What We Believe
Bible
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writing, infallible, and God-breathed. (II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21, Matthew 5:18, and John 16:12-13). The choice of sacred text is, by conviction, the Authorized King James Version.
God
We believe in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect, sovereign, and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three persons and yet one God. (Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:19).
Jesus 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 men (and women). (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35).
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 3:23-25, I Peter2:24, Ephesians 1:7, I 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 1:9-10, Hebrews 9:24-25, Romans 8:34, I John 2:1-2).
Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person who convicts of sin, regenerates unbelievers, and indwells, enlightens, and empowers the saved. (Acts 2:4, John 16:7-11, Romans 8:2, I Corinthians 2:9-10). Pertaining to the sign gifts of the apostles, we believe that they have ceased with the apostolic office ending with Paul the apostle.
Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that by Adam’s sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved, and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Ephesians 2:8-10, John 1:12, Ephesians 1:7, I Peter 1:8-10).
Baptism
We believe baptism by immersion is the symbol of what has already taken place in the heart: of our having died with Christ, and our having been raised with Him into a life of acceptance with God. (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12). Only believers are proper subjects for baptism. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41, 5:14).
Security of the Believer
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power, and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 3:16; John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,38-39;I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5).
Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God, and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
Heaven & Hell
We believe in the heaven of bliss for all who, through faith in the Lamb of God, have become the children of God, and lake of fire for eternity (eternal judgment) for all who have not received forgiveness of sins, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 5:28-29, 3:36; Revelation 21:27).
The Church
Description: A called out body of born again believers, meeting together to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and observe the two ordinances, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. We believe that the church, which is the body and the exposed Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this present church age. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23-27; I Corinthians 11:2, 12:14). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament scriptures. (Acts 14:23, 14:27, 20:17; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). We believe a local church is a voluntary association of baptized believers equal in rank and privilege, subject to the word of God, and independent of any external ecclesiastical control whatsoever. (Matthew 18:15-16; Acts 2:40-42; Revelation 1:20).
Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the visible, bodily, pre-tribulation, pre-millennial, and imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive His church to be with Himself in the air, and then after the tribulation, to return in power onto the earth with His saints to judge the nations and establish His kingdom. (I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I Corinthians 15:51-58; Philippians 3:20; Titus 2:13; Revelations 4:1; Genesis 12:1-3; I Samuel 7:10-16; Psalm 89:20-37; Isaiah 9:7, 24:5, 54:3; Zechariah 12:8-10; Revelations 19:11, 20:6).
The Lord's Supper
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial ordinance to be observed by all believers in fellowship with their risen Lord. The elements are mere elements representing in symbol the body and blood of Christ. The observance should be conducted by the local church and not privately for individuals. In the case of an individual unable to attend the observance with the church assembly, a delegation may be formed under the authority of the church to administer the ordinance. (I Corinthians 11:25-32; Matthew 26:26-29).
Marriage & Sexuality
We believe that the Bible defines marriage exclusively as a permanent union between one genetic male and one genetic female (Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19:4-6), and that biblical marriage is the only legitimate context for human sexual relationships.