What We Believe

We affirm our belief in one God, infinite Spirit, creator, and sustainer of all things, who exists eternally in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are one in essence but distinct in person and function.

We affirm that the Father is the first person of the Trinity and the source of all that God is and does. From Him the Son is eternally generated and from Them the Spirit eternally proceeds. He is the designer of creation, the speaker of revelation, the author of redemption, and the sovereign of history.

We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity. Eternally begotten from the Father, He is God. He was conceived by the virgin Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. He lives forever as perfect God and perfect man: two distinct natures inseparably united in one person.

We affirm that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the Son and equal in deity. He is the giver of all life, active in the creating and ordering of the universe; He is the agent of inspiration and the new birth; He restrains sin and Satan; and He indwells and sanctifies all believers.

We affirm that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, though written by men, was supernaturally inspired by God so that all its words are the written true revelation of God; it is therefore inerrant in the originals and authoritative in all matters. It is to be understood by all through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, its meaning determined by the historical, grammatical, and literary use of the author’s language, comparing Scripture with Scripture.

We affirm that all things were created by God. Angels were created as ministering agents, though some, under the leadership of Satan, fell from their sinless state to become agents of evil. The universe was created in six historical days and is continuously sustained by God; thus it both reflects His glory and reveals His truth. Human beings were directly created, not evolved, in the very image of God, as either biologically male or female from the womb. As reasoning moral agents, they are responsible under God for understanding and governing themselves and the world.

We affirm that Adam, the first man, willfully disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into the world. As a result, all persons are sinners from conception, which is evidenced in their willful acts of sin; and they are therefore subject to eternal punishment, under the just condemnation of a holy God.

We affirm that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the appointment of the Father. He fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all people, was buried, and on the third day He arose physically and bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He now intercedes for all believers.

We affirm that each person can be saved only through the work of Jesus Christ, through repentance of sin and by faith alone in Him as Savior. The believer is declared righteous, born again by the Holy Spirit, turned from sin, and assured of heaven.

We affirm Jesus Christ died on the cross of calvary, was buried, and three days later rose from the dead. 

We affirm that the Holy Spirit indwells all who are born again, conforming them to the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a process completed only in Heaven. Every believer is responsible to live in obedience to the Word of God in separation from sin. Doing so produces a distinctly Christian lifestyle of practicing virtues and avoiding sin.

Among other virtues, followers of Jesus Christ will:  show evidence of the Holy Spirit living within them such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and supremely, love; seek righteousness, mercy and justice, particularly for the helpless and oppressed; love and side with what is good in God’s eyes and abhor what is evil in God’s eyes; uphold the God-given worth of all human beings, from conception to death, as the unique image-bearers of God; treat all people impartially, seeing them as equals before God and worthy of salvation; pursue unity and embrace people of all tribes and tongues as part of God’s design for humanity; uphold chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman; be people of integrity whose word can be fully trusted; give faithful witness to the Gospel; practice good works toward all; and live lives of prayer and thanksgiving. Sinful acts are prohibited by God and include but are not limited to: worship of idols or gods other than the Lord God of the Bible; denying Jesus Christ as eternal, as God’s son in flesh, as resurrected, as Creator, as Lord or as Messiah who died for the sins of all people;  rejection of Jesus Christ or rebellion against God; blasphemy; participation in devil worship, practice of the occult, astrology, fortune-telling, sorcery, or witchcraft; taking of innocent life; denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender; married persons sexually or romantically coupling with a person other than their spouse;  sexual relations outside of marriage between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman; romantic coupling among persons of the same sex; prostitution; orgies; rape; drunkenness; use of profanity and vulgarity; injustice; making false statements; dishonest sales and exchanges of money; thievery; fits of rage; and illegal activity.

We affirm that a church is a local assembly of baptized believers, under the discipline of the Word of God and the lordship of Christ, organized to carry out the commission to evangelize, to teach, and to administer the ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s table. Its offices are pastors and deacons, and it is self-governing. It functions through the ministry of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to each believer.