What We Believe
This is an overview of the beliefs of our church. We hold solely to the teachings of the Bible, God’s Word as our system of belief and practice.
Of The Scriptures
We believe the Old and New Testament Scriptures are the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:19-21)
Of The True God
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections, yet distinct harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 John 5:7)
Of The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption and supernaturally bestows spiritual gifts to every believer. (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9, 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:7-12)
Of The Creation
We believe that the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory, figurative, nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God’s creation of the universe. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
Of The Fall Of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is of himself, completely unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3, 4:17-19)
Of The Virgin Birth
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Timothy 3:16)
Of The Atonement For Sin
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received solely by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are forgivable. (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)
Of Assurance and Eternal Security
We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
Of The Return Of Christ And Related Events
While we recognize a diversity of views within the church regarding specific events and timing related to Christ's return, we hold firmly to the clear, nonnegotiable truths of His physical return, final judgment, and the eternal destinies of believers and the unrepentant. We believe that Jesus Christ will return bodily to judge the living and the dead. At the resurrection, those who are in Christ will enter eternal life with God, experiencing the fullness of His glory, while the unrepentant will face eternal separation from His presence. The return of Christ will bring the final consummation of His kingdom, where righteousness will dwell, and God will be all in all. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-21; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Rev. 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6, 11-15)
Of The Church
We believe that the local church is the called out visible assembly which is of the body of Christ solely made up of born-again baptized believers. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25-27)
Of Baptism And The Lord's Supper
We believe the church ordinances of obedience are water baptism by emersion in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord’s Supper. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
Of Missions
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)
Of God’s Design for Family and Life
We believe that God instituted marriage. Marriage is defined by God as the covenant relationship between one man and one woman in a life-long allegiance to each other---the exclusive union between a husband and a wife. We believe that marriage is ordained by God, publicly acknowledged and permanently sealed. The ultimate purpose of marriage is to display a picture of Christ and His relationship to the church, which He purchased at the cross. Marriage is about Christ, and displays a beautiful picture of the Good News according to Ephesians 5:21-33. (Gen. 1:26-28, 2:18-24; Hosea 2:19; Malachi 2:13-16; Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:1-2, 10-11; Eph. 5:21-33; 1 Timothy 3:2-3; Titus 1:6; Heb. 13:4).
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. 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. (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:24; Lev. 18:1-30; Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5, 139:14-16; Is. 44:24, 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other and has commanded abstinence outside of marriage. 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. (Gen. 19:5, 13, 26:8-9; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13; Matt. 15:18-20; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1, 6:9-10, 18, 7:2-5; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Heb. 13:4; Rev. 21:7-8).