Statement of Faith

1. We believe that the Scriptures (Old and New Testament) were verbally inspired by God, inerrant in the original writings and have been preserved for us today. They are our supreme and final authority in life. (II Peter 1:21; II Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 5:18)
2. We believe in one God, eternal and existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  (Genesis 1:1; John 10:30; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; Matthew 3:16-17)
3. We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary and was true God and true man. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Colossians 2:9)
4. We believe that man was created in the image of God.  We believe that man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death (separation from God), and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are now sinners by birth and by choice. As such, all the unregenerate are positively inclined to evil, and are without defense or excuse.  (Genesis1:26-27; Romans 5:12-21; Psalm 51:5; Psalm 58:3;   I Corinthians 2:14; Romans 1:20)
5. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a substitutionary sacrifice on a cross, was buried and rose again on the third day, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.  (I Corinthians 15:1-4; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24; Romans 5:9; I Peter 1:18-19)
6. We believe in the bodily resurrection of our Lord, His bodily ascension into heaven and His bodily presence there for us as High Priest and Advocate. (Matthew 20:17-19; Matthew 28:6; I Corinthians 15:1-4,10-15; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 7:25)
7. We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be that “Blessed Hope” – the coming of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain until His coming and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus. This event is the “Blessed Hope” set before us in the Scripture, and for this we should be constantly looking. (John 14:1-2; I Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14)
8. We believe that Jesus Christ will literally and physically return to the earth, bringing His saints with Him to establish His millennial kingdom. This shall occur at the end of the Great Tribulation period in direct fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy.  (Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 2:10-11; 8:3-8; 14:1-4; Matthew 23:39; 24:3-25:46; Mark 13:24-37; Luke 12:35-48; Acts 1:10-11; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; I Peter 3:3-4; Jude 14-15; Revelation 1:7-8; 2:25-28; 19:11-21)
9. We believe that all who are received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and are thereby children of God and are eternally saved. (John 3:1-8, 14-16; 10:27-30; 17:20-24; Galatians 3:24-26; I John 5:10-13)
10. We believe that Satan is literal and personal, the agent of the fall, the prince and power of this world, and he shall be judged and eternally punished. He is known by many names in the Scriptures.  (Revelation 20:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-4; Genesis 3:1-7; Isaiah 14:12-15)
11. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust, the eternal conscious punishment of the lost, and the eternal joy of the saved. (Revelation 20:1-10)
12. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell. We believe heaven to be the ultimate and eternal dwelling place for all the regenerate in Christ, a place of incomprehensible beauty and comfort.  We believe hell to be a place of eternal torment and eternal separation from God; originally prepared for the devil and his angels.  This shall be the eternal abode for all those who have failed to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.  (John 14:1-6; Revelation 21; Luke 16:19-30; Matthew 25:46)
13. We believe that immersion is the only form of baptism revealed and commanded in the Scriptures; that it has no saving power, but is only for those who are already saved. The new birth, which comes through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Scriptural prerequisite to baptism.  Therefore, only those who are old enough to believe for themselves should be baptized.  We also understand baptism to be a command of our Lord, to be submitted to after salvation (after having received Jesus Christ by faith).  (Acts 2:38,41; 8:15-16; 16:16-33; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 28:19-20)
14. We believe that a New Testament church is a body of born-again, baptized believers, assembled for worship, service, equipping the saints and the spread of the Gospel into all the world. We also believe that the local church is, in miniature, the body of Christ. As such, each member within the body is to perform according to his or her gifts and responsibilities in a Christ-like and consistent fashion. (I Corinthians 12:1-7, 12-27; Romans 12:3-8; Acts 1:8; 2:1-47; Matthew 28:19-20)
15. We believe that all the saved are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful practices. We believe that we are called with a holy calling, to walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit, and so to live in the power of the indwelling Spirit that we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Romans 12:1-2; James 4:4; I Peter 2:9; I John 2:15-27)
16. We believe that the Great Commission is the explicit message of our Lord Jesus Christ to those whom He has saved, that they are sent forth by Him into the world. We believe that, after they are saved, they are divinely reckoned to be related to this world as strangers and pilgrims, ambassadors and witnesses, and that their primary purpose in life should be to make Christ known to the whole world. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; John 17:18; II Corinthians 5:18-20; I Peter 1:17; 2:11)
17. We believe that each believer should prayerfully discover and practice his or her God-given spiritual gifts within the church, according to Romans 12:3-8. However, we believe that certain spiritual gifts (tongues, miracles and healing) were temporary in nature, given for the purpose of authenticating God’s apostolic messengers, and have now ceased as being divinely bestowed gifts. (I Corinthians 13:8; 14:22; II Corinthians 12:7-12; II Timothy 4:20; Acts 19:11-12)
18. We believe that the local church has two ordinances, those being baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both should be exercised through the ministry of the local church. (Matthew 26:26-30; 28:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-34)
19. 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 man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.  It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to Biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.  We believe the husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.  The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people.  A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church.  He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family.  A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.  She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.  (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; Romans 1:18-32; Ephesians 5:21-33; I Timothy 5:8,14; Titus 2:3-5; I Peter 3:1-7)
20. We believe children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on Biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents. (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 139:13-16; Ephesians 6:1-4; II Timothy 1:3-5)