The Statement of Faith

DOCTRINAL

WE BELIEVE that there is only one true God, revealed in three Persons:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).

WE BELIEVE in the eternal deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In His incarnation, He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and performed miracles. His death provided salvation to all who would believe in Him. He was then resurrected bodily, and ascended to the right hand of the Father in Heaven.

WE BELIEVE that the Bible is the Word of God, and that every word of Scripture has been inspired by God to infallibly declare His design and plan for mankind.

WE BELIEVE that although mankind willingly fell to sin, ushering evil, death and separation from God into the world, every person can be restored to fellowship with God through “salvation” (trusting Jesus Christ, through faith and repentance from sin, to be one’s personal Savior and Lord).

WE BELIEVE that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a further encounter that every believer may have with God’s Spirit, in addition to salvation, which empowers us for witnessing, effective service, and transformation into the image of Jesus, just as it did in the New Testament times.

WE BELIEVE in and practice two ordinances: 1) water baptism by immersion after receiving Christ’s gift of salvation, and 2) the Lord’s Supper as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation.

WE BELIEVE and await the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ with His saints to rule the earth, which will be personal and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion.

WE BELIEVE in the universal Church, in the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members.

 

PRACTICAL

We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's (agape) love, which is greater than differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

We believe worship of God should be spiritual; therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.

We believe worship of God should be inspirational; therefore, we give great place to music in our worship.

We believe worship of God should be intelligent; therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us on how He should be worshiped. We seek to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to the individual's life, leading that person to a greater maturity in Christ. We teach both expositionally and topically.

We believe worship of God should be fruitful; therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshiping Him.

We believe that the church government should be simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy, and we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly promotion.