Statement of Faith

All truth begins and ends with God. God has revealed His truth to us in a variety of ways throughout history: in nature, through His prophets, through His Son Jesus, and in the Bible. The recording of truth in the Bible was given by the inspiration of God, and it is complete and without error as originally given. Therefore, the Bible is the only authoritative and essential source for truth in all areas of life and faith.

There is only one God and He eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. He is self-sufficient and perfect, unbounded and completely free within Himself and beyond. He is all knowing, all powerful, and all present. He is the Creator of all things and He sovereignly rules over everything. He is good, holy and just. He is loving, kind, merciful, and gracious.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah.  He is true God and true Man, fully divine and fully human. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He, though sinless, died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind according to the Scriptures. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now our High Priest, our Advocate, and the Head of the Church.

Angels are spiritual beings created by God to be His special messengers and servants both in heaven and on earth.  Angels most often minister to people in ways that are unobservable to us unless God specifically wants them to communicate directly.  Some angels, led by Satan, are in rebellion to God, and are organized in opposition to the church. The believer's defense is to use the spiritual weapons of the Scriptures, and righteousness, truth, faith, and prayer.

The origin of mankind was by the direct creation of God, as described in Genesis, and not by the evolutionary process. Adam was created in God's image and in perfect fellowship with Him. However, because of disobedience and unbelief, Adam plunged himself and the entire human race into sin. The result was that spiritual and physical death were introduced into the world for every person and every thing. The sinful nature of every person is such that no one can be good enough to undo the effects of sin and restore a right relationship with God. In fact, unless God enables a person to believe in Him, no one even wants to try to get right with Him. Because of God's holiness and man's sinfulness, a curse rests upon everyone and everything, ultimately resulting in eternal damnation and punishment.

Salvation is a gift from God and can only be brought about by faith in Jesus Christ, completely apart from human works. The shed blood of Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, provides the only grounds for salvation for all who believe. When God enables a person to believe and exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He forgives that person's sins and justifies him or her in the sight of God. At this moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit brings spiritual life into the soul and baptizes the new believer into the body of Christ and secures his or her salvation forever.

Once a person is saved, the Holy Spirit begins to change that person to become more and more like Jesus. This is a process that continues throughout life until the believer is taken to heaven forever where a complete and final transformation takes place. The Christian's faith is evidenced by a struggle against sinful thoughts and actions, by an increase in godly character qualities, and by a zeal for good deeds designed to meet the needs of his fellow Christian, his neighbor, and all mankind.

Spiritual gifts are given to every believer at the moment of salvation and are used to accomplish the work of service and evangelism which God has planned for us to do. However, unlike the early church in the days of the apostles and prophets, certain gifts are no longer operational today. On-demand miracles and healings, spontaneous utterances in foreign languages, and prophetic statements from God are no longer happening. The Bible serves as God's revelation to us today, and the Holy Spirit leads and guides the believer in accord with the Scriptures. Despite the cessation of the transitional gifts of the early church, God still intervenes in human events to produce miracles and healings whenever He so chooses and for whatever reasons He has in mind.

The true church was formed at Pentecost, consists of all Christian believers and is to glorify God in all things. The church is distinctly different from the nation of Israel, and the promises which God made to the nation must not be applied to the church unless the Scripture makes it clear to do so. The mission of the church is to evangelize the lost and make disciples of all nations. The church is not under the Mosaic Law, but is instead led by the Holy Spirit and gifted men of God who serve the church in leadership capacities. The church administers only two sacraments; namely, the Lord's supper and baptism.

The most important unit of society as God planned it is the family. Monogamous, heterosexual marriage is the foundation of the family unit. Marriage is established by God and is intended to be a life-long covenant between husband and wife. The blessing of marriage is the heritage of children, and parents are responsible to raise their children in a godly and biblical manner. To the degree that government institutions further this plan for the family, they may be supported; but if the government seeks to undo or corrupt this plan of God for the family, it cannot be supported by the Christian. 

The church is to celebrate the Lord's supper in remembrance of the death of Christ. It focuses on the past as a reminder that the cross of Jesus is the only acceptable remedy for the sins of the world. It focuses on the present in that the believer should examine his or her own life and confess any sin before partaking in the supper. It focuses on the future in that it reminds us that Christ will one day come again to rule as King. The elements of the Lord's supper, the bread and the cup, are only symbols of the body and blood of Christ, and nothing mystical occurs to these elements which could convey merit or grace to those who partake.
 

Baptism Water baptism is an outward demonstration that an inward change has taken place in the life of the believer because of belief and confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior. It symbolizes the identification of the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Baptism has no regenerative effect, and cannot in any way convey merit or grace to an individual. Since baptism is for those who hear and understand and accept the gospel of Christ, it is only to be given to those who are old enough to hear, understand, and accept it Since infants and small children cannot do so, they should not be baptized.

Someday, the date known only to God, Jesus Christ will return to earth to rule as King over His kingdom in fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. His return will be preceded by a terrible, seven year period of judgment on the earth called the tribulation. Before this tribulation, the church will have been taken up to heaven. Afterwards, Jesus will rule in His kingdom for 1,000 years on earth, restoring it to a beautiful and peaceful paradise. Shortly after this time, Satan will rebel once more, but will be quickly defeated and God will create a new heaven and a new earth. The great day of judgment will then occur, and unbelievers will be sent to the eternal lake of fire to suffer everlasting punishment. However, all true believers in Jesus will enjoy everlasting life and blessedness and joy with Him in heaven.