What We Believe

 

 A. We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, true in all areas in which He speaks, and the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of people and Christian practice, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.
 
B. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 
C. We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures.  He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where He is at the right hand of the Father.  He is now our High Priest and Advocate.
 
D. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify God the Father and the Lord Jesus, to convict human beings of sin, to regenerate the believing sinner, and to indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service.
 
E. We believe that human beings were created in the image of god, and therefore have innate dignity as God’s reflection.  However, human beings rebelled against God and fell into sin.  Therefore, human beings are lost and totally marked by corruption and depraved in every area of their being.  Only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained and God’s image be progressively formed in the life of the individual believer.
 
F. We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification before God the Father and salvation for all who believe.
 
G. We believe that all who believe in Jesus Christ are regenerated, indwelt, baptized, and sealed by the Holy Spirit, producing fruit evidencing their relationship to God, and so are secured for the day of redemption.
 
H. We believe in the perseverance of the saints.
 
I. We believe that the baptism of believers and the communion of the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances to be observed by the church during this present age.  These ordinances convey spiritual meaning but are not to be regarded as means of salvation.
 
J. We believe that the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ, of which Christ is the head.
 
K. We believe that only those who are thus members of the true Church are eligible for membership in the local church.
 
L. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and the Head of the Church and that every local church has the right under Christ to decide and govern its own affairs.
 
M. We believe in the personal and bodily return of Jesus Christ to this earth to consummate the Kingdom of God and that this truth has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of every believer.
 
N. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, and of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.
 
O. We believe that Satan is the adversary of Christ and the people of God, and that his destiny is everlasting conscious punishment.