There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe.  God is all powerful, ever-present, all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future.  The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

Genesis 1:1, 1:26; Exodus 8:10; Deuteronomy 4:35, 4:39, 6:4-5; Job 37:23; Psalm 90:2; 139:1-3, 139:7-12; Isaiah 43:10; Mark 12:28-30; 2 Corinthians 12:14; Revelation 19:6

God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, ever-present, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.  God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all people.

1 Chronicles 29:10; Isaiah 64:8; Matthew 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; John 14:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 1:31; 1 John 2:15

God the Son

Jesus is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  He was both fully God and fully man.  He lived a perfect and sinless life in order to be a holy and worthy sacrifice.  He was tempted as we are tempted, He suffered as we have suffered, yet He did not fall into sin. He came to serve and not to be served.  Jesus was betrayed, beaten, mocked, and crucified on the cross where He died.  Jesus’ life was not taken from Him by anyone; He gave it as a willing sacrifice.  Three days after He died, Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death and showing His power over both.  After He rose from the dead, He was on earth for 40 days before He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God.  Jesus will return one day to rule and reign forever, judge the world, and take those who follow Him to live in the presence of God for eternity.

Mark 15:24; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1; John 10:18; John 19:16-37; John 20; 1 Corinthians 15:20; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:19-20; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 3:5

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ.  He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation.  He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in living the Christian life. He gives every believer spiritual gifts when they are saved.  As Christians we seek to live under His control daily. He seals the believer for the day of final redemption.

Matthew 1:18; 3:16;12:28-32; 28:19; John 3:5-8; 16:7-13, Acts 1:8; ; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; 12:4-7; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 14:16-17; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25

The Bible is the authoritative and inerrant Word of God. It is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind.  It is historically accurate and consistent, telling one story of redemption pointing to Jesus Christ.  There are over 40 authors used to write the 66 books of the Bible, each being divinely directed by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the living Word of God, applicable to all time, and is not only the measure and standard of truth, but is truth itself

Psalm 12:6; 119:11,89,105; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8; Luke 21:33; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25

People are the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation.  In the beginning humanity was innocent of sin and was endowed by the Creator with freedom of choice.  By their free choice, humanity sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.  Only the grace of God can bring humanity into His holy fellowship and enable them to fulfill the creative purpose of God.  The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created people in His own image, and in that Christ died for humanity.  Therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Genesis 1:26-30; 2:18-22; Psalms 8:3-6; Matthew 16:26; Romans 3:23; 5:6,12,19; 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person, and is offered freely to all who declare Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.  There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace where believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is a result of the person’s repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.  Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Justification is God’s gracious declaration that the believer has been cleansed of their sinful past. This is a work which Jesus accomplished in His sacrificial death on the cross. The believer is made righteous only through the work of Jesus Christ.

Sanctification is the experience, by which the believer is set apart and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual growth should occur for the remainder of the person’s life.

Genesis 3:15; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21, Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; Romans 3:23-25; 5:8-10; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-10,13; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13, 26; 5:22-25; 6:15,  Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 John 1:9

We believe the Church, also known as the Body or Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all those in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The church is called to live as One unified body, in fellowship and worship together.  We believe in the priesthood of all believers: everyone in relationship with Christ is gifted, empowered and called to serve within God’s mission to reach the world.  The Church is called by God to spread the message of Good News of Jesus Christ to the world so that the world would become a new creation in Christ.

Matthew 16:15-19; Acts 2:41-47; 20:28; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:1-6; Colossians 1:18

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believers’ faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience where the believer in Jesus Christ, through the bread and the cup, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-39; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-25; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all people in righteousness.  The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment.  The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 16:27; 19:28; 24:36,44; 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-26; 21:27-28; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28, 35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 1:18; 3:11, 20:11-15.

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church to seek to make disciples of all people. The new spiritual birth within believers by God’s Holy Spirit should spark a love for others.  We are called to go into the world and make a difference in the name of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all people.  It is the duty of every follower of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to those who do not yet believe in Christ.

Matthew 9:37-38; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; John 15:16; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Peter 3:15

God is the source of all blessings, temporary and spiritual. All we have and are we owe to Him.  We are called to obedience as we serve Him with our time, talents, and material possessions.  We should recognize all these blessings are to be used for the glory of God and for helping others.  Christians should contribute of their finances cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Gospel.

Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:18; Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew 6:1-4,19-21; 19:21; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21,42; 21:1-4; Acts 2:44-47; 20:35; 1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 8; 9:6-7

Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, pornography, and other sins as detailed in Scripture. Christians should seek to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick.  We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.  Christians should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love.  Christians should be ready to work with all people in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

Exodus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 10:12; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 25:35; Mark 2:3, 12:28-31; John 15:12; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; James 1:27; 2:8; 1 John 4:21.

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family.  A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve together as they manage their home and nurture their children.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; Psalms 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 17:6; 22:6; 29:17, Ecclesiastes 9:9; Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 7; Ephesians 5:21-6:4; Colossians 3:18-21, Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7