The Word of God
We believe the Bible (the 66 books of the Protestant canon) to be the very word of God, inspired in their original manuscripts, the eternal and infallible revelation of God to man for his salvation, and sufficient for all of life.
[2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Pet 1:20,21; Ps 19:7-11; 1 Cor 14:37; 1 Thess 2:13; Gal 1:8; 5:10; 2 Pet 3:2; Heb 2:1-4] John 1: 1
The Trinity
We believe in the One true and living God, who co-equally exist eternally as Father, Son (Jesus Christ, God incarnate), and Holy Spirit. He is infinite in His wisdom and knowledge, almighty in His power, unchangeable, and holy in all His ways.
[Gen 1:1,2; Gen 1:26; Gen 3:22; Gen 11:7; Isa. 6:8; Isa. 48:16; Ps 45:6; Isa 63:9,10; Ps 2:7; Rom 1:4; Heb 1:5-8; Gen 6:3; Num 27:18; Ps 51:11; Isa 40:13; Hag 2:5; Gen 16:7-14; Gen 22:11-18; Gen 31:11-13; Ex 3:2-5; 14:19; Num 22:22-35; Judg 6:11-23; Judg 13:2-25; 1 Kings 19:5-7; 1 Chron 21:15-17; Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 12:4-6; Eph 1:3-14; 1 Pet 1:2; 1 Pet 3:18; Rev 1:4; 2 Cor 13:14]
The Father
We believe in God the Father, who created all things out of nothing, sustains creation, rules over it, will bring all things to their divinely decreed end, and who deserves worship and obedience.
[Gen 1:1,2; Ps 100:3; John 6:27; Rom 1:7; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; 1 Pet 1:17]
The Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah
We believe that although Jesus Christ is the second Person in order of the Godhead, He is co-equal with God the Father and the Spirit in power, essence, and glory.
We also believe that He was and is eternally existent, even before His earthly incarnation. We believe that Christ was the agent of God’s creation and that everything that exists is held together by His power.
We believe that the historical person Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of the living God, God made manifest in the flesh. He was fully God and fully man. That he was born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfect life on earth, and fulfilled His purpose by giving Himself in death as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
We believe that it was impossible for death to hold our Lord, and as He stated He would, He rose bodily from the grave. His resurrected body was witnessed by more than five hundred men. He then bodily ascended to heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of the throne of God, having accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do.
We believe that His present ministry is that He ever lives as our Great High Priest, forever making intercession for the saints before God’s throne.
We also anticipate with deep joy His glorious return to earth and believe that His return is imminent. He will come again to rescue His bride (the church), and to bring His kingdom to the earth, thus consummating the ages, and ushering in the eternal state.
[Gen. 1:26; Jn 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2-3; Matt 1:19-25; Mat 16:15-16; Mat 22:42-45; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 1:3;Jn 1:15; Jhn 8:58; Jhn 10:17,18; Jhn 17:5, Jhn 17:24; Jhn 19:37; 1 Jn 2:2; Eph 1:4; Rev 13:8; Is 53:10-11; Mt 27:27-28:10; Mk 15:21-16:8; Lk 23:26-24:45;Jn 19:17-21:23; 1 Cor 15:1-7; Heb 7:24,25; Hbr 4:15; Jn 14:1-3; Heb 11:16; Rev 1:7; Zech 12:10-14; Zec 14:1-21; Rev 2:27; Ps 2:8,9;Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15]
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the triune God-head, co-equal with God the Father and God the Son in power, essence, and glory. We also believe the Holy Spirit is a Person, not a thing or an impersonal force, and is thus referred to as “He” and not “it.”
We believe the Holy Spirit is in the world convicting it of sin and of the coming judgment. He does this through the Word of God and through the Body of Christ living obediently in the world as witnesses.
We believe that through His divine work, unbelievers come into conviction regarding their sin, understand their need for saving faith in Jesus Christ, and repent, thus receiving His free gift of salvation. At the moment of salvation, He comes to indwell all true believers, baptizing them into the body of Christ. This spiritual baptism is evidenced by the presence of a life change, and growing holiness.
He also influences, convicts of sin, reveals the truth of the Scriptures, and sanctifies believers to His purposes on earth, thus also preparing them for their eternal home in heaven.
We also hold that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts to His people and empowers them to do the works of service, edification, and evangelism as commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ.
