STATEMENT OF FAITH
Scripture
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testaments, which comprise the Bible, are the written Word of God. All Scripture is authored by God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, expressed through the hands of human writers. It carries the authority of God over all tradition, philosophy, and cultural ideology. Scripture is inerrant and therefore trustworthy, serving as the sufficient source of truth for all doctrine, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
Scripture References - Psalm 19:7-11; Mark 7:1-13; Colossians 2:8; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
The One True God
We believe the God of the Bible is the one true God. He is the eternal, uncreated Sovereign - the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is holy, just, merciful, loving, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. According to His nature, He is unchanging in essence, character, and purposes. Furthermore, He desires to be known by His creation.
Scripture References - Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 32:4; Nehemiah 9;6; Psalm 19:1-4, 90:2, 99:9; 139:1-24; Isaiah 45:5-7; Malachi 3:6; Romans 1:19-20; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Colossians 1:16-17; James 1:17-18
The Trinity
We believe God exists eternally as one divine being expressed through three distinct persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -each fully God, sharing the same essence, character, and purposes.
Scripture References - Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14
God the Father
The Father initiates creation and redemption. He is not before the other persons of the Trinity, but He is the one to whom the Son and Spirit willingly submit relationally. His authority as Father is established through the unified will of God, not through domination.
Scripture References - John 6:44-46; Ephesians 1:3-11
God the Son-Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father. He is eternally fully God and, through the incarnation, became fully man. He lived a sinless life as a man, paid the price for humanity's sins through His crucifixion, resurrected bodily from the grave, and ascended to Heaven by His own righteousness to intercede on our behalf and pave the way for our salvation. In a manner similar to His miraculous ascension into Heaven on a cloud, He will return to Earth in the future to bring judgment against evil and gather all His people into the presence of God. This is the good news of Jesus Christ - the Gospel.
Scripture References - Isaiah 53:1-12; John 1:1-14, 3:13; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:1-13, 2:14-18, 4:15
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God, proceeding from the Father though the son to provide every believer a direct personal relationship with God. The Spirit indwells and empowers believers, convicts and comforts, sanctifies and regenerates. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are ongoing and, in accordance with the Word, must be tested by Scripture to ensure authenticity.
Scripture References - John 14:16-17. 16:7-15; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians :22-25; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; Titus 3:4-7; 1 John 4:1-3
Humanity, Creation & Sin
We believe humanity is created by God, for God, in the image of God, and given life through His breath. Because of these truths, all human life - at every stage, beginning at conception - belongs to God and is worth defending. God created the world good and delegated stewardship of the world to humanity.
Humanity (and subsequently creation) fell under the curse of sin and death through disobedience to God. This curse affects all of creation, including humanity, since the first Adam.
Scripture References - Genesis 1:1-31, 2:7, 3:1-24; Psalm 8:4-5, 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41; Romans 3:23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3
Salvation
We believe that because God is just and all of mankind has fallen short of the standard of righteousness, we are wholly dependent on God for salvation. While salvation is not forced upon individuals, God sovereignly requires a response to the gospel - namely, repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. He judges each person perfectly according to the degree of revelation received.
The spiritual rebirth produces good works, but no work of ours can wash away the stain of our sin. Thus, salvation is acquired only by God's grace through faith in Christ's death and resurrection, by which He suffered the consequences of sin for all believers despite never having been guilty of sin Himself. Faith is the gift of God and is lovingly offered, not inconsiderately enforced.
Scripture References - Joshua 24:15; Mark 1:15; Luke 12:47-48; John 14:6; Acts 2:8, 17:30-31; Romans 1:18-21, 2:12-16, 3:19-31; Ephesians 2:8-10
The Christian Church
We believe the church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the Church. Believers are united with Christ by faith and are placed into the Church universal by the Holy Spirit. With the tearing of the veil, Christ metaphorically proclaimed what later Scripture clearly established: the priesthood of all believers. This was done so that, by His intercession with the Father, every believer has a direct connection to God though the Holy Spirit.
