The Gospel
The starting point for what we believe is the gospel. The gospel is simply the good news about Jesus—that He came to pay the penalty for our sin and give us eternal life with Him in heaven.
The Apostle Paul defined the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Doctrinal Statement
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, and the final authority for faith and life, inerrant and infallible in the original writings. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:105)
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-equal in power and glory.(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 1:2)
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23; Luke 1:27, 34-35)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth at an hour known only to the Heavenly Father, and that because the time of His coming is hidden, believers should live in a state and attitude of constant readiness for His return. We believe that in God’s proper time there will be a seven-year Tribulation, after which the Lord Jesus Christ will set up His Millennial Kingdom on the earth. (Titus 2:11-14; John 14:3; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and that He indwells the souls of all believers and seals them until the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14)
We believe that He is the divine Teacher who guides believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with and controlled by the Spirit. (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18)
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the church to do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
We believe that sanctification is the work of God’s grace, through the Holy Spirit, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled step by step to live in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:23-24; Romans 6:6, 14; 8:4; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14)
Creation
We believe that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the beginning made from nothing the heavens and the earth and all things therein within the space of six days, and all very good. (Genesis 1; Exodus 20:11; Jeremiah 10:12)
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he will be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6- 7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
The Sinfulness of Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is therefore unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 5:12)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by repentance from sin and by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10; John 1:12; Colossians 1:14)
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1; 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5)
We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh and clearly warns believers to avoid ungodliness and worldly lusts. (Galatians 5:13; Romans 13:13-14; Titus 2:11-15)
The Two Natures of Believers
We believe that throughout this earthly life, every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We believe that final and complete victory will be accomplished at our glorification after this life is spent. (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10; Romans 6:13)
Obligations of Believers
We believe that it is the obligation of the redeemed to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. All believers are under obligation, therefore, to sustain established witnesses and to contribute by prayers, gifts and personal effort to the extension of the Gospel throughout the whole earth. (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20)
We believe that the saved should live in such a manner that they should not bring reproach on their Savior and Lord, and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by God. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 John 8-11; 1 John 2:15-17)
The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the body of the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons. (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-24)
We believe that the establishment and continuation of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. (Acts 14:23, 27; 1 Timothy 3:1-13)
We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or controls, and any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, or agencies this church affiliates with to further the objectives stated in the Purpose are not authoritative in matters of church practice or belief. (Acts 13:1-4; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
The Blessed Hope
We believe that the blessed hope of the Church is the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation, together with those who are alive and remain, to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:1-2, 9-10; Titus 2:13)
The Millennial Reign
At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved unto eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-15)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 20:4-6; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
We believe that the souls of the unregenerate remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and are cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1: 26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23)
Family Relationships
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peters 3:1-7)
Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except in the case of fornication or the departure of an unbelieving spouse. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-12; Luke 16:18; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:2, 10-15, 39)
Sanctity of Life
We believe that human life begins at conception and that an unborn child is a living human being. We believe that God determines the limits of human life and that the Bible denies man the prerogative to terminate life apart from God’s intent. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44; Job 14:5; Ecclesiastes 3:2; Acts 17:28; Hebrews 9:27; Exodus 20:13, 23:7; Matthew 5:21)
Christian Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Romans 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Philippians 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)
Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32).
Missions
We believe that God has given the church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support financially his local church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
The Scripture passages referenced in this document are taken from the New King James Version.