What We Believe
There is one God,(1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3)
Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6) as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7) and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.(8) He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9) He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10) He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.(11)
The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12) sent to indwell, guide, teach, empower the believer,(13) and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14)
The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15)
People were originally created in the image and likeness of God:(16) they fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All people are born with a sinful nature,(17) are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18) The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19) and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.(20)
Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all people; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.(21)
It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly,(22) being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23) This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.(24)
Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body.(25) Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26)
The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, (27) which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28) The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.(29)
There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(30) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31)
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32) and will be personal, visible, and premillennial.(33) This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34)
God has ordained that the local church be led by a plurality of godly, qualified men called elders or pastors or overseers.(35) This leadership is expressed through the spiritual shepherding and oversight of the entire congregation. The role of elder/pastor/overseer is reserved for qualified men only, in keeping with clear Biblical teaching.(36)The church both values and relies on the contributions of women who serve according to their gifting and roles. This expression upholds equality in value while maintaining uniqueness in roles.
A biblical Christian understanding of gender and sexuality is grounded in the Word of God. At creation, God created man and woman.(37) We affirm that God establishes gender in correlation with biological sex. Therefore, any attempt to alter one’s gender identity medically, through cross-dressing, or otherwise is at odds with God’s will. We also affirm that the creation of man and woman reflects the reciprocal nature of human sexuality. Scripture tells us that the only acceptable form of sexual relations is in the context of one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage.(38) We therefore reject all sexual activity outside of this context, whether heterosexual or homosexual.(39)
[1] Deuteronomy 6:4, [2] Matthew 5:48, [3] Matthew 28:19, [4] Philippians 2:6–11, [5] Luke 1:34–38, [6] 1 Peter 3:18, [7] Hebrews 2:9, [8] Romans 5:9, [9] Acts 2:23–24, [10] Hebrews 8:1, [11] Matthew 26:64, [12] John 14:15–18, [13] John 16:13; Acts 1:8, [14] John 16:7–11, [15] 2 Peter 1:20–21; 2 Timothy 3:15–16, [16] Genesis 1:27, [17] Romans 3:23, [18] 1 Corinthians15:20–23, [19] Revelation 21:8, [20] Revelation 21:1–4, [21] Titus 3:4–7, [22]1 Thessalonians 5:23, [23] Acts 1:8, [24] Romans 6:1–14, [25] Matthew 8:16–17, [26] James 5:13–16, [27] Ephesians 1:22–23, [28] Matthew 28:19–20, [29] Acts 2:41–47, [30] 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, [31] John 5:28–29, [32] Hebrews 10:37, [33] Luke 21:27, [34] Titus 2:11–14, [35] 1 Peter 1:1-2, [36] 1 Timothy 3:1-2, [37] Genesis 1:27-28, Matthew 19:4-6, [38] Hebrews 13:4, [39] 1 Thessalonians 4:3