God

There is one God who eternally exists as one united being, expressed as three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each is fully and equally God, sharing the same attributes and worthy of the same worship (Matthew 28:18-20; Hebrews 1:3). We believe in God the Father, the creator of heaven and earth and sustainer of life (Genesis 1:1). There is none like him, and he is to be the primary affection of every human heart (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11). As the immortal and eternal Creator, He sovereignly rules over all of His creation (Psalm 24:1). We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, who in history assumed a human nature in order to provide us with salvation (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8; Colossians 1:15-20). He is fully God and fully man. Born of a virgin (Luke 1:31-35), he lived a sinless life (Hebrews 7:26), suffered, died for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-5), was buried, resurrected, and ascended to heaven where he sits at the right hand of the Father. He will someday return to earth to complete God’s eternal plan (Acts 1:11; Hebrews 1:3). We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who was sent by the Father and the Son to unite believers to Jesus in faith, and dwell within the life of the Christian (John 15:26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14). He leads the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word (John 14:15-17; John 16:7-8; Galatians 5:22-23), empowers the Christian for bold and effective living (Acts 1:8; 4:31), and gives spiritual gifts to God’s people for the strengthening of the church and for effectiveness in mission (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).

Revelation

God has revealed himself in creation, in Jesus Christ, and in the Scriptures.

We believe that God has made Himself known through creation (Psalm 8; Romans 1:20). We believe that Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is the “visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), “radiates God’s own glory” (Hebrews 1:3),  and is a perfect reflection of God the Father (John 5:19). We believe the Scriptures—also known as the Bible—comprised of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15-17). It is the final authority for Christian living and Godly practice. Scripture is sufficient for all that God requires for us to believe and do and is therefore to be believed in what it teaches, obeyed in what it requires, and trusted in what it promises (Isaiah 40:6-8). As God’s people hear, believe, and obey the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and proclaimers of the good news (Romans 10:14-17).

Salvation

Every person can experience salvation from the burden and consequence of sin by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Every human being—both male and female—is sacred. Created in God’s image, they were designed to live in open and honest relationship with God (Genesis 1:26-30).  However, through temptation, humanity sinned against God and fell from their original state of unbroken relationship and holiness with God (Genesis 3). Now, the entire human race lives according to a sinful nature, and as such each of us have turned against God (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23). Sin has fractured all things, separating us from God and leaving our world under the dominion of sin and Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3). As such, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are “born again” (John 3:5-8). The free gift of salvation is only by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ through faith are declared righteous by God and become children of God (Hebrews 10:19-25). We believe that new birth is an act of God by which the Holy Spirit imparts a new nature and a new spiritual life (1 Peter 1:15-16), and the person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit challenges us to become more like Christ every day, marked by a deepening love for God and a love for our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39).

Church

The church is the body and bride of Christ—God’s people on earth—called to share His love and reflect His goodness and glory to this world.

We believe in the “capital C” Church, consisting of all people who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ, regardless of denomination or nationality (Ephesians 1:22). When we say “church”, we do not refer to a building or institution, but rather to a community of people (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). The mission of the church is to worship and glorify God as Father (John 4:23-24), lift up Jesus by continuing the work he began (John 20:12-13; Ephesians 4:11-16), and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).

Future

Jesus Christ will return to earth, judge the world, and consummate the Kingdom of God.

We believe in the future, physical, and glorious return of Jesus to this earth (Acts 1:11), the resurrection of the dead, the rapture of those alive in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), and the judgment of the just and the unjust (Revelation 20:11-15). These events will bring complete and final fulfillment to the Kingdom of God, and establish Christ’s kingdom and usher in the new heavens and new earth where he will make all things new (Revelation 21:1-7).