What We Believe 

The Word of God

We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments only, is the Word of God, every word being fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. God has providentially preserved His Word for all generations. (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:19-21)

The Trinity

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.

God the Father

We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Ex. 20:22-23; I Cor. 8:6)

God the Son

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to the earth. (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:1-4)

God the Holy Spirit

We believe in the deity and personality of God the Holy Spirit. We believe He was sent by God the Father to convince and convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment and to regenerate, seal, sanctify, indwell, teach, guide, comfort, and empower those who have trusted Christ as their Savior. The Holy Spirit directs us to focus on Christ, not on ourselves nor our experiences. (John 14:16-17; 15:26-27; 16:8-13; Romans 8:14-16; Ephesians 1:13-14.)

Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he willfully sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is eternal separation from God. We believe that all are sinners and are born with a depraved, sinful nature. (Genesis 3:1-6; Job 15:14; 25:4; Psalm 51:5; 58:3, 4; Romans 3:23; 5:12, 19; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3.)

Satan

We believe in the person of Satan; that as a created spirit-being he became the enemy of God. We believe he is a liar and deceiver, the unholy god of this age, the prince of all the powers of darkness and is destined to the justice of eternal condemnation in the lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Matthew 4:1-3; Revelation 20:1-10.)

Salvation

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as the substitutionary sacrifice. We believe all, who by faith and repentance receive Christ as their personal Savior, are justified on the grounds of His blood shed on Calvary and His resurrection from the dead, are born again of the Holy Spirit, and become the children of God. We believe that all who are truly born again are kept secure by God the Father for Jesus Christ eternally.  (John 3:3-8, 15-16; Romans 3:24-26; 10:12-13; I Timothy 2:3-6; Phil. 1:6; Jn. 10:28-29; Rom. 8:33-39; Jude 1; I Jn. 5:13.)

The Church

We believe in the Church, a living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that a local church is a visible company of believers in Jesus Christ; baptized on a credible confession of faith and associated for worship, work, and fellowship, and has two offices-pastor and deacon. We believe that to these visible churches were committed, for perpetual observance throughout the church age, two ordinances: the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that the church must continually be committed to discipleship in all of its aspects, including the evangelization of the lost and the continual edification of believers in Christ. It is expected of all believers that they will join themselves to a local body of believers in love and obedience to the cause of Christ.  (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41, 42; I Corinthians 12:12-17; Ephesians 4:11-14; 5:23-25; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; I Timothy 3:1-13; Jude 3.)

The Ordinances

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Triune God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 8:26-39; Jn. 3:23; Rom. 6:3-5; Matt. 3:16; Col. 2:12; I Cor. 11:23-28)

Creation

We accept the Genesis account of creation and believe that man came by direct creation of God. (Gen. 1 and 2; Col. 1:16-17; Jn. 1:1-3)

Church and State

We believe that every human being has direct relations with God and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith. We believe that each local church is independent and autonomous and must be free from any interference from ecclesiastical or political authority. Therefore, the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties apart from the dictation and patronage of the other. (Luke 20:25; I Peter 2:13-17.)

Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that God disapproves and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. Any effort to redefine marriage or any other relationship in a way contrary to Scripture will not be condoned nor accepted. (Genesis 2:21-25; Leviticus 1-27; Romans 1:18-27; Ephesians 5:23-25.)

The Return of Christ

We believe that at the last day, Christ will descend bodily from heaven and bodily raise the dead from the grave to final retribution and reward; that a solemn separation will take place-the wicked will be sentenced to endless punishment and the righteous will receive endless joy and glorification; that this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness. (I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:10; II Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:22-27.)