[Jn. 14:16,26; Jhn 15:26; Jhn 16:7; 1 Cor 2:11; Rom 8:26-27; Rom 15:30; 1 Cor 12:11; Jn 3:5; Jhn 15:26; Jhn 16:8-11; Jhn 16:13; Jhn 16:14; Acts 13:2;Rev. 2:7; Heb 9:14; 1 Cor 2:10f; Luke 1:35; Ps. 139:7-10; Jn 3:5; Rom 8:9; Acts 16:7]
Man
We believe the Genesis account of man’s creation. We hold that man is the deliberate creation of God by His spoken word; that he is not the result of a supposed evolutionary process. We believe that God created man in His own image, for the purpose of glorifying Him and fellowshipping with Him forever.
We also hold that in the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden, and through an act of their own will, our first parents, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God’s commands and forfeited their perfect state, and as a result, inherited both spiritual and physical death. This death they transferred to all subsequent generations through procreation.
We hold that all men are born with a fallen nature, that none of us can remedy this condition on our own or through our own goodness, and that all men are inherently in need of salvation through Jesus Christ.
[Gen. 1:26-28; Gen 5:1; Gen 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12-14; Rom 3:10-18, 23; Rom 11:32; Acts 4:12]
Salvation
We believe that man’s only hope for being rescued from his self-imposed condemnation is through faith in God’s provision of His Son, who gave Himself as the all-sufficient sacrifice in our behalf. Having lived a sinless life, He offered Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, suffering the wrath of God against all man’s sin on the cross of Calvary and thus satisfying God’s righteous requirement of punishment for sin.
We believe that the salvation God offers to man is by His grace alone, and that man can do nothing to earn God’s gift of eternal life. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was payment in full for the sin of mankind, and is bestowed when men repent of their sins and trust Christ’s substitutionary work of redemption alone for their salvation.
We believe that everyone who has truly trusted Christ for salvation is eternally secure in this redeeming relationship and that nothing in heaven or on earth can separate them from God.
Eternal State
We believe that man exists eternally in one of two states. Those who come to God through Christ’s redemption will abide in eternal, conscious bliss in the presence of God in heaven. Those who reject His gift of salvation will abide in eternal, conscious punishment apart from God in the Lake of Fire.
[Rev. 20:12-15; Rev 21:5-8; Luke 16:19-31; Mk 9:48; Rev. 14:11]
The Church
We recognize the Bible’s teaching regarding the Church as both Universal — all believers of all ages — and local. The church is also known in Scripture as the Bride of Christ and enjoys the fellowship of all who have trusted in Christ alone for their salvation.
We also hold that God intends for His people to gather locally as a representation of His body. These local fellowships are the visible representations of God on the earth and are to devote themselves to worship, the accurate exposition of the Word of God, prayer, witnessing, and the furtherance of God’s purposes through missions — both local and foreign.
[Eph. 4:7-13; Eph 5:30; 1 Cor. 12:13; Mt. 16:18; Acts. 8:1; Act 11:22; Col. 4:16; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; Rev 1:4; Acts 2:42]
Last Days — Eschatology
We look expectantly for the day in which the Lord Jesus Christ will return to claim His Bride, believing that we will be translated in an instant from this world into His presence.
We believe that this event will signal the beginning of the great day of the Lord, in which the Lord will pour out His judgment upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. We believe the main purpose of this seven-year period is the salvation of Israel, after which Christ will reign on the earth for a thousand years.
As to the millennial reign of Christ, we believe in the physical presence of Christ on the earth and a literal interpretation of Revelation 20 — i. e. His thousand year reign. At His determined time, the elements of earth as we know it will be destroyed by fire, Satan and his angels will be cast into the Lake of Fire, the Great Judgment will occur, and the blessed will live eternally with their Lord in the new Heaven and the new earth.
We further believe that no man can know the time or date of Christ’s appearing, and we reject the claims of those who profess to know when these events will occur.
[John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Thess 1:7,8; 2 Tim. 4:1; 2 Thess 2:1-12; Rev. 20:1-15; 1 Thess 5:1-3]
Baptism
We believe that baptism is the outward illustration of the inward reality of salvation for the believer. Baptism is commanded for all believers, and should follow the conscious decision of trusting in Christ for salvation. We believe that immersion is the biblical model for baptism.
The Lord’s Supper
We believe that the Lord’s Supper (communion) is to be a solemn remembrance of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice in our behalf. It shall be observed until He comes again for His saints in all His glory.
The Purpose of the Ordinances
We believe that both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are intended by our Lord as tangible, outward demonstrations of inward realities — baptism of our inward transformation in Christ, and the Lord’s Supper, His saving work in our behalf.
We believe that these two ordinances are reminders to believers and do not confer salvation or God’s grace upon anyone by virtue of participation.