Our Beliefs

We believe that the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are God’s Word, that God gave it to mankind without error in the original writings, and that it alone is the sufficient source of authority for all belief and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

We believe in one God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present and never changing. We believe God exists in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14). We believe that God created the universe out of nothing apart from the process of evolution (Genesis 1:1-31; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3).

We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of a virgin, is 100% God and yet 100% man (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Galatians 4:4). We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of Jesus Christ, in His ascension into heaven, and in His present life there as High Priest and Advocate (Matthew 28:1-7; Acts 1:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:4-9; Hebrews 4:14-16).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the agent of the new birth through conviction and regeneration and that He seals, indwells, and baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ at the moment of conversion. He also fills, empowers, and distributes service gifts to believers. During the Apostolic Period, God used the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit to authenticate the Gospel message (John 3:5; Ephesians 1:13; Romans 6:3-5; 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 5:18; 4:11-12; Romans 12:6-8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Ephesians 2:20).

We believe that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, but that they sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. As a result, all people are born sinners, totally unable to save themselves from the wages of sin, which is death (eternal separation from God). We believe that all people will spend a conscious eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-6; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; Revelation 20:11-15).

We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We believe that Jesus Christ, through the shedding of His blood, died as a substitute for the sins of humankind and is the Savior of all who would repent of their sins and call upon Him as Lord. We believe that Christian growth comes through trusting obedience to Christ as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God for the glory of God. We also believe in the eternal preservation of the genuine believer—that it is impossible for true believers to lose their salvation because they are being kept forever by the power of God. However, Scripture forbids using this promise as an opportunity to sin and clearly warns believers to avoid unbelief and sinful living (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Jude 1, 24-25; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; Hebrews 3:12-13).

We believe that all genuine believers are members of the body of Christ, who are commanded to meet together in local assemblies. We believe that the local church is a group of baptized believers meeting together for the purpose of worship, instruction from the Bible, and fellowship; all are commanded by Jesus Christ to live godly lives and to tell others about God’s free gift of salvation. We believe that the local church should be self-governing, yet willing to cooperate with other churches in contending for the faith and furtherance of the gospel. However, no association should be made with those who have compromised the truth of God’s Word. We believe that there are two ordinances of the local church: 1) scriptural baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, which is a public testimony of one’s faith in Christ, picturing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and, 2) the Lord’s Supper, which is a remembrance of Christ’s death until He comes again (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 8:36-39; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

We believe in the imminent coming of Jesus Christ for His church, a time of great tribulation on this earth for unbelievers, and God’s eternal reign in a new heaven and new earth (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 24:4-31; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 21:1-22:5).