The Great Commission that Christ gave for all member of His Church is to make disciples of all the peoples of the Earth, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Scripture References - Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Peter 2:5-9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23; Revelation 1:5-6
Ordinaces
We believe there are two ordinances, which are visible proclamations of the faith ordained by Jesus Christ to be practiced through faithful obedience in remembrance of Him until His second coming: water baptism and communion.
A. Water Baptism - Water baptism is an outward expression of inward faith in the cleansing renewal of the Holy Spirit. The ritual is not salvific but is a celebratory proclamation of salvation.
Scripture References - Luke 23:39-43; Romans 6:3-4; Titus 3:5-7
B. Communion- Communion is the practice of breaking bread and drinking from the cup with reverent remembrance of our Savior's sacrifice. The bread represents Christ's body offered to be broken for us, and the cup represents Christ's blood freely poured our for us. We share in communion to remember His sacrifice with the hope of sharing also in His resurrection. The communion table belongs to God and is open to all reborn believers.
Scripture References - Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:26
Christian Life & Identity
Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, every believer is baptized into the death of Christ for freedom from death and into the resurrection of Christ for eternal life. Because of this, a believer's life is replaced and sustained by the life of God the Son, such that our identity is found in Jesus Christ, our Savior.
However, until the second coming, we must continue to endure the fallen creation and wrestle against our sin nature. This requires that we daily die to ourselves and choose to live as Christ, so that when we sin, we quickly repent -turning away from the sins of the dead flesh and reminding ourselves of our identity in Christ.
God showed His love for us by sacrificing His Son on the cross while we were still sinners. Therefore, to be Christ-like requires us also to love sinners by rejecting sin and pointing them to the cross, where they too can find their identity in Christ.
Scripture References - John 8:10-11; Romans 5:8, 6:3-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-11
Marriage & Sexual Ethics
We believe marriage is not an invention of humanity but a discovered gift of God, accounted for by His design for male and female. God defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and He commands that sexual intimacy is reserved for the private context of marriage - not for shame, but for honor.
Scripture References - Genesis 2:24; Song of Solomon 4:16-5:1; Matthew 19:4-9; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; Hebrews 13:4
Church Leadership
We believe church leadership is prescribed by the Word, which reveals Jesus Christ as the head of the Church, extending authority through qualified men in the office of biblical eldership. This is not due to any inability of women to lead in other capacities, but rather due to the authority of God's Word.
God the Son submitted humbly to the authority of God the Father through their unified will, without domination or inequality. Similarly, all members of the Church - both male and female - are to submit humbly to the authority of the elders as the elders submit to the authority of Christ. This reflects God's design for order, responsibility, and love, as seen in both the Trinity and family structures.
To qualify for eldership, a man must have a good reputation according to the expectations of Scripture. He must be sober-minded, disciplined, respectable, hospitable, holy, not arrogant, not a drunkard, not a lover of money, not quarrelsome, and not prone to violence. He must hold firm to the Word of God and be able to teach it and correct those who contradict it. He must manage his household well so that his children (if any) are submissive according to the faith, and if married, he must be a faithful husband of one wife. He also must not be a recent convert, so that he will be spiritually mature for leadership.
The elders must also be held accountable, as - unlike Christ - they are fallible and not above rebuke.
Scripture References - 1 Timothy 2:11-14, 3:1-8, 5:19-22; Titus 1:5-2:1
Last Things (Eschatology)
We believe the Bible contains many prophecies regarding the end of this age, yet for now, we know only in part what will come to pass. What we affirm with certainty is that Jesus Christ will return in His second coming to judge the world. At that time, He will gather to Himself the faithful and cast all those who persist in unrepentance into Hell, which is the conscious, torturous experience of permanent separation from God for all that remain unholy.
After this judgment, God will cleanse creation and establish a new Heaven and a new Earth with no more pain and death, where the fullness of His presence will dwell with His people for eternity.
Scripture References - Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 3:29; Acts 17:31; 1 Corinthians 13:9-12; Revelation 20:10-21:27