BIBLE

We believe the Bible, made up of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, was inspired by God, and in the original writings, is without error. The Bible is the unique and final authority on all matters of Christian faith and practice, and therefore, every individual follower of Christ has the responsibility of knowing and studying God’s Word on their own as well as with a community of believers.

(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)

GOD

We believe in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

JESUS

We believe that the Son, Jesus Christ, became man, without ceasing to be God.  He willingly gave up His privileges as God to become a man and live on earth over 2,000 years ago. We believe in His virgin birth and in the miracles He performed.  He lived a sinless life giving us our example for living. Because He was without sin, He did not deserve to die but, as an act of love and grace, He offered up His life in exchange for ours. His death was the only payment that could cover our sin. After three days, He was raised from the dead, returned to heaven, and now serves as the only mediator between a perfect God and imperfect people.

(Matthew 1:18-23; John 1:1-3; John 1:14; Hebrews 4:15)

HOLY SPIRIT

We believe the role of the Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is to bring conviction to a person’s heart of their need for God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. He lives in all who believe in Jesus.  From the moment they place their faith in Christ, the Spirit baptizes all believers into the body, seals them for salvation until the day they are in God’s presence, regenerates them to new life, gives spiritual gifts to each one, and is fully present to continually empower and provide guidance to all who are His own.

(John 16:7-15; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18; Ephesians 3:16; Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-23)

SATAN

We believe Satan, by his own choice the enemy of God and His people, is the originator of sin, that led our first parents into sin and now rules as “the god of this world.” We believe he was judged at the cross and that ultimately, he will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

(Isaiah 14:12-14; Genesis 3:1-19; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:10)

MAN

We believe that people were created in the image of God and designed to be in a loving, intimate relationship with Him. However, all people, either actively or passively, have chosen to control their own lives and live independent from God. This is what the Bible calls sin.

SIN

The effects of SIN break in our relationship with God can only be reversed if we accept God’s gift of salvation in Jesus and allow Him to define and direct our life. The gift of salvation is simply that; a gift. There is nothing we can do to earn it and each of us can access it equally, no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done. God loves us all and wants us to be reunited to Him.

(Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

CHURCH

We believe the local church is a group of professing believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together for the purposes of worship, study of God’s Word, observance of communion and believer’s baptism by immersion, fellowship, equipping for and practice of Kingdom service, and specifically giving our lives for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission.

(Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-32; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:11-16)

TRANSFORMATION

We believe demonstrating change is a natural result of a close relationship with God and results in spiritual transformation as we become more like Christ. However, this requires us to be intentional in the practices of Christian living.

(Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:22-23)

SECOND COMING OF JESUS

We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church.  This event, commonly called the rapture, will be followed by the tribulation on earth and will culminate in the visible and bodily return of Jesus to the earth, commonly called the Second Coming, to rule the nations and establish His millennial kingdom.

(1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:11-20:6)

DEATH

We believe the souls of believers in Jesus Christ, immediately at death pass into His presence, and remain with Him until the resurrection of our earthly bodies at His coming for the Church, when our resurrected bodies will be reunited with our souls and we will be with Him forever.  We believe the souls of unbelievers remain after death in constant misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennial kingdom when their soul and body will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord.

(Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 1:21-23; Revelation 20:11-15)