God
We believe in the one true and holy God, eternally existing in three persons: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. By his power, God created the world displaying his wisdom, goodness, and creativity. God continues to work throughout history by sustaining his creation and fulfilling his redemptive plan.
The Bible
We believe the Bible to be inspired by God and written down by people of his choosing. It speaks with God's authority through the individual styles and personalities of those who wrote it down. It teaches us how to live, points out when we get off the path, shows us how to get back on the path, and how to stay on the path. The Bible is the final authority on what is believed, taught, and practiced by this church. There are no other writings thus inspired by God.
Salvation
Man was created in the image of God to have fellowship with, and glorify, God. Man, however, sinned against God by choosing his own way. Sin separated man from God and corrupted his nature with a tendency to sin. Everyone who has ever lived, except Jesus Christ, has sinned against God and is in need of salvation. Salvation is only available through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Salvation is the free gift of God's grace and cannot be earned in any way.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is eternally equal with, and the same as, God. He became a man through a miraculous conception and a virgin birth. He lived a perfect life, committing no sin. He voluntarily died on the cross for our sins and bodily rose from the dead after three days, appearing to many people. Jesus will return at God's appointed time to judge all of mankind according to God's plan.
Christian Life
The result of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life that is being transformed to be like Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to live within every Christian at the point of salvation to empower them for this transformation process and for the building up of the body of Christ.
Human Destiny
Every man and woman who has ever lived will one day stand before God in judgment. Those who have rejected God and his offer of grace through Jesus will be eternally separated from God in condemnation. Believers will enjoy eternal communion with God and be rewarded for works done in this life.
The Church
All those who experience union with Christ through salvation are united with his body, the Church. The Bible instructs believers to gather together in devotion to fellowship, worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances, service to the body, and outreach to the world. Wherever Christians meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the Church. Under the watchcare and guidance of elders and other supportive leadership, its members are to work together in love and unity to extend the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Ordinances - Baptism & The Lord's Supper
We teach that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism by immersion, after accepting Christ as personal Savior, is an act of obedience that symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and is a testimony to the death to sin and resurrection to new life. It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the Church, which is the visible body of Christ. The Lord's Supper is a commemoration and proclamation of the death of Jesus Christ. Whereas the bread and the juice are only representative of the body and blood of Christ, the Lord's Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who is present in a spiritual way. We offer the Lord's Supper weekly. Believers should use this time to remember Christ and his death, examine their lives and ask God for forgiveness, and recommit their lives in service to Christ.
