Here is a quick synopsis of
what we believe as a church body.
God's Word
We believe that every word in the original manuscripts of the Bible was inspired by God and was without error; therefore the Bible—the sixty-six books of the Older and New Testaments—is the written word of God and our supreme and final authority in faith and practice in the Christian life.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; John 17:17; Isaiah 40:8; Ps. 19:7-11
The Trinity
We believe in one God who exists eternally in three persons–Father, Son and Holy Spirit; these persons are coequal, each fully possessing the divine nature.
Deut 6:4; Matt 28:19; 2Cor 13:14; Acts 5:3-4
Jesus Christ
We believe that the eternal Son of God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man. He died for the world’s sin on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice, and He physically rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where He now lives—exalted at God’s right hand—as our High Priest, Advocate and Head—interceding for us and directing the church until His personal, imminent return. Only those who believe in Him are declared righteous and eternally acceptable before God.
John 1.1, 14, 18; Matthew 1.18-25; John 1:14, 18; Isa 53:4-5; Mark 10:45; Rom 3:24-26; Col 1:19-20; 1 Tim 2:5-6; 1 Pet 2:24, 3:18; 1 John 2:2; John 20:24-27; Acts 1:9-11; Rom 1:4; Eph 1:19-21; Phi 2:9-11; Heb 1:3, 4:14 and 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; Col 1:19
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity who restrains evil in the world and convicts men of sin, righteousness and judgment. He also regenerates, indwells permanently, baptizes into the body of Christ—the Church, and seals all Christians at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts to each believer and empowers the life and ministry of believers. These diverse gifts are vital to the health and maturity of the body and are to be exercised according to biblical guidelines and priorities, thus contributing to the common good and unity in the body. We believe that certain spiritual gifts (among them the gifts of apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing and performing miracles) were given to establish the early church and authenticate the apostles’ ministry and are not essential for the normal function of the body.
Matthew 28.19; Acts 5.3,4; John 3.8, 16.7-11; I Corinthians 6.19, 12.11; Eph. 4.30, 5.1; Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12:1-11, 28-31, 13:8-10, 14:20-33; Eph 4:11-13; 1 Pet 4:10-11
Creation
We believe God created all things in heaven and earth and that all things exist and are sustained by His power.
Genesis 1:1; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3
Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that he willfully sinned and consequently experienced immediate spiritual death (i.e., separation from God) and eventual physical death. As a result, all people are born with a predisposition to sin—the Man Christ Jesus alone being excepted—and in fact do personally sin. Apart from Jesus Christ all are eternally lost.
Gen 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:6; Rom 3:23, 5:12; Eph 2:1-3
Salvation
We believe salvation is a gracious gift of God received by anyone who trusts Jesus Christ alone as savior. One who believes in Christ is given spiritual life by the Holy Spirit, who immediately and permanently indwells him and baptizes him into the body of Christ as a child of God. Since salvation is not based on any human effort or merit, but on the grace of our sovereign God once it is granted, it can never be lost.
John 1:12, 3:1-16; Eph 2:8-9; Rom 3:28, 8:9, 38-39; John 14:16-17; 1 Cor 12:13
The Church
We believe the Church is the body and bride of Christ. It is a spiritual organism and Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. The Universal Church consists of all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost until the present. The church’s purpose is two-fold: 1) To live-out the Great Commandment—glorifying God as He deserves and loving others and 2) To fulfill Christ’s Great Commission, building up believers to spiritual maturity and evangelizing the world—communicating through our lives and our words the truth of God’s provision for man through Jesus Christ. We also believe the Church is distinct from Israel. We further believe the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purposes of worship, study and practice of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, and equipping believers for Christian service, especially to carry out Christ’s Great Commission.
Col. 1:18; Eph. 3:8-10; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph 4:4-16; 1 Pet 2:9-10; Matt.5:13-16, 28:18-20; Col. 1:28-29; 2 Cor 5:20; Acts 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:8-9; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-13
Last Things
We believe that the church age will end with the following sequence of events, which could begin at any moment:
- The Rapture: When Christ will come and instantaneously gather all Christians to Himself. 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58
- The Tribulation: A seven-year period under the domination of the Antichrist and characterized by divine judgments. Dan 9:24-27; Rev 4:1-18:24
- The Second Coming: When Christ will personally and visibly return to earth to defeat the forces of the Antichrist and bind Satan. Rev 19:11-16; Zec 14:1-15
- The Millennium: A one-thousand-year period of peace and righteousness over which Christ will personally reign on earth. At the end of the millennium, Satan will rebel, will again be defeated and be cast into the lake of fire for eternity.
Rev 20:1-10; Isa 11:1-16 - The New Heavens, New Earth and New Jerusalem: A new creation in which believers will eternally dwell in fellowship with God. Rev 21:1—22:5; Heb. 12:22-24
To download a full copy of our doctrinal statement, click here