WHAT WE BELIEVE
The sole basis for our beliefs is in the Bible, which is uniquely God-inspired and the final authority on all matters to which it speaks. As the Scriptures teach, there is one God, Jehovah, Who exists eternally in three Persons known as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
CORE BELIEFS
GOD THE FATHER
God created humanity for personal relationship with Him, but the first humans defied God by willfully abusing the trust He placed in them, thus bringing sin into the world. Sin eternally alienates humanity from our Holy Father. The only Hope for reconciliation with God is by making restitution with a sinless sacrifice. Since God alone is sinless, only He could satisfy this debt.
JESUS
For this purpose, Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life on earth. He voluntarily paid for our sins by dying on the cross as our substitute. His death provided salvation and restoration with God for all who believe on Him and receive grace by trusting Him alone. After His death, Christ rose from the dead and ascended to God the Father. Jesus is the only Mediator between God and His people. Jesus baptizes people in the Holy Spirit
HOLY SPIRIT
Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity Whose purpose is to empower us for personal growth, to be examples of Christ and to do the works of ministry. Holy Spirit serves as our Counselor, Comforter and Spiritual Guide.
THE CHURCH
The Church's role is to glorify God and serve those in need.
At the appropriate time in history, God will send Christ a second time. He will redeem those who have believed on Him as Savior, both the living and the dead. His followers will be rewarded with eternal life with the Father for faithfully living for Him while here on earth.
UNITY. LIBERTY. LOVE.
In ESSENTIAL beliefs—we have UNITY (Ephesians 4:4-6). In NON-ESSENTIAL—we have LIBERTY (Romans 14:1,4,12,22). In all our beliefs—we show LOVE (I Corinthians 13:2).
+ HOLY SCRIPTURES
The Bible is God’s completely true and inspired Story about who He is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do. It was given by God to human writers and so reflects their backgrounds, styles, and use of language. The Bible is the final authority on all matters to which it speaks. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12,13)
+ GOD
There is one God, who exists as three co-equal persons living in perfect community—Father, Son and Spirit. God created everything and sustains everything by His life. He is eternal, holy, always present, all-powerful, all-knowing, unchanging and full of mercy and grace. (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14)
+ JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, became fully human when He was born to the Virgin Mary. He was fully human and fully God. He lived a perfect life in place of our imperfection. He voluntarily died on a cross to pay the price for our sins and then rose again thereby allowing us the possibility of a renewed relationship with God. He offers us full life by the promise of His own resurrection. He then ascended into heaven and today is our Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate with God the Father. (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35, Rom. 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5, Acts 1:9, 10; Heb. 7:25, 9:24; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1–2)
+ HOLY SPIRIT
We experience the full life and presence of God in our relationship with God the Spirit, who reveals sin, points us to Christ, and applies Christ’s work to our lives, compelling us to be more like Him. The Spirit gives gifts and power to the church and is the One Who creates biblical community within the church, revealing truth and guiding our lives… individually and together. We believe in the post-salvation experience of Spirit Baptism which is evidenced by the gifts (which includes, but is not limited to speaking in tongues) and fruit of the spirit. We believe the church should operate in the fullness of the Spirit as the first century church did in the book of Acts. (John 16:8–11; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor.12:12–14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 5:18) (Acts 1:8; 2, 4, 8, 10, 19 ; 2 Corinthians 3:17 ; John 16:7-13 , 14:16-17 ; Galatians 5:25 ; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16 ; Ephesians 1:13 , 5:18)
+ THE CHURCH
