What We Believe

The Holy Scriptures.

We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, His Revelation to man, inerrant in the original writings and that it is, therefore, the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Psalm 19:7-11, Romans 1:16)

The Trinity of the Godhead.

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16,17; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Pre-Existence, Deity, and Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ ever existed with the Father and Holy Spirit and that in His incarnation was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true Man. (John 1:1-19; 1 Timothy 3:16)

The Creation and Fall of Man.

We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, are totally depraved and, for those who reach moral responsibility, are sinners in thought, word and deed and are totally alienated from God by their sin. Man, therefore, must be born again to be accepted of God. (Romans 5:12; Romans 3:23; John 3:1-21) We believe that God created the universe in six literal 24 hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)

The Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ.

We believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as our substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. We believe that He arose bodily from the dead on the third day in the same body in which he suffered and died. We also believe that our Lord ascended into Heaven; that He is now seated at the right hand of the Father and is our High Priest and Divine Advocate with the Father. We believe that by the finished work on the cross, and the unceasing ministry of intercession in glory, Jesus Christ has procured for every believer eternal redemption, eternal salvation, and everlasting life. (Romans 5:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 20:26-27; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 7:22-8:77; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 9:12; 5:5,8,9; John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-13)

The Personality and Ministry of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person; that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He regenerates the sinner by the Word of God; that He permanently indwells each believer and His Church- the body of believers; that He seals, enlightens, instructs, and guides every born-again person and that He is sufficient power for godly living, Christian service, and spiritual worship. (John 16:7-15; John 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians 4:30; John 14: 16, 17, 26)

The Nature of The Church.

We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ was begun at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven and came into the Church; that it is composed solely of born-again people who have been called out from among the Jews and Gentiles to become the Body and Bride of our Lord. Christ glorified in Heaven is the Head and the Holy Spirit on earth is the active agent of the Godhead who ever seeks to bring about within its ranks conformity and obedience to the Word of God and the Will of God. The one body unites believers to each other and all to Christ. Its chief purpose of existence is to evangelize the world and to complete itself through the winning of lost souls to Christ. (Acts 2; Romans 1:16; Acts 15:14; Ephesians 5:23, 24a; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8)

Ordinances.

We believe that two ordinances are significant above any others that Christians are commanded to observe, namely water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While recognizing that water baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved, baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is our conviction that the scriptural method of water baptism is by immersion. We further believe that water baptism by immersion is to be observed but once and is a sign of identification with Christ and a testimony to newness of life in Him.  We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper to commemorate His death till He comes.  Therefore, it is to be observed often as a memorial of the broken body and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 11:23-33; Colossians 2:9-13)

Our Lord’s Second Advent. 

We believe in the blessed hope, the personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulation, imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is known as the rapture of the Church. We also believe in the personal, visible, and glorious return of Christ to the earth with His saints at the end of the tribulation period. This phase of His coming is known as the Revelation of Jesus Christ or His Coming in Glory.  When He returns to earth with His saints, we believe that He will establish His millennial Kingdom and will reign for one thousand years on the earth. (Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 4:13-19; John 14:3; Revelation 19:11-21;  Revelation 20:1-6)

The Resurrection of the Dead. 

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just at the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57) and of the unjust at the end of time. (Revelation 20:11-15; John 5: 28-29)

The Eternal State of the Saved and the Lost.

We believe in a heaven and a hell. Heaven is the place of eternal, conscious joy for all who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Hell is the place of eternal, conscious punishment in the lake of fire for all who reject Jesus Christ, and for those dying in their sin. (John 14:1-6; Psalms16:11; Philippians 1:21, 23; Psalms 9:17; John 8:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:10-15)

The Personality of Satan.

We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, the accuser of the brethren, whose end is the lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-25; Ezekiel 28:12-29; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10)

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. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

The Assurance of Believers.

We believe that it is the privilege of the 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. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:2:11-15)

The Two Natures of the Believer.

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims of eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:13; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9) 

Separation and Sanctification.

We believe that the Scriptures clearly teach non-conformity to the world for every believer; that born-again people should be separated from the world unto Christ; that it is clearly commanded of God to all believers to live lives of separation from all worldly and sinful practices; and to be holy as God is holy. We believe that positional sanctification occurs at the moment of regeneration and that practical sanctification is to be progressive throughout the entire lifespan of a believer here on earth. God’s provision for holy living is possible as the believer yields to the power of the Word of God through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God. (John 17:17; Romans 6:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:25-27; Colossians 1:13; Colossians 3:1-4; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 4:12; Hebrews 10:1,14; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 2 Peter 3:18)

Civil Government.

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, church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2: 13-14) 

Human Sexuality.

1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of 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. (Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5, 13; Genesis 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23)

3. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors, elders, and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Timothy 3:4-5, 12)

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 mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; Psalms 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

Missions.  

We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ. we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20)

Lawsuits Between Believers.

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)

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 a basis for giving, and that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that the giver relinquishes all the rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been given. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)

Authority of Statement of Faith.

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. However, the foregoing statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.