in the manifested presence of God (Acts 1:3, 9;Hebrews 7:25-26; 1 The. 4.13-18; Rev. 20.11-15; John 5.28-29).