Statement of faith:

 

We affirm the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God and is the basis for our beliefs and practices.  We voluntarily band ourselves together as a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ committed to sharing the good news of salvation to lost mankind.

 

1. Scriptures - The Hebrew and Christian scriptures are inspired by God, perfectly true, inerrant in the original manuscripts and form the basis for doctrine and practice.

 

2. God - God is the supreme creator and ruler of the universe. He is perfectly good. He is triune and reveals himself in three persons.

• The Father -  God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is eternal.

• The Son - Jesus Christ is God, and God made man, the word made man, and co-creator of all things. He is eternal. He was born of a virgin.  He is a perfect man who led a sinless life.  Because he died a sacrificial death for the sins of man, He is the redeemer of fallen man. He did not remain dead, but rose again.

• The Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit is God. He empowers God’s people for works of service, regenerates them, and conforms them to the image of Christ. He is eternal.  He is the comforter and teacher promised by Jesus Christ.

 

3. Man - Man is the creation of God. God made man in His image to have relationship with Him.  However, man sinned and that relationship was broken. Man now stands in need of salvation which is provided by God through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

4. Sin - Sin is rebellion against God, his rules, and his ways. It is falling short of God’s mark for any man, woman, or child.  The only human that has ever existed without sin is Jesus Christ. The consequence of sin is separation from God, and spiritual death in Hell.

 

5. Salvation - Salvation is by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ and results in a new life and relationship with God. It means recognizing that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all of your life. Salvation provides for eternal life in Heaven with God and the saints. Those who reject salvation are doomed to an eternity in Hell without God, the giver and sustainer of all good things. Salvation is a rescue from sin, and the eternal wrath of God, as well as separation from all of his favor.

 

6. The Church - The church is the community of people who have been called by God and submitted to His lordship, who make up the family of God throughout all of history.  It is independent of any denomination. Its goal is to glorify God by being the hands and feet of Christ to a lost and fallen world. It is led and shepherded by elders, equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry.

 

7. Christian Life - The Christian life is to be separate from the life of the world. It should be evidenced by an ever-increasing sanctification and holiness, and a willingness to glorify God by dying to selfish desires. The Christian life will be met with trials and tribulations for which a Christian’s willingness to submit to the sovereignty of God in the midst of those trials and tribulations will result in the glorification of God and genuine faith being revealed.

 

8. Ordinances -  Jesus Christ called for his church to practice two corporate observances - baptism and The Lord’s Supper, or “communion.”  Baptism is a symbolic act characterized by full immersion in water and done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a symbolic act identifying the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Lord’s Supper is a corporate event of fellowship in which the church breaks bread and drinks from the cup and by so doing remembers the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for mankind.

 

9. End Times - Jesus Christ will return in bodily form, there will be a resurrection of the Saints, and there will be a final judgment of all mankind.

 

10. Family - The biblical family is the basic God ordained unit for the procreation of humanity and the transmission of cultural and spiritual values. It is sacred and consists of one man and one woman joined in committed marriage. The husband lovingly leads the family, and the wife willingly submits to and supports the husband’s leadership.

 

Authority of Statement of Faith

 

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible. The Statement of Faith may evolve but the Bible does not. All literature used in the church shall agree with the Statement of Faith.