GOD

We believe in God. God has existed forever as one being, three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). God creates all things and holds all things together. God is good and right. God is all-powerful (omnipotent). God is worthy of all glory and honor. God works in all things to redeem a people for Himself and restore fallen creation.

REVELATION

God invites people to know Him personally. Generally, God has revealed Himself in creation. Specifically, God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ whose life we read about in the Bible. God supernaturally orchestrated the events of history and the words of biblical authors to invite people to peace with God through Jesus Christ.

BIBLE

The Bible is the divinely inspired written word of God revealing the Living Word of God – Jesus Christ. The 66 books of the Bible were written by different people over the course of 1500 years under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible was not intended to answer every question posed by people, but it answers every important question regarding God, the Gospel, and eternal life in Christ. The Bible is without error. Any perceived error reveals a need for more thorough study or the limitations of the human mind. The role of the preacher is to teach the verses of the Bible in a way that people will live to glorify God.

FALL

In the beginning, God created an orderly universe. Every created thing was set in place to work peacefully while glorifying God. The first humans, Adam and Eve, enjoyed a peaceful relationship with God until they chose to disobey God. Adam and Eve forfeited a perfect relationship with God bringing judgment on themselves and all created things. The peace that reigned in the beginning has been disrupted leading to death, pain, poverty, hate, addiction, crime, injustice, etc. The supreme need of all things is to be restored to a peaceful, orderly relationship with God.

GOSPEL

Since the beginning, God has planned to restore all things through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The good news is that even though a person could never earn God’s favor, God gives it freely through Jesus Christ. A person is saved from the wrath of God (i.e. forgiven) when he or she is lead to repentance by the Holy Spirit and given faith in Jesus Christ as the way to peace with God. The message of the Gospel was given to humanity by Jesus through word and deed. A gospel without mention of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is no gospel at all. Not only do Christians receive the credit of righteousness earned by Jesus Christ but they receive the Holy Spirit whose primary purpose is to make them holy.

CHURCH

The church is the organized group of people whose faith in Jesus Christ compels them to meet regularly for encouragement and worship. A church must regularly do at least two things: teach Scripture and practice ordinances of Communion and Baptism. The things are commanded in scripture by Jesus and practiced in the early church meetings. Members of the church share a common mission and are equally responsible to God for accomplishing all that God wants. The role of the Pastors is to ensure theological clarity, to pray and preach, to equip the people for works of ministry. The weekly all-church gathering is only 25% of what it means to be the church. The other 75% is when the people are living out their faith in everyday life.