We believe that all Christians, regardless of their differences, can worship, study, witness and serve God and others in unity when Jesus Christ is the center of their faith. To that end, we agree that in essentials we seek unity, in non-essentials liberty and in all things love. As a community of believers focused upon our common Savior and Lord, we are committed to being a church where people find faith in Jesus Christ, grow in their own spiritual lives, enjoy the fellowship of others and take seriously the claims of Jesus Christ in their own personal lives.
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe the Bible to be inspired and the infallible authoritative Word of God. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct to which we are held. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; Hebrews 4:12)
THE TRINITY
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These are equal in every divine perfection and they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14; Mark 12:29; Matthew 28:19; Isaiah 43:10-11)
GOD, THE FATHER
We believe in God, the Father, an infinite personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of all people, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Matthew 6:5-13, Isaiah 6:3, Romans 11:33-36, Psalms 138:5-6, Matthew 7:11, Isaiah 55:6-7, John 3:16)
JESUS CHRIST
We believe that our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is not only true fully God, but fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible return from heaven. (Luke 1:30-35; 2:40; John 1:1-2, 1:18; 3:16; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 4:15)
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, the third Person of the Trinity. In the present age He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of unrighteousness, He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony, He is the agent in the new birth indwells all believers in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, baptizes them into the body of Christ, seals them unto the day of redemption.
Every believer receives this gift of the Holy Spirit from God to empower and transform their lives so as to be set apart as disciples of Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 5:18-20; I Corinthians 3:16-17)
HUMANITY AND SIN
We believe that God created us—humanity, male and female—in His image and free from sin; yet through rebellion against God, humanity fell into sin, becoming corrupted by both nature and choice and therefore spiritually dead and unable to restore itself apart from God’s grace. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and none are righteous apart from Christ. (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:6; 6:5; Ps. 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:16; 3:3-8; 5:40; 6:35; Romans 3:10-19; 8:6-7; Eph. 2:1-5; 1 John 3:8)
In love and mercy, God offers salvation through Jesus Christ, and all who repent of sin and trust in Him as Savior and Lord are forgiven, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and given new life. We believe in the resurrection of the body and the final judgment of the living and the dead, in which those made righteous in and through Jesus Christ will enter eternal life, while those who persist in rejecting God’s gracious gift of salvation will experience hell, the eternal separation from God. (Mark 9:43-48; John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26, John 1:14)
SALVATION
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. We further believe that this salvation and forgiveness of sin is based upon the grace of God, and was purchased by Jesus Christ on the cross, and is received through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or rituals. We further believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 1:12; 10:29,30; 14:16; Titus 3:5; I John 3:8)
PRAYER
We believe that God hears and answers prayers, that we pray and not lose heart, that we pray for divine healing, that we pray for one another, that we pray not to enter into temptation, that we pray everywhere, that we pray to be anxious for nothing, and that we pray fervently. (Mark 11:24; Luke 18:1; Ephesians 1:16; Luke 22:40; I Timothy 2:8; Philippians 4:6; James 5:16; Acts 6:3-4)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the head. We believe that the true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that this body expresses itself in local congregations whose members have confessed their faith in Jesus Christ and have associated themselves for worship, instruction, evangelism, fellowship, and service. We believe that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. We believe the sacraments of the Church are the Lord’s Supper and Baptism.
We also believe in the interdependence of local churches and the mutual submission of believers to each other in love. (Matthew 16:18; I Corinthians 12:13, 27-28; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 4:12)
THE LAST THINGS
We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment of the living and the dead, the eternal blessedness of those made righteous in and through Jesus Christ, and the separation from God, hell, of those who have rejected the gracious gift of salvation, which God freely offers to all and patiently extends in love. (Mark 9:43-48; John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26)