THE HOLY SCRIPTURES: We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbal and inspired word of God. The Scriptures areinerrant, infallible, God-breathed and therefore the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1: 20-1)
THE GODHEAD: We believe there is one true God, eternally existent in threepersons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Trinity to be God revealing Himself in three Divine Persons, each distinct in office from the other, yet perfectly one – constituting one God, not three. (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 14:9, 17:3)
THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST: We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in his vicarious and atoning death on the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His personal future return to His earth in power and in glory to rule a thousand years. (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 43:10; Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Acts 1:9-11; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:1-2; Hebrews 7:26, 9:18)
SALVATION AND THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN: We believe the only means ofbeing cleansed from sin is through the repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that all of us our sinners and in need of a Savior, unable to earn our salvation through doing good works and thereby destined for eternal separation and judgment from God. However, we also believe that there is Good News! That salvation is the free gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This abundant, everlasting life with God and the forgiveness of sins is available through Jesus Christ alone and is offered to all who confess their sins and believe and trust in His death on the cross. (Isaiah 53:1-10; Luke 8:6; John 3:16, 10:10; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 John 1:9)
HOLY SPIRIT AND SANCTIFICATION: People in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ are to live in holiness and obedience as they submit to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Sent by the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit applies Christ’s saving work by enlightening the minds of sinners to their need to be saved. He renews and indwells believers upon salvation becoming their source of assurance, strength, wisdom, and gifting for building up the church. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying the Bible. Appropriated by faith, His power and control empower believers to lead a life of Christ-like character and bear fruit for the Father’s glory. (John 16:7-13, John 14:16, 17; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:16, 25)
THE HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM: We believe in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who asks for it in faith. It is a distinct and separate experience to that of salvation, occurring either subsequent to or simultaneous with salvation, evidenced by a greater dynamic in the Christian’s life, enabling that person to be a bold and more effective witness for Jesus Christ, and speaking in new tongues. Every Spirit-filled believer also has the capability of speaking with new tongues whether or not he or she chooses to exercise this evidence. We believe in the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit in regard to the exercise of all Biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the instructions given to us in I Corinthians 12-14. (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-46, 11:14-16, 15:7-9; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31)
DIVINE HEALING: We believe in divine healing was provided to the believer through Christ finished work on the cross and that it is God’s will to be healed– in spirit, soul and body. (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:17; Acts 10:38; 1 Peter 1:4)
THE CHURCH: All who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are united with Him as members of His body, the one true church. Scripture commands believers to gather for worship, prayer, fellowship, and the teaching of the Word; to observe Baptism and Communion as established by Jesus Christ; to offer service to the body through development and use of talents and gifts and outreach to the world. The local expression of the church is wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command. Cared for and led by Elders and leaders, church members are to work together in love and unity for the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ. (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19- 22; Mark 16:15-20; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4: 11-16; Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:26)
WATER BAPTISM: We believe water baptism is for all believers and is to be practiced by immersion. It symbolizes our being buried with Christ unto death of self; and as Christ was raised from the dead, so shall we also walk in the newness of life. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 6:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:4-5; Colossians 2:12)
THE LORD’S SUPPER: We believe the Lord’s Supper (communion) using the physical elements of bread and the fruit of the vine is to be done in remembrance of the shed blood and body of Christ proclaiming His death on the cross for us. (Luke 22:19; Corinthians 11:17-30; 2 Peter 1:4)
GIVING: We believe that every Christian is a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him and is obligated to support the local church financially. We believe God established the tithe (10% of the gross income – the first fruits) as a basis for giving, and that every Christian should also give other offerings, both sacrificially and cheerfully, t the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and to spread the Gospel. (Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:10-11; Matthew 23:23; Luke 14:42; 1 Corinthians 10:11)
HUMAN DESTINY: Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. All humanity will experience a bodily resurrection and a judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. Having rejected God, unbelievers will suffer eternal condemnation apart from Him. Believers will be received into eternal communion with God and will be rewarded for works done in this life. (John 3:16; John 2:25; John 5: 11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 21:24)
CHRIST’S SECOND COMING: We believe Christ’s second coming and judgment on the earth. He will come in the air to resurrect the righteous dead and gather all His living Saints to ever be with Him (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1). After this, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (Revelation 21)
HUMAN SEXUALITY: We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal personal dignity. We don’t not recognize the legitimacy of physically changing or altering ones predominant biological sex. (Genesis 1:26-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-13) We believe God has ordained and created marriage as the exclusive, comprehensive, and “one flesh” union of one man and one woman, intrinsically ordered for the revelation of God, for the joy of man and woman, and for procreation and biological family, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother, and child. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-9; Mark 10:5-9; Ephesians 5:31-33) We also believe that God commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions God’s gift of sex. The good news, however, is that as with all sins, these too can be forgiven through the heartfelt admission of our sins and belief in the shed blood of Jesus Christ death on the cross for us. (Genesis 2:24, 19:5,13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4; 1 John 1:9)
SANCTITY OF LIFE: We believe in the sanctity of human life. We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of an unborn human life. Abortion is murder. Therefore, the Church opposes elective abortion for personal or social convenience, and counsels its members not to submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for such abortions. The church’s position on this matter remains unchanged. The good news, however, is that as with all sins, these too can be forgiven through the heartfelt admission of our sins and belief in the shed blood of Jesus Christ death on the cross for us. The church calls believers to show Christian compassion and to offer support to those experiencing unwanted pregnancies as well as to those who have undergone abortions. Further, it calls believers to speak out against the atrocity of abortion, to promote action and legislation that reflect the teaching of Scripture regarding the sanctity of human life, and to reject all violence against those who perpetrate abortion. (Job 3:26; Psalm 51:5, 139:14- 16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-16; Luke 1:44)
