Section 1. God
We believe in one God, creator of all, perfect in every way, and eternally existing in three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He alone is worthy of our praise, confidence, obedience and love.
Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16,17; 28:19; Colossians 1:12-20
Section 2. God the Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, complete in holiness, power, wisdom and love. He has decreed that all things come to pass for His glory and directs all according to His own purpose, pleasure and grace.
Matthew 6:9; John 5:19-24; Ephesians 1:3-6; 2:8-9; l Timothy 2:5; Revelation 1:6
Section 3. God the Son
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who is truly God and truly man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus, who led a sinless life, gave His life as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins by dying on a cross. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God as our Priest and Advocate. We believe that only through Jesus Christ, the Lord, can one enter into a relationship with God the Father and have eternal life.
Isaiah 53:4-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:1,14; 3:16; 14:6; I Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 1:3; 7:26; 9:24,28; I Peter 2:22
Section 4. God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who gives spiritual understanding to non-believers and brings them into a relationship with God and the body of Christ (the Church). It is the Holy Spirit who indwells, guides, convicts, regenerates and empowers the believer for godly living and service.
John 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 5:3,4; I Corinthians 3:16; 12:4-7; Galatians 5:25
Section 5. The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts. It was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is preserved for us today, and has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:3,19-21
Section 6. Creation and Mankind
We believe in the biblical account of Creation, and that this is a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate, creative acts of God, without any evolutionary process. We believe that mankind is made in the image of God. We believe that Adam was innocent but that he voluntarily sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual and eternal death. We believe that all people after Adam are sinners by nature and choice, and are under condemnation. In light of God’s creative design, we believe that the Bible teaches that marriage is the joining
of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the bonds of a Biblically defined marriage.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-24; 3:1-7; Matthew 19:4-6; John 3:18; Romans 3:9-18, 23; 5:12-19; 6:23; 7:2; I Corinthians 6:9-20; 7:1-16, 25-40; Hebrews 13:4
Section 7. Salvation
We believe that all those who trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation (confessing with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believing in their hearts that He rose from the dead), are born again of the Holy Spirit and become children of God. We believe that those who have trusted in Christ are forgiven and are eternally assured of their salvation.
John 1:12; 10:27-29; Romans 3:21-26; 4:5, 23-25; 5:1, 9, 17; 10:9-10, 13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5; I John 5:13
Section 8. Universal and Local Church
We believe the Church universal is a living, spiritual body made up of all believers, beginning at Pentecost. We believe the local church is a visible assembly of believers, autonomous in nature, following Christ as her head, and is committed to fulfilling God’s purposes (see Article II).
Acts 2:41,42,46-47; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:20-22
Section 9. Ordinances of the Local Church
We believe that all believers, in obedience to Christ, give testimony of their relationship with Him through baptism. We believe immersion is the best picture of our identification with Christ. We believe that until He returns, the local assembly of believers is commanded to remember Christ through the Lord’s Table.
Matthew 3:13-15; Acts 8:12; 10:47-48; I Corinthians 11:23-26
Section 10. Future Things
We believe in the rapture of Christ’s Church, the Tribulation of judgment on the Earth, the personal return of Jesus to Earth (Second Coming) and the establishment of His Kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body and final judgments: the believer spending eternity with God and the unbeliever spending eternity separated from God.
Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 15:20-24; I Thessalonians 4:16-18; Revelation 20:11-15