Our Beliefs are centered around thirteen core statements. These are the things that we consider the non-negotiable absolutes of scripture. The following is the list of our beliefs:
1. The Bible
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament in their original writing are fully inspired by God. We accept them as the supreme and final authority for faith and life. (2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Cor 2:12-13)
2. Trinity and Sovereignty
We believe in the sovereignty of one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God upholds and rules over all things. He governs and reigns supreme over the entirety of creation, including over mankind, accomplishing through nature and man his eternal purposes. While accomplishing these purposes, at no time is God’s integrity violated nor does he violate our integrity, responsibility, or our freedom to choose. (Isa 46:9-10; Eph 1:11; Eccl 7:13; 1 Tim 6:15; Psa 115:3; Dan 4:35)
3. Sin
We believe that human beings, though created in the image of God, are sinful, guilty and lost without Christ. (Rom 3:23; 5:6-19)
4. The Deity and work of Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, is fully God and fully man. We believe that on the cross Jesus Christ became sin for us, was judged by God and died in our place. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, His ascension into Heaven, and His present ministry as our High Priest and advocate with the Father. (Luke 1:26-35; Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; Col 1:15-19; Rom 4:24-25; 1 Cor 15:1-8; Acts 2:32-33; Heb 4:14-16; 1 John 2:1-2)
5. Conversion
We believe that all who are justified by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God. We believe that other religions and ideologies are not alternative paths to God, and that human spirituality, if unredeemed by Christ, does not lead to God but to judgment and damnation. (John 3:1-18; Eph 2:8-9; Rom 3:9-26; John 14:6)
6. Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all of the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor 1:4-8; 1 Pet 1:5) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word,which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh. (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
7. Water Baptism
We believe scriptures teach that baptism by immersion in water should follow repentance as the external sign of our internal salvation. This is what we call believer’s baptism, as opposed to infant baptism which is unscriptural. (Mat 28:19; Acts 2:37-41; 19:1-6)
8. The Holy Spirit
We believe in the ministry and gifts of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the importance of every believer being filled with the Holy Spirit by which they are empowered and equipped for service. (John 14:15-18; Luke 24:36-49; Acts 1:1-8) We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a (usually) post-conversion event as it was for Jesus (Luke 3 & 4), the disciples (Acts 2), the Samaritan believers (Acts 8:14-17), Paul (Acts 9), and the Ephesian believers (Acts 19:1-7).
9. The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all who are born of the Spirit are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a family of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and joined together for worship, fellowship, and work. We believe that God has entrusted to the church the task of making the good news of Jesus known to the world and continuing the work Jesus began. (Eph 2:13-22; 3:1-12; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Mat 28:18- 20; Acts 1:8; 2:41-47)
10. Communion
We believe in the breaking of bread, commonly called communion or the Lord’s Supper; instituted by Jesus for the commemoration of his death as an expression of our participation in his death and eternal life and of our union with his body, the church. (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor 10:16-17; 11:23-32)
11. Christian Discipleship/Maturity
We believe in the Spirit-filled life and the ongoing Spirit-transformation of character in the believer. We believe that discipleship is life, not just knowledge. As we walk together, we keep the goal in mind of living, thinking, serving, loving and dying like Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 3:17-18; Heb 5:11-14; 6:1; Heb 12:1-17; Eph 4:11-32, 5:18-21; 2 Peter 1:3-9)
12. Heaven and Hell
We believe in the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the eternal blessedness of the redeemed, and the eternal damnation of those who have rejected God’s offer of salvation. (John 3:16; 5:24; 14:2-3; 1 Thes 4:13-18; 2 Thes 1:6-10)
13. The Second Coming
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and glory to judge the living and the dead. (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thes 4:16-17; 2 Tim 4:1)