What We Believe

THE BIBLE: We believe the Bible, the commonly recognized sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, is God’s unique and authoritative revelation of truth to mankind. We believe every word of the Bible as originally written is inerrant and fully inspired by God. We believe that the Bible is true & reliable in all that it addresses. The Bible is our final authority on all matters of faith, doctrine, & practice. (II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:20-21)

THE INCARNATION: We believe in the pre-existence and full deity of Jesus Christ, God the Son, Who through the incarnation became man without ceasing to be God, fully human and fully divine, in one person. (John 1:1,14, 8:58; Col. 1:17)

THE TRINITY: We believe there is one God, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present, and triune; that within the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, co-equal, co-eternal, and of one essence, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; that these three persons, distinguishable but indivisible, are the one God. (Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4; Mt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14)

THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST: We believe in the incarnation of God the Son through the literal virgin birth of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament’s promised Messiah, in His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead seen by witnesses, His ascension into heaven, and in His promised physical return in power and glory.(Mt. 1:18-25, 24:29-31; Acts 1:9-11, 2:22, 36,5:31; I Cor. 15:3-8; II Cor. 5:21; I Thes. 4:15-18; Heb. 4:14, 9:28)

THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit; that He proceeds from the Father and the Son and is the third person of the Godhead; that He indwells all believers in Jesus Christ, that He is active in the church and convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment. (John 14:26, 16:7-11; Acts 5:3-4, 13:2; I Cor. 6:19; I Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:29)

THE FALL OF THE HUMAN RACE: We believe in the creation and fall of mankind as recorded in Genesis, in which our first parents rebelled against God their creator, forfeiting their joyous relationship with God and thus selling themselves and their descendants into a condition of spiritual separation from God, eminent physical death, and the dominion of Satan; that the fall has resulted in the complete alienation, corruption, and lost condition of the entire human race.
(Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12, 18-19)

THE ATONEMENT: We believe the death of Jesus Christ on the cross made atonement for sin, enabling God to justly pardon repentant sinners and that the atoning death of Jesus Christ is the only basis for salvation from sin. (Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:21-26; I Tim. 2:5-6; Titus 2:11; I Pet. 3:18; I John 2:2, 4:10)

REGENERATION: We believe when a person meets the Biblical conditions of repentance and faith, justification and regeneration by the Holy Spirit takes place; that is, that person enters into the right relationship with God, is made alive spiritually, is sealed, and is adopted into God’s family; regeneration is instantaneous; regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential to salvation; upon regeneration the Holy Spirit will bear witness with that person’s spirit that he or she has passed from death to life and is now a child of God. (John 3:3, 7; Acts 16:31; Rom. 8:15-17; I Cor. 6:11; Eph. 1:13, 2:5, 4:30)

THE CHURCH: We believe the true Church Universal is composed of all those who have a saving faith in Jesus Christ. The local Church is the community of God’s people where all life is inspired and directed by the Spirit of Christ and is lived to His glory as a witness and testimony to the world. The local Church is made up of believers in any given community, who voluntarily unite themselves in accordance with Christ’s laws for the primary purpose of worshipping God. We believe the Church is under divine mandate to evangelize the world by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and serving the community. We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. We believe in the Spirit-filled life, a life of maturing in holiness in the fear of God as an expression of Christian faith. We believe in prayer for the sick for divine healing. (Mt. 16:18, 18:15-20; Acts 2:1-4; I Cor. 12; II Cor. 7:1; Gal. 3:14; Eph. 3-4; James 5:14)

THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH: We believe in the necessity of water baptism of believers by immersion in order to fulfill the command of Christ. We baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe the Lord’s Supper (communion) should be observed by believers. (Mt. 28:19; Acts 2:38;I Cor. 11:28-32)

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience distinct from regeneration that is given to empower all believers to live holy lives and be effective witnesses for Christ; it is available to every believer; and upon being baptized in the Holy Spirit spiritual gifts are available. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 38, 19:1-7; I Cor. 14:13-14; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20)

ETERNITY: We believe at death, the souls of Christians will immediately enter into Christ’s presence and there remain until His return when the soul and body, reunited in the resurrection, will be with Him forever in glory. We believe unbelievers will be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord, and in the reality, personality, and eternal judgment of Satan and his angels. We believe that in the consummation of time, the Lord Jesus Christ will have complete victory over all His enemies and will dwell among His people in His eternal kingdom. (I Cor. 15:50-58; Phil. 1:23; II Thes. 1:9; Rev. 20:10-15)