We believe that the Church, which is the body of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all persons who have received Christ’s gift of forgiveness. If we are in relationship with Christ, we are part of the Church. It is not somewhere you go, rather something that you are. The Church is universal, but it is always expressed locally. The Church is the visible and local demonstration of the new community Christ came to create. The Spirit leads our community life as we are devoted to worshiping God, understanding and applying the Bible to our lives, offering connection to others, living life together, serving our community, and using our Spirit-given gifts to serve Christ and others. The Church celebrates the Sacraments (Baptism and Communion), which are gifts given by Christ and are experiences of his promise and his presence with us. The Church is made up of imperfect people who are responding day by day in all their relationships to God’s stunning grace. (Eph. 1:22, 23; 5:25–27; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; 2 Cor. 11:2, Acts 14:27, 18:22, 20:17; 1 Tim. 3:1–3; Titus 1:5–11, Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; 18:8; 1 Cor. 11:23–26)
+ SIN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God. Yet, through Adam’s disobedience the race fell, inherited a sinful nature and became alienated from God; man is born into sin and incapable of restoring the relationship through human means. Our one and only hope is Christ alone and his forgiveness. (Gen. 1:26, 27; Rom. 3:22, 23, 5:12; Eph. 2:1–3, 12)
+ SALVATION | TRUE LIFE
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. ( Romans 6:23 ; Ephesians 2:8-9 ; John 14:6 , 1:2 ; Titus 3:5 ; Galatians 3:26 ; Romans 5:1 , 10:9-10 ) We are connected to God in only one way—by choosing to accept the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation God offers to us by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. If we ask Him to, God treats us as if we were Christ, because of what Christ sacrificed for us. God’s gift of grace makes us His adopted sons and daughters. There is nothing we can do to deserve this life—it is all a gift of God, and our job is simply to receive it. When we do, God begins the process of changing our hearts and minds from the inside out and making our characters more and more like Jesus’. As we have been reconciled to God, we also have hope for being more fully reconciled to other people. (Eph. 1:7, 2:8–10; John 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18–19)
+ ETERNAL LIFE
Heaven and hell are real places. Death is a beginning, not the end. God, in His own time and way, will bring the world to its appropriate end through the second appearing of Christ. Those who have a personal relationship with God the Father, through Christ, will be rewarded and enter into eternity with Him. Those who do not, forfeit their eternal promise of reward and will be eternally separated from Him. (John 14:1-3; Philippians 3:20-21; Gal. 5:13-6:10; Eph. 5:1-6)
+ THE MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual gifts. It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their sovereignly given spiritual gift(s). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion and is the placing of the believer into the Body of Christ. We believe that Spirit Baptism is a second definite work of God in the life of the believer (Acts 9:1-7). We also believe that particular spiritual gift(s) are not essential to salvation, nor do they prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience (1 Cor. 12:7, 11, 13; Eph. 4:7–8). We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14, 15). We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God that is given to him (Rom 12:1–8; 1 Cor. 13; 1 Peter 4:10–11)
+ WATER BAPTISM
Water baptism does not impart salvation, but signifies an important spiritual transformation that has already taken place in the heart of the believer. Water baptism by immersion in water is commanded in the Scriptures (Mark 16:16). This act of baptism symbolically declares to everyone that the old sinful life and lifestyle of the baptized believer died with Christ at salvation and a new spiritual being (a new creature) has been raised with Christ to live a new life. We do not believe in the baptism of infants since there is no way an infant can make a conscious decision to follow Christ. Children and adults who understand the spiritual significance of their commitment to Christ are welcomed and encouraged to share this important spiritual rite. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
+ HOLY COMMUNION
The Lord’s Supper or Communion is a memorial of Christ’s suffering and death. This special rite consisting of bread and wine (the fruit of the vine/grape juice). In eating and drinking the symbols of Christ’s suffering and death, the believer expresses his awareness that through salvation he (1) has been made right with God and (2) shares the divine nature of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. The ordinance also looks forward to Christ’s Second Coming for it is a reminder to proclaim the Lord’s death “until He comes!”(1 Corinthians 11:26; 2 Peter 1:4)
+ MARRIAGE
We believe in the Biblical definition of marriage: one man and one woman, committed to each other in a union of mutual love, faithfulness, and respect. Marriage exists to be a picture of the unchanging love Christ has for His own bride, the Church. (Genesis 2:18,22-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:31-32)