What We Believe

We believe the Bible – all 66 books of the Old and New Testament in their original manuscripts – is God’s revelation of Himself to humanity. Each of the authors was used by God and carried along in their work by the Holy Spirit. Because the Bible has God for its author, it is without any mixture of error in its original manuscripts and remains the perfect standard by which all opinions, doctrines, and conduct should be tested. All of Scripture is for the good of mankind since it testifies to God’s glorious plan of redemption through Jesus Christ.

We believe there is only one living and true God. He is infinite in perfection and holiness. He is sufficient unto Himself and is in no need of any other. As the perfect creator of all things visible and invisible, He is the fountain of all being. God is sovereign over all things and accomplishes all things according to His perfect will. God is due, from all creation, love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal, divine, and infinite God reveals Himself in three equal and fully divine  persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each distinct in personal attributes but without any division within their nature, essence, or being.

We believe God created Man specially, in His own image. As image bearers, all human life is precious from conception to the grave. God created mankind as man and woman to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Therefore, we believe gender is a good gift of God and cannot be changed. We believe marriage between man and woman is a lifelong covenant designed and instituted by God for His service. We believe that man was created by God without sin and with freedom of choice. Through the temptation of Satan, man chose to sin against God and fell from the innocence in which he was created. Through this choice, sin was brought into the world and passed down through the ages. All of mankind is guilty of sin, being both born into sin and choosing to sin. As sinners, mankind is alienated from their perfect, holy creator God and stands condemned to die under His just wrath. Mankind’s greatest need is the Gospel of Jesus Christ to restore them to a right relationship with their creator.  

We believe the Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ. God saw the great need of sinners and provided a way to reconcile them to Himself. God offers escape from His just wrath and the free gift of eternal life with Him to all who place their faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We believe Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross in the place of sinners to pay the righteous penalty for sins against God, and was raised from the dead on the third day, proving the death of Jesus was acceptable to God. Those who believe in Him by faith are justified. We believe there is no good work man can do to earn their justification in the eyes of God. Justification in the eyes of God comes only from faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and personal repentance of sin. We believe when sinners place their faith in Jesus Christ and trust in Him alone for their salvation, they are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit and made part of God’s family forever.

We believe the global or universal church is made up of all people redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith in the Gospel. We believe that Jesus is the head of the church. We believe the universal church is comprised of New Testament local churches. These local churches are autonomous congregations of baptized believers, committed to one another in membership by faith and covenant. Each congregation is under the authority of Jesus Christ and is accountable to Him. Each member of the congregation has been gifted by God for the building up of the church. The church is ministered to by two biblical offices: elder/pastor/overseer and deacon/deaconess. The office of elder/pastor/overseer is ordained by God and filled by qualified men to minister to the church through preaching, teaching, and shepherding. The office of deacon/deaconess is ordained by God to minister to the tangible needs of the assembly. Each office must be filled according to the biblical qualifications. We believe the church exists to build up believers and evangelize the lost, all to the glory of God.

We believe Jesus Christ gave the church two ordinances to be observed: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As a one-time act of obedience, baptism is a public proclamation of the heart change within the believer produced by God through an individual’s faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper is an ongoing act of obedience in which each believer partakes in the bread and the cup to remember Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and to proclaim the glorious second coming of the Savior.

We believe that God has ordained a future time in which Jesus Christ will bodily return in glory for all to see. In this return the dead will be raised and all will be judged in righteousness. The unrighteous will be raised to everlasting torment in hell away from the presence of the Lord God, and the righteous will be raised to eternal, joyful life in heaven in the presence of the Lord God. We believe this day is the manifestation of God’s great mercy and great justice, all to God’s great glory.