What We Believe

The Bible

We believe that the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is divinely inspired. This inspiration is verbal, plenary, and inerrant in the original manuscripts. Thus, the Holy Scriptures are truly the Word of God and are the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

God

We believe in one self-existent and eternal God, who exists in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), by whom He reveals Himself to mankind. The three persons of the Godhead are the same as to nature, attributes, and perfection. God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and the Creator of all.

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, was born in the flesh, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life. We believe that He was crucified, died, and rose from the grave, thereby paying the penalty for our sins. He was raised bodily from the dead, never to die again, after which He ascended into heaven. He is fully God and fully man.

Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that, since Adam’s sin, mankind is now fallen and alienated from God. We believe that all men are sinful by birth and by practice, and thus are condemned by their sin to an eternity apart from God. Of themselves, men and women are unable to remedy their lost condition.

Salvation

We believe that salvation is God’s gift and is based upon the finished work of Christ on the cross. This gift accrues to men and women solely through faith in Christ. Thus, salvation is by God’s grace alone and is not based on any works or merit of men. All who are thus born again are permanently assured of their salvation from the very moment of new birth. This assurance is not based on the individual’s worthiness, but upon God’s promises as set forth in Scripture.

The Church

The Bible teaches that the Church consists of all true believers in Jesus Christ. All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation and thus become united with Christ. Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, which is His body. Through the Holy Spirit He equips all believers with spiritual gifts for the work of ministry and the strengthening of the Body. There are two ordinances of the church, established by Christ: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is immersion in water and signifies the believer’s identity with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial established by Christ to serve both as a remembrance and a proclamation of His death.

The Second Coming

We believe in the personal and imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ to take His Church (all believers) from the earth and to be with Him forever. The Scriptures teach that this event will precede a period of great tribulation on the earth that will be followed by the establishment of the literal earthly reign of Christ, which will last 1,000 years. At the conclusion of this millennial reign, God will inaugurate the eternal state of a new heaven and a new earth, where Christ will be the center of all.