God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things. He has always existed in a perfect Trinity consisting of three equally divine persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is holy, perfect, sovereign, just, gracious, loving, merciful, omniscient, omnipotent, and more. God and all of His attributes are limitless and eternal. He has created the world and the human race for the express purpose of exhibiting His glory.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man. He is Israel’ s promised Messiah and is Lord of all peoples. He was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. He is Lord of all and worthy of worship.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God. In everything He does, He glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and He baptizes them into union with Christ to become adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Bible
We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. They are inerrant in the original writings and are the complete revelation of God’ s will for salvation. They are the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.
The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. Human beings have inherited a sinful nature from Adam, for they are united with him. People, thus, naturally and freely choose to sin. Consequently, they are totally depraved, alienated from God, and under His wrath. They have no power to follow God on their own. Only through God’ s saving work in Jesus Christ can people be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
The Work of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation. We also believe that people who are in Christ have died with Him. Their old self is, thus, dead to sin, and by His grace they have been given a new nature in Christ.
Salvation
We believe that salvation from sin is necessary for all peoples. Salvation is a work of God’ s grace. People do not earn their way to God by being good, doing good, or performing the proper religious rituals or sacraments. Instead God gives salvation freely to all who have faith in the person and redeeming work of Christ. In doing so, God justifies the believer. In justification, believers are declared righteous in the sight of God. Consequently, they enjoy forgiveness of sins and a new relationship with their Creator.
Christian Living
We believe that genuine faith in the atoning death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ produces a righteous life. God has declared us righteous. He has given us a new nature. He has done these things only in Christ. We access them only through the work of His Spirit and by our faith. If we are righteous in God’ s sight, we believe we ought to live that way. Sanctification is produced by true faith and is both a one-time event and a lifetime process. We do not believe in human perfection on earth. Rather, God continually transforms genuine believers more and more into the image of Christ as they faithfully follow Him.
The Kingdom of God
We believe that Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God on earth. This kingdom exists now within the hearts of all who genuinely declare Jesus as king, but this kingdom also shall come in a greater, future fullness. The kingdom of God differs from all earthly systems in its values, priorities, operating principles, and sources of power. Jesus calls all people to honor Him as their true king and to forsake any values and priorities of this world that conflict with His lordship.
The Church
We believe that the universal church comprises all who have been justified by God’ s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. The people of this universal church may be located in different local bodies, for it is their genuine faith and not their participation in a local church that makes them part of the universal church. The Holy Spirit unites all true members of the universal church in the body of Christ, who is the Head of the Church. God calls all people in His universal church to participate in a local church, for He desires corporate worship and has made us in such a way as to need each other.
Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’ s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. They are not the means of salvation, but when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer. Baptism is commanded of all believers. One should have a genuine faith in Christ alone for salvation before being baptized. We believe that any believer, regardless of church membership, can participate in the Lord’ s Supper. We, thus, practice open communion. But we also believe that the Lord’ s Supper is intended only for genuine believers.
Spiritual Warfare
We believe that there are real spiritual forces of evil that oppose God and His kingdom on earth. We believe that a person’ s sinful nature and the forces of culture and of this world also oppose God and His kingdom. God’ s people are, thus, in the midst of a spiritual war, which they must fight with spiritual weapons. They fight this war by trusting in the finished work of Christ, by exercising the spiritual authority they have been given in Christ, by immersing themselves in Scripture, by praying in the Spirit on all occasions, by living a life of obedience to Jesus, and by actively sharing their faith with those who do not know Christ.
Evangelism
We believe that the true believer will become involved in carrying out Christ’ s commission to make disciples among all peoples. We will do this through prayer, through becoming incarnate among unbelievers, through a righteous life and good deeds, and through verbally declaring the gospel of the kingdom. We believe that any attempt to evangelize that excludes any of those four components is itself inadequate.
Christ’s Return
We believe that Christ shall return in the same way He ascended. His return will be personal and bodily. Only God knows the time of this return, but the believer will hold a ready expectancy awaiting it at any moment. This expectancy helps motivate the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic declaration of the gospel.
Response
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Jesus Christ in faith and repentance and accepting Him as Savior. This response ultimately is a work of the Holy Spirit. Those who respond will declare Him Lord, delight in His presence, and gladly submit to His Lordship in their lives.