Some of the areas listed below may not be fully mastered yet in all of our lives, but can be by the transforming power of the Spirit of God. These beliefs are the commands of God and, as such, we teach them, expect each other to make them the foundation of their life decisions and strive to live by them daily.
If you desire to transform your life to include these precepts, we are here to help. This site, our church services and every aspect of our ministry is dedicated to:
assist you in learning God’s truth,
show you the way so that you can enter into salvation in Jesus Christ, and
provide you with guidance so that you can be filled with His Spirit in order to make the changes needed to align your life with His commands.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control can be yours in abundance. May God bless you richly, stir you to action and fill you powerfully as you deliberate the following.
Statement of Faith ...
The following comprise the foundational Scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.
The Holy Scriptures.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be thoroughly inspired by God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and, therefore, are given to man as God's authority for faith and life. (2Ti 3:16-17; 2Pe 1:20-21)
The Godhead.
We believe in one God, eternally existing as - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deu 6:4; Mat 28:19; 2Co 13:14; Joh 14:10,26)
The Person and Work of Christ.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6; Luk 1:35; Joh 1:1-2, 14; 2Co 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phi 2:5-8)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death by crucifixion as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Act 2:21-36; Rom 3:24-25; 1Pe 2:24; Eph 1:7; 1Pe 1:3-5)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Act 1:9-10; Heb 9:24, Heb 7:25; Rom 8:34; 1Jo 2:1-2)
The Work of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, which convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that this Spirit is a Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (Joh 16:8-11; Rom 8:9; 1Co 12:12-14; 2Co 3:6; Eph 1:13-14)
We believe that the Spirit of God is the divine Teacher which assists believers to understand the Scriptures and that it is the privilege of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Eph 1:17-18, 5:18; 1Jo 2:20,27)
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom 12:3-8; 1Co 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12)
We believe, concerning the spiritual gifts, "...that there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills." (1Co 12:4-11)
The Total Depravity of Man.
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23; Eph 2:1-3, 4:17-19)
Salvation.
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Joh 1:12; Eph 1:7, 2:8-10; 1Pe 1:18-19; 1Jo 1:9)
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Tit 2:11-15)
The Church.
We believe that the church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (1Co 12:12-14; 2Co 11:2; Eph 1:22-23, 5:25-27)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Act 14:27, 20:17,28-32; 1Ti 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-11)
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances. (Rom 12:1-2, 14:13; 2Co 6:14, 7:1; 2Ti 3:1-5; 1Jo 2:15-17; 2Jo 9-11; 1Co 6:19-20)
The Second Advent of Christ.
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ to retrieve His bride. After a period of time with Him, our Bridegroom Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom. (Dan 2:44; 1Th 1:10, 4:13-18; Tit 2:13; Rev 3:10-11, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
The Eternal State.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Mat 25:46; Joh 5:28-29,11:25-26; Rev 20:5-6,12-13)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luk 23:43; 2Co 5:8; Phi 1:23, 3:21; 1Th 4:16-18; Rev 20:4-6)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Mat 25:41-46; Mar 9:43-48; 2Th 1:7-9; Jud 1:6-7; Rev 20:11-15)
The Personality of Satan.
We believe that Satan exists, is the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa 14:12-17; Mat 4:2-11,25:41; Rev 20:10)
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically-assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Rom 13:1-7; Eph 5:22-24; Heb 13:17; 1Pe 2:13-14)
Human Sexuality.
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen 2:24, 19:5-7,13; Gen 26:8-10; Lev 18:1-30; Rom 1:26-29,32; 1Co 5:1, 6:9; 1Th 4:1-8; Heb 13:4)
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. As God has called the man to be the head of the family, so has He called the man to be the head of the church. As God has called the woman to submit to the husband, so has He called the woman to submit to the head of the church. In that light, we believe women may serve as deacons, elders, teachers and pastors. (Gal 3:28; Col 3:18; 1Ti 2:8-15; 1Ti 3:4-5,12; Pro 31:10-31)
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate Scriptural discipline. (Gen 1:26-28; Exo 20:12; Deu 6:4-9; Psa 127:3-5; Pro 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14; Mar 10:6-12; 1Co 7:1-16; Eph 5:21-33, 6:1-4; Col 3:18-21; Heb 13:4; 1Pe 3:1-9)
Divorce and Remarriage.
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. (Mal 2:14-17; Mat 19:3-12; Rom 7:1-3)
Abortion.
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Isa 44:24, 49:1,5; Jer 1:5, 20:15-18; Luk 1:42,44)
Love.
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers and those who oppose us. We deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful action. (Lev 19:18; Mat 5:44-48; Luk 6:31; Joh 13:34-35; Rom 12:9-10, 13:8-10; Phi 2:2-4; 2Ti 2:24-26; Tit 3:2; 1Jo 3:17-18)
Giving.
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis from which to start your giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church and its ministries. (Lev 27:30,34; Deu 14:22-23; Pro 3:9-10; Mal 3:8-10; Act 4:34-37; 2Co 9:6-7; Gal 6:6; Eph 4:28; 1Ti 5:17-18; 1Jo 3:17)