Statement of Faith

We believe:

• The Old and New Testaments of the Bible are the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. The Word is the divine and final authority for Christian life. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:13)
• There is one God, the creator of all things, who is infinitely perfect and eternally existent in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Colossians 2:9; Matthew 28:19)
• Jesus Christ is the union of God and man. He is true God and true man, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of all men. He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is presently seated at the right hand of the Father as our high priest and advocate. (Philippians 2:6–11; John 1:1, 14, 18, 14:28)
• Man was created in the image of God but fell into sin, which resulted in his spiritual death and separation from God. Only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained. As a person makes the decision to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and confesses with his mouth the lordship of Jesus in his life, a miracle of regeneration by the Holy Spirit takes place and they are “born again”. (Romans 3:10, 23, 5:12, 10:9–10; 1 John 3:8; Ephesians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:3,5–7)
• Water baptism and communion are ordinances to be observed by the church during the present age. They are not, however, to be confused with or regarded as a means of salvation. (Matthew 23:19; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36–38; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 10:16)
• The Holy Spirit comforts and guides the believer, with the final purpose of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the earth. During this age, He indwells, guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living and service. Every believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit, with speaking in tongues as the initial physical evidence. (Matthew 3:11; John 14:16–17; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 38–39; 19:1–7
• Every born again, Spirit-filled believer should maintain a consistent prayer life. (1 Corinthians 14:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18; Ephesians 6:17–18)
• Without faith, it is impossible to please God. The Word tells us that the just—those who have been justified by the blood of Jesus—shall live by faith. Our lives can be prosperous and healthy in every realm as we walk in the light of this redemption by faith in God’s Word. (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 1:17; James 5:14–15; Mark 16:18; Isaiah 53:4–5; Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24; 3 John 1:2; Deuteronomy 8:18; Galatians 3:13–14)
• There will be a bodily resurrection of the dead—the believer to everlasting joy with the Lord and the unbeliever to judgment and eternal punishment. (Hebrews 9:27–28; Revelation 19:20)
• We believe that marriage is a covenant sanctioned by God to join one man (born as and continues to be male) and one woman (born as and continuing to be a female) in a single, exclusive, holy union. (Genesis 2:2–25)
• We believe that sexual activity is a gift from God to be enjoyed only between a married man and a woman. Same-sex sexual orientation and sex-nonconforming lifestyles are inconsistent with our faith and doctrine. (1 Corinthians 7:2–5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, 18–20; Genesis 1:26–27)
• We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. God intentionally and purposefully designed each person to be a particular gender, as evidenced at birth (or at the chromosomal level when necessary). Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions. (Genesis 1:26–27; Psalms 139:13–18)
• The pre-millennial Second Coming of Jesus Christ is two-part in nature: He will come in the air to resurrect the righteous dead and catch away the living saints; He will then come to the earth to establish His physical kingdom and begin His thousand-year reign. (Acts 1; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation 20:6)
• The universal Church is composed of all those who are born again. (John 3:3; Ephesians 1:22, 4:8; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14