OUR BELIEFS

THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD

The Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write the books of the Bible. God Himself chose every word of Scripture. The Bible is God’s love letter to all of humanity and is the final authority in every issue it communicates. It is complete Truth, and we can trust it for all matters in this life and eternity. [Prov. 30:5; Rom. 16:25, 26; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21]

THERE IS ONE GOD

Scripture teaches that God created everything we can see (and even everything we can’t see) out of nothing. Although it might be difficult for the human mind to comprehend, the Bible teaches that He is one, yet has existed since the beginning of time as three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

[Gen. 1:26; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 3:16; 17; Luke 1:35; Heb. 3:7-11; 1 John 5:7]

JESUS IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD

Jesus Christ is God’s Son and an equal of the Father. He has existed from the beginning of time, yet lived on earth during the first century A.D. Throughout His earthly life, He was completely God and completely human at the same time. After living a perfect, sinless life, Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for every human being who has ever lived by dying on a Roman cross. After three days in the grave, He defeated sin and death by rising from the grave. He then ascended to Heaven and will return to earth one day to reign as King.

[Isa. 9:6; John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Phil. 2:5, 6; 1 Tim. 2:5; 3:16]

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is a full and equal part of the Trinity. He works in the world to make all people understand their need for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives inside every follower of Jesus from the moment they decide to follow Him. The Spirit is our power source for life, ministry and spiritual growth. To tap into that power, we must continually yield to Him.

[Joel 2:28, 29; Matt. 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5; 2:1–4, 17, 38, 39; 8:14–17; 10:38, 44–47; 11:15–17; 19:1–6]

SALVATION IS THROUGH CHRIST ALONE

Our disobedient nature has eternally separated us from our Creator. No matter how hard we try, we can never earn our way back into God’s presence. Our only hope is to trust Jesus as God’s provision for our disobedience. Whenever you make that decision, you step into the eternal and abundant life Jesus promises for all believers. Your salvation is through the most trustworthy being in the universe – Jesus Christ! You didn’t do anything to earn your salvation, and you can’t do anything to lose it. Your salvation is maintained by God’s trustworthiness and love, not by what you do.

[Rom. 10: 9, 10; Acts 16:31; Gal. 2:16; 3:8; Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5; Heb. 9:22]

BAPTISM IN OBEDIENCE TO JESUS

We believe that following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38]

ETERNITY SPENT WITH GOD

God made you to exist forever. Heaven is a perfect place, and since none of us are perfect, we are all headed for an eternity of separation from God. That’s why God sent Jesus: to pay the price for our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him. What you decide about Jesus Christ in this life will determine where you will spend eternity. If you reject Him, you’ll be eternally separated from God in Hell. If you accept Him, you’ll spend it eternally connected with Him in Heaven.

[Matt. 5:3, 12, 20; 6:20; 19:21; 25:34; John 17:24; 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb. 11:16; 1 Pet. 1:4; Matt. 25:41; Mark 9:43–48; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 14:9–11; 20:12–15; 21:8]

THE CHURCH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST

The Bible tells us that the church is the body of Christ in the world today. The New Testament tells us the church is a local body of believers. The head of the church is Jesus Christ. The biblical purposes of the church are worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship and ministry to others.

[John 17:11, 20–23; Eph. 1:22; 2:19–22; Heb. 12:23]

SACRAMENTS

Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

[Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48]

The Lord's Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross

[Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25]

Marriage: We believe marriage is defined in the Bible as a covenant, a sacred bond between one man and one woman, instituted by and publicly entered into before God

[Matthew 19:4-6]

CHRIST'S RETURN

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.

[Matt. 24:30; 26:63, 64; Acts 1:9–11; 1 Thess. 4:15–17; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; Rev. 1:7]

GOD'S WILL FOR PROVISION

It is the Father's will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall, many may not receive the full benefits of God’s will while on Earth. That fact, though, should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ’s provision in order to better serve others.

Spiritual [John 3:3-11; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10]

Mental and Emotional [II Timothy 1:7, 2:11; Philippians 4:7-8; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3]

Physical [Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:17; I Peter 2:24]

Financial [Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; II Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19]