What We Believe

OUR BELIEFS

We believe there is only one true, living, and eternal God and that the Godhead is revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Trinity).

• Genesis 1:1, 26-27; 3:22
• Psalm 90:2
• Matthew 28:19
• 1 Peter 1:2
• 2 Corinthians 13:14

We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired and infallible Word of God, and they provide the only reliable guide of Christian faith and conduct.

• 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16
• 2 Peter 1:20-21
• Psalms 12:6; 119:105, 160
• Proverbs 30:5

We believe that God created people in His own image to bring Him honor through obedience, and that when people disobeyed God, they became fallen and sinful creatures, unable to save themselves. (Infants, we believe are in the covenant of God’s grace and that all persons become accountable to God when they reach a state of moral responsibility.)

• Genesis 1:27; 2:7
• Psalms 8:3-6
• Isaiah 53:6a
• Romans 3:23
• Isaiah 59:1-2

We believe that every person can experience a saving relationship (salvation involving regeneration, sanctification, justification, and redemption) through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Christ has provided for this relationship through His sinless life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession.

• Romans 6:23
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• John 1:12, 14:6
• Titus 3:5
• Galatians 3:26
• Romans 5:1

We believe that Christians should live faithfully by serving in and through the local church, praying diligently, witnessing earnestly, practicing tolerance, showing loving kindness, giving as God prospers, and conducting themselves in such a way as to bring glory to God.

• 1 Chronicles 16:11
• Matthew 6:1-13; 18:15-17; 28:18-20
• John 13:35; 15:7-14
• 1 Corinthians 13; 16:2
• 2 Corinthians 7:14; 9:6-7; 23:23
• Acts 1:8
• Galatians 5:22-23

We believe that the Church Universal is the Body of Christ, the fellowship of all believers. We believe that a local church is a fellowship of Christians, a part of the body of Christ, and that it is imperative that every Christian be a member of a local church for worship, nurture, and service.

• The Church Universal: Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:12-24, 27; Ephesians 1:22-23
• The Local Church: Matthew 18:17; Acts 2:38-47, 11:19-30; Revelation 1:4, 3:22
• Worship and service: 1 Corinthians 14:12; Hebrews 10:25; James 1:26-27
• Nurture: Ephesians 4

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances instituted by Christ to be observed by Christians only. We practice baptism by immersion and believe participation in the Lord’s Supper should be open to all Christians.

• Baptism: Matthew 3:13-15, 28:19; Acts 2:41, 8:12; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21
• Communion: Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ, and in the bodily resurrection of the dead. We believe that God will judge all humanity by Jesus Christ, that He will reward the righteous with eternal life in heaven, and that He will banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell.

• John 3:16; 14:17
• Romans 6:23; 8:17-18
• 1 Corinthians 2:7-9
• Revelation 20:15