What We Believe

The Bible, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is God's Word to us. It was written by human authors under supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice. Because it was inspired by God, it is without error in the original writings. There are no other writings similarly inspired by God.

Human reason is a powerful tool, but it is often distorted by our self-serving perspective. We cannot, by reason alone, figure out the meaning of life; and therefore, cannot comprehend who God is beyond the simple awareness, through creation, that He exists. The only way we can have a relationship with God is for Him to break through to us because we cannot break through to Him. The Bible is the written record of His breaking through to us throughout the history of mankind.

The Bible isn't just a record of His words; it is the Word of God in written form. It is revelation: truth expressed not by means of humans struggling to find the right way to say it, but truth given by God Himself.

The writers' message was and is God's message. Because God cannot lie, the Bible is completely reliable. We must let it judge us instead of us judging it. That is why we base our beliefs on its teaching and submit all our thoughts and plans to its scrutiny.

We submit to God's authority through His Word. This Word stands over and judges all of us.

We believe that God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is the Supreme Being of the universe and is to be worshiped above all else. God created the universe and everything in it out of nothing, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom, and goodness. By His authority and power He continues to sustain His creation.

God is often referred to as "Holy." Holy means that He is different, separate from humans. In His holiness, God is righteous (perfect) and without any imperfections. He always does, says, and thinks what is right. We believe that God is always just, righteous, loving and caring in everything that He does with His creation. We further believe that God is "omnipresent" (everywhere at once), "omniscient" (knows everything) and "omnipotent" (all powerful). In addition, we believe that because God is holy and is Creator of the universe, He alone has the authority to define what is right and what is wrong in our world.

We believe in God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. Because the Bible clearly teaches there is only one God, not three, we understand that these three persons must fully share the one and only divine nature. They may be manifested in different ways and have different roles, but nonetheless, they are equally God. The word "Trinity" is used to describe the teaching that God has a singular nature, but a plural personality.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer, is the pinnacle figure in the history of the world. He was and is the Son of God, the eternal second Person of the Trinity, united forever with a true human nature by a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He is equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived a sinless human life in obedience to the Father and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on the cross. This death satisfied divine justice and accomplished salvation for all who trust in Him alone. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven's glory and, as the only Mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for us. He will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son of God, and was sent into the world by the Father and Son. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks daily to live under His control.

The Holy Spirit is God, not just "a force." As the third person of the Trinity, He works to prepare people to hear and understand the Gospel and then "enters" the life of the individual at the point of belief. Jesus promised the Spirit's presence to all His followers; promising that He would actually indwell us in a unique and permanent way. He also gives "spiritual gifts" to each person in the family of God that allows us the privilege of serving others.

As followers of Christ, we are continually striving to be more like Him. We are not content just to be forgiven; we want to exemplify Christ-like behavior in every area of our lives. The Holy Spirit empowers us to resist sin and be like Him in all we do.

Because the Spirit resides in us, we will earnestly listen for His promptings, anticipating that He wants to direct us and will do so if we are open to Him.

We believe that man was created by God in His own image and likeness, good and upright in nature. God created humanity to have fellowship with Him and to reflect His glory. However, by voluntary transgression and disobedience, man fell from his original state of innocence and purity. Through this fall, sin entered into the world, and death through sin. All humanity inherited a sinful nature from Adam, and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This sin separates us from God and makes us spiritually dead, unable to save ourselves by our own works or righteousness.

Salvation is a gift from God to us. Salvation is necessary because of our sin. Human sin demands payment by a human life. In His graciousness, God gave Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin. Jesus did not commit sin and, therefore, he did not have to die for His own sin. In addition, because He was perfectly human, Jesus's sacrifice on the cross was sufficient payment for human sin. God gave Jesus' sacrifice as a gift to all who have believed as a payment for their sin. Because our salvation was secured by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we live knowing that we are totally and unconditionally forgiven from all sin now, not hoping we will be forgiven at some future point.

The Church is the body of Christ, composed of all true believers in Jesus Christ. We exist to glorify God and fulfill His purposes in the world. Because becoming a disciple is a broad term, we have divided our mission into the following objectives:

Evangelism: Our objective is to increase the number of people in our community and throughout the world who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The purpose of evangelism is to bring unbelievers to God.

Maturity: Our objective is to promote the spiritual growth of our members through an understanding of the Scriptures leading to obedience. The purpose of being a maturing congregation is to more clearly bear the image of Christ.

Service: Our objective is to minister in Jesus's name to people in the church, community, and throughout the world. The purpose of serving is to administer God's love to other people.

Fellowship: Our objective is to ensure that loving relationships permeate every aspect of church life. The purpose of fellowship is to share together our lives with God, with those in the Body and with those who are not in the Body.

Worship: Our objective is to be a worshiping fellowship, responding in praise and obedience to God's truth. The purpose of worship is to give honor to God in every area and in every moment of our life.

The Church recognizes two ordinances: Communion (the Lord's Supper) and water baptism. These ordinances are simply acts of obedience to the commands of Jesus while He was on this earth.

Communion

We will observe communion on a regular basis so that we will never forget the extreme price Christ paid as a substitute for our judgment for sin. Since Jesus gave this command to people following Him and since it only has deep meaning to people who have accepted His sacrifice, we encourage only people who have committed their lives to Christ to partake in communion.

Baptism

We believe that the second ordinance, baptism, is a visible testimony to the community that a person has had a change on the inside: that they are committing to live a new life in Christ. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward transformation, symbolizing the believer's identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.

We believe in the personal, visible, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. This is the blessed hope of the Church. At His coming, the dead in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord. We believe Jesus Christ will reign in righteousness and glory, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. The return of Christ is imminent and motivates us to holy living, faithful service, and watchful expectation.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people, the saved and the lost. Those who have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ will be raised to eternal life in the presence of God, where there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. They will enjoy forever the glory and fellowship of God in the new heaven and new earth. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ and died in their sins will be raised to eternal judgment and separation from God in the lake of fire, which is the second death. This eternal separation is conscious and everlasting.