God: The Trinity

There is one God, Creator and Ruler of the universe, who is one in essence, while eternally existing in three distinct personalities: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7-8; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 28:19).

The Father

God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present. He is completely Holy, unchanging, and faithful. He demonstrated his love for us by sending Jesus, His one and only Son, to reconcile a lost and broken world to Him (John 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6; James 1:16-18).

The Son: Jesus

Jesus is fully God and fully human. He lived a sinless life on earth, and offered Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days. He ascended to Heaven and will return again someday for His Church (John 1:1-5, 14:10; Hebrews 4:14; Romans 1:1-6).

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit lives within each Christian from the time of salvation. He guides believers, convicts people of sin, helps us understand spiritual truth, provides believers with spiritual gifts, comforts us, and helps us become more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 14:16-17; Galatians 5:25; Romans 8:14-17).

Bible

The Bible is God’s Word to all people. It was written by human authors, under the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme authority of truth for Christian beliefs and Christian life. Because it is inspired by God, it is error-free in its original writings, and is wholly true (Luke 24:27, 44; Acts 17:2, 3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21).

The Nature of People

God wonderfully and immutably created all humankind in His image. Biological identity, as male or female, is assigned by God at conception. We became separated from God through sinful disobedience. Apart from a salvation relationship with Jesus, we cannot attain a right relationship with God (Genesis 1:26-27; Colossians 1:15; Romans 3:23-24, 5:8-10).

Salvation

Salvation is a gift from God that we must each personally choose to accept. It cannot be earned through our own efforts, only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who died a substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of all people. Through God’s gracious gift, all who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior receive salvation and eternal life (1 Peter 1:18-23, Titus 3:5-7, Romans 3:21-26).

Baptism

After accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, baptism allows us to publicly declare our new life in Christ. It is an outward sign of an inward change (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21).

The Church

The Church is not a building; it is a group of people. All who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are members of The Church, or the Body of Christ. The Church exists as a visible representation of God on earth. Its purposes include Evangelism, Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, and Ministry (Ephesians 1:22-23; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Timothy 3:14-15; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Ministry

As an extension of God’s love for all, we encourage grace-motivated ministries which respond to human need and offer God’s transforming love to all people (John 3:16; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31).

Marriage

We submit to the teaching of Scripture that God’s design for sexual intimacy places it within the context of marriage between one biologically born male and one biologically born female (1 Corinthians 7:1-40; Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 19:4-6).