God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons … Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Acts 5:3-4; Hebrews 1:8)
We believe that God is all-knowing (omniscient), as to all things existing presently and all things to come. God is all-present (omnipresent) and all-powerful (omnipotent). God is infallible and incapable of error. His purposes and plans cannot be changed or thwarted by humanity. God is sovereign in and over all aspects of His creation. (Psalm 115:3; Psalm 135:5-7; Psalm 139:1-10; Psalm 147:4-5; Isaiah 14:24-26; Isaiah 40:28; Isaiah 44:7-8; Isaiah 46:10; Acts 2:23; Acts 4:28; Hebrews 4:13; 1 John 3:19-20)
The Son
We believe that God the Son became flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and who is true God and true man. (John 1:15; Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 26:38; John 11:33; John 8:40; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 2:14)
We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed blood. (2 Corinthians 5:14; Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24-26; Romans 5:8-9; 1 Peter 3:18)
We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, in His ascension into heaven, and in His present life for us as High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Romans 1:4; John 20:25-27; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 7:25; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11)
We believe in the personal, bodily, visible return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom over which He will reign in righteousness and peace. (Acts 1:11; Matthew 24:30; Revelation 20:4-6; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:2-5)
The Bible
We believe that the Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, our final and infallible authority in faith and life, inerrant in the original autographs. (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21. We use the word inerrant as defined in the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy).
Humanity
We believe that humanity was created in the image of God and that Adam and Eve sinned and consequently experienced not only physical death, but also spiritual death (which is separation from God); as a result, all people are born with a sinful nature and, apart from Jesus Christ, are eternally lost. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-3; Ephesians 4:18; Mark 7:20-23)
We believe that all who by faith receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born again by the Holy Spirit and immediately become children of God, a relationship in which they are eternally secure; this salvation is not the result of any human effort or merit. (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28; John 3:1-16; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:31-38; Philippians 1:6)
We believe that there is only one baptism of the Holy Spirit, occurring at salvation; at that time, the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into the body of Christ and indwells each of them permanently. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:5; Galatians 3:26-27)
We believe that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to every believer, to be used for building up the body of Christ; these gifts are to be exercised according to biblical guidelines and priorities. (1 Corinthians 12:1-14; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11)
We believe that all Christians are “new creations” and that, though we still sin because of the influence of our flesh, we are indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, each Christian must make the moment-by-moment choice to walk either according to the flesh and experience sin or according to the Spirit of Christ and experience the abundant life in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:11, 18; Romans 8:9, 13; Galatians 5:16-17, 24; Ephesians 4:22)
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people: believers are resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God; unbelievers are resurrected to experience judgment and then eternal suffering apart from God. (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:4-6,12-15; John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2; Revelation 21:1-8)
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, and that, when given the opportunity, he attempts to defeat Christians; however, Christians can overcome Satan’s schemes by applying biblical truth in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 6:10-19; Luke 10:18; Job 1:6-12; John 8:44)
The Church
We believe that the Church consists of all people who have truly put their faith in Jesus Christ and that the purpose of the Church is basically threefold: to give God the worship and praise He deserves; to build up every believer to spiritual maturity; and to make disciples of every nation as, through word and deed, we act as ambassadors for Christ. (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:4-6; Matthew 16:16-18; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 5:13-16; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 4:11-16)
We believe that Christ commissioned His Church to observe believer baptism and the Lord’s Supper until He returns. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:37-38; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 16:31-34; Romans 6:1-4; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
We believe that Christ is the head of the Church and that the local fellowship is to be governed by elders, men chosen on the basis of biblical qualifications. We believe the Bible teaches that men be both the primary authorities in the church and the primary teachers of biblical doctrine. (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:15-16; Acts 14:21-23; Acts 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 2:11-15)
We believe that all Christians should order their lives according to biblical priorities, including: a) the cultivation of their personal fellowship with God through Bible study and prayer; b) the fulfillment of their biblical responsibilities toward members of their families; c) the active expression of their love for fellow believers through commitment of time, effort, abilities, and resources; d) sharing Jesus Christ with nonbelievers through word and deed; and e) engagement in useful work and/or service. Although each believer should use the energy and abilities God has given for the upbuilding of the Church, the extension of the gospel, and the general welfare of society, these efforts should be consistent with personal spiritual growth and proper development of Christian marriage, family life, and nurture of children. (John 15:1-27; John 17:15-23; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12; Ephesians 4:28; Titus 2:14; Galatians 6:10; 1 Timothy 5:3-16; Ephesians 5:22-6:9; Colossians 3:18-4:1; 1 Peter 3:1-7; Titus 2:10; Proverbs 31:10-31)
Marriage
We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one genetic man and one genetic woman and that all sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin. (Genesis 1:27-28; Hebrews 13:4; Romans 1:18-32; Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Matthew 19:4-6, 9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 15-20; Jude 7) We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s genetic gender is immoral and therefore sin. (Genesis 1:27; Deuteronomy 22:5)
Non-Essentials
Two Christians, even though they are in the same local church and part of the same leadership group, may agree to disagree about certain doctrines. Some examples are: modes of baptism; the dating of the events in Genesis; the order of events associated with the Lord’s return; and the degree of separation from worldly practices. When teaching is done in any such area, it should be made clear that these doctrines are not essential for salvation or leadership. We may state the case for our position, but we should point out that, in many cases, sincere and intelligent Christians hold different positions. (Romans 14:1-15:7; 2 Timothy 2:23-24; Titus 3:9)
