What We Believe

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This one true and living God is infinitely perfect both in His love and in His holiness. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy to receive all glory and honor and power. Being the Alpha and Omega, He perfectly and completely knows the end from the beginning. God sovereignly decrees or permits all things and continually upholds and governs all creatures and events. Yet, He is in no way the author or approver of sin, nor does He prohibit the will or diminish the moral responsibility of man. God providentially brings about His eternal good purposes to redeem His people and restore His fallen creation, to the praise of His glorious grace.

Scripture References: Deut 6:4; Isa 46:9; Matt 28:19; Ps 18:30; 1 John 4:8; Isa 6:3; Col 1:16; Rev 4:11; Rev 1:8; Rev 21:6; Heb 1:3; Isa 14:26-27; Isa 46:10; Eph 1:11; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:5-6

We believe that God has revealed His eternal power and divine nature through His creation, and has supremely revealed Himself to fallen human beings in the person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. By His Spirit, God has graciously made Himself known in the sixty-six books of the Bible. These writings alone constitute the inspired Word of God, which is authoritative and without error in the original manuscripts. They contain complete revelation of God’s will for salvation and are sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do. The Bible is final in authority over every domain of knowledge to which it speaks.

Scripture References: Rom 1:20; Ps 19:1-2; John 1:1, 14; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:21; Matt 24:35

We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in His own image. Adam and Eve belonged to the created order that God declared to be very good, serving as agents to exercise dominion over His creation, living in fellowship with their Maker. Men and women are equally made in the image of God and enjoy equal access to God by faith in Jesus Christ. Both male and female are called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church, and civic life. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways.

Scripture References: Gen 1:27-31; Gen 2:18; Gal 3:28

We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in covenant relationship for a lifetime. The marriage relationship models the union between Christ and His bride, the church. God ordains that men and women assume distinctive and complementary roles which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Scripture References: Gen 2:24; Matt 19:6; Eph 5:22-33; Eph 6:1-4; Ps 127:3; Ps 139:13-16

We believe that Adam, made in the image of God, distorted that image and forfeited his original blessing by choosing to sin through Satan’s temptation. As a result, human beings have inherited a sin nature and are alienated from God. Having been born into corruption, all have therefore sinned and are due condemnation and death apart from God’s own gracious intervention. The supreme need of all human beings is to be reconciled to God, under whose just and holy wrath we stand. Our only hope is the undeserved love and mercy of God, who alone can rescue us and restore us to Himself.

Scripture References: Gen 3; Ps 51:5; Rom 3:23; Rom 5:12-15; Rom 6:23; Rom 7:24-8:1; Eph 2:3-5

We believe that, moved by love and in obedience to His Father, the eternal Word became flesh: fully God and fully human, one Person in two natures. The man Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, was conceived through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. He perfectly obeyed His heavenly Father, lived a sinless life, performed miraculous signs, was crucified, arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven. He now is seated at the right hand of God the Father, exercising authority in heaven and on earth, and is our High Priest and Righteous Advocate. We believe that by His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ acted as our representative and substitute. Bearing sin on the cross, He canceled the penalty of that sin, reconciling to God all those who believe. He did this so that in Him we might be counted righteous before God. By His resurrection, Christ Jesus broke the power of death, defeated Satan, and brought eternal life to all His people. By His ascension, He has been forever exalted as Lord and given us the confident hope of one day being with Him. We believe that salvation is found in no one else. This gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ - God's grace as His gift of unmerited favor to sinners in Christ.

Scripture References: John 1:1, John 1:14; Matt 1:18-23; Heb 4:15; Acts 2:22; Matt 28:4-6; Heb 8:1; 1 John 2:1; Col 2:14; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:14; Acts 4:12

We believe the Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father and the Son, and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and by His powerful and mysterious work brings to life spiritually dead sinners, awakening them to repentance and faith, baptizing them into union with the Lord Jesus, such that they are justified before God by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. The Holy Spirit is himself the down payment of the promised inheritance, and in this age indwells, guides, instructs, equips, revives, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

Scripture References: John 14:26; John 16:7-14; Titus 3:4-6; Rom 8:10-11; Eph 2:5; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:14; 2 Thess 2:13; Gal 5:22-25

We believe that those who have been born again by the Spirit enter the kingdom of God and delight in the blessings of the new covenant: the forgiveness of sins, the inward transformation that awakens a desire to glorify, trust, and obey God, and the prospect of the glory yet to be revealed. Good works constitute indispensable evidence of saving grace. Living as salt in a world that is decaying and light in a world that is dark, believers should neither withdraw into seclusion from the world, nor become indistinguishable from it. Instead, as citizens of God’s kingdom, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all, especially to those who belong to the household of God.

Scripture References: John 3:3-5; Eph 2:8-10; Matt 5:13-16; Mark 12:31; Gal 6:10

We believe in the universal church of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. The church is the corporate dwelling place of God’s Spirit, and the continuing gospel witness in the world. God’s church is expressed through local churches consisting of a congregation of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, discipleship, and fellowship. We believe the Bible defines the leadership of the local church, under the authority of Christ, as elder led, deacon served, and congregationally ruled. According to God’s good design, faithful Christians will become part of a local church.

Scripture References: Col 1:18; John 3:3-5; Eph 2:19-22; 1 Cor 12:12, 27; Acts 2:38-47; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself. Baptism is a joyous response to the gospel wherein the believer is immersed in water, signifying our death to sin and union with Christ. Baptism symbolizes the cleansing of sins and demonstrates our surrender to live and walk in newness of life. The Lord’s Supper, administered with the elements of bread and the cup, is a remembrance of the body and blood of Christ. It is designed to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith, and to be a bond, pledge, and renewal of believers’ communion with Him.

Scripture References: Acts 2:37-38; Rom 6:3-4; Col 2:12-13; Acts 22:16; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; 1 Cor 10:16