Beliefs

The Trinity

We affirm our belief in the one-eternal God, Creator and Lord of the world. We believe God is manifested through the Trinity in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who governs all things according to His purpose and will; not our own. God has been calling out in the world a people for Himself and sending His followers back into the world to be His servants and His witnesses. Doing so for the orchestration of His kingdom, the building up of the body of Christ, and the glory of His name. We confess that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission by becoming conformed to the world or turning our own way. However, we rejoice that even amid our brokenness, God still choose us to be His sons and daughters. We are guided by God to love Him with all and our neighbors as ourselves. (Isa. 40:28; Matt. 28:19; Eph. 1:11; Acts 15:14; John 17:6, 18; Eph 4:12; 1 Cor. 5:10; Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 4:7; Matthew 22:37-40)

The Bible: truth & power

We seek to affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness, and authority of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the perfect and true written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only completely true rule of faith and practice. We also seek to affirm the power of God’s word to accomplish His purpose of salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all men and women. The revelation of God in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. The Holy Spirit speaks through it to this very day. He illuminates the minds of God’s people in all cultures to be a witness of truth through their own eyes and to the church as a whole. (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; John 10:35; Isa. 55:11; 1 Cor. 1:21; Rom. 1:16, Matt. 5:17,18; Jude 3; Eph. 1:17,18; 3:10,18)

Evangelism

To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead so that we could be saved. Through Jesus, we can receive forgiveness of our sins and salvation when we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord. This gift of grace is available to all people and we believe it is God’s will for every follower of Jesus to share the Gospel with the world. Evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to encourage people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to him. In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his Church and responsible service in the world. (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Acts 2: 32-39; John 20:21; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2 Cor. 4:5; 5:11,20; Luke 14:25-33; Mark 8:34; Acts 2:40,47; Mark 10:43-45)

Values

-Glorify God: That we would make much of God in all we do and say (John 3:30); we will give God glory in all things because all comes from Him (Rev. 4:11, Psalm 115:1, 1 Cor. 16:20); as we give glory to God, we will live our lives in such a way that others also glorify Him (Matt. 5:16)

-Denying self: Our pride and self-seeking focus can strongly deter us from Gods will, therefore living to make him increase while we decrease (John 3:30); we will strive to live as if we are taking our own desires out of our pursuit to live for him. (Rev. 12:11)

-Integrity: Perfect integrity can be found in Jesus and through Him we are able to aim towards true integrity for ourselves. Our integrity will guide us in our decisions (Prov. 11:3); we will do what is right, not only before the Lord, but also before men (2 Cor. 8:29); we will strive to conduct ourselves honorably such that we maintain a clear conscience (Heb. 13:18); our goal is to be faithful and blameless. (2 Sam. 22:26)

-Accountability: We will live and operate with the understanding that we will be held accountable for each of our words (Matt. 12:36); one day we will give account of ourselves to God (Rom. 14:12); and all of our work will one day be revealed and tested by fire. (1 Cor. 3:12-15)

-Love for All People: Love is from God and the truest indicator that we know God (1 John 4:7); if we love God, we will also love our brothers (1 John 4:21); we will love people as God loves us such that all people know we are His disciples. (John 13:34-45)

-Stewardship of Time, Money and People: Stewardship is the responsible management of God’s resources (Psalm 24:1); we want to use everything we have to point others to God and to advance His kingdom (Col. 3:23-24); God owns everything, we are merely managers of what is His. (James 1:17)

-Sacrificial Service: Real love involves sacrifice and we will be willing to sacrifice for others, even our lives for the sake of the gospel (John 15:12); God is not unjust and will not forget the work you do (Heb 6:10); we will follow the example of sacrificial service that was set for us by Jesus (Mark 10:45); we will not neglect to do what is good (Heb 13:16); laying down our lives for people will be the greatest way we can show them love. (John 15:13)

-Permission to Fail: We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8); when we fall, we will not be overwhelmed, for the Lord holds our hand (Psalm 37:24); the Lord will help us when we fall (Psalm 145:14); we will forgive others just as we are forgiven (Col 3:13)

The Scriptures

We believe that the Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, are divinely inspired and given by God and therefore free from error and untruths (as they appeared in the original manuscripts); that they are necessary and clear for knowing and understanding the gospel of salvation, and they are the supreme standard in all matters of faith and practice.

Exodus 24:4 • Deut. 4:1-2 • Psalm 19:7-10 • Matt. 5:17-18 • Luke 24:27; 44 • John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17 • Rom. 15:4; 16:25-26 • 1 Cor. 2:13 • 2 Tim. 3:15-17 • Heb. 1:1-2; 4:12 • 1 Peter 1:25 • 2 Peter 1:19-21

The Triune God

We believe in the one and only true God who eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the distinctive mark of the Christian faith and life.

Deut. 4:35; 6:4 • Isaiah 43:10 • Matt. 28:18-19 • Mark 12:29 • John 1:14 • Acts 5:3-4 • 1Cor. 8:4-6 • Eph. 4:4-6 • Rev. 22:13

God the Father

We believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth and ruler over all His creation according to His sovereign will, who through grace and love offered his Son, Jesus Christ as redemption for mankind.

Gen. 1-2 • Exodus 6:2-3 • Deut. 32:6 • Jeremiah 10:10 • Mark 1:9-11 • John 14:6-13 • Acts 1:7 • Rom. 5:8 • 1 Cor. 8:6

Jesus Christ

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God, His virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious and atoning death on the cross, burial, bodily resurrection, ascension, present ministry of intercession, and His imminent, future return to reign as King.

Matt. 1:18-25 • Luke 1:34-35 • John 1:1-18 • Acts 1:9-11 • Rom. 5:8 • 1 Cor. 15:1-28 • 2 Cor. 5:21 • Phil. 2:6-11 • Col. 1:15-23 • 1 Tim. 2:5-6 • Heb. 1:1-6; 4:15-16; 7:23-25 • 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:18 • 1 John 2:2

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the divine Holy Spirit who draws people to Christ, convicts people of sin, and regenerates and indwells all believers. The Holy Spirit fills and comforts the believer, enables him to grow in holiness, and equips the believer with spiritual gifts for the edification of the body of Christ.

Gen. 1:2 • Psalm 139:7 • Isaiah 61:1-3 • Matt. 3:16; 28:19 • Luke 1:35; 12:12; 24:49 • John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14 • Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 38; 10:44 • Rom. 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 12:3-8 • 1 Cor. 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-13 • Eph. 1:13-14 • 1 Peter 4:10-11 • 1 John 4:13

Man

We believe that Adam and Eve, created in the image of God, were tempted by Satan and disobeyed God; that all people have inherited their sin and by nature and choice are deserving of God’s righteous judgment; that man is unable to save himself or contribute in any way toward his acceptance before God and therefore that all people are in need of a Savior.

Gen. 1:26-30; 2:5, 7, 18-22; 3; 6:5 • Psalm 14:1-3; 32:1-5; 51:5 • Acts 17:26-31 • Rom. 1:19-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:12, 19; 17:14-25 • 1 Cor. 1:21-31; 15:21-22 • Eph. 2:1-22 • Titus 3:5

The Church

We believe the Church, the body of Christ, is made up of all believers from all nations who have turned from sin in repentance and trusted only upon the person and work of Jesus Christ for salvation. We believe a local church is an autonomous group of baptized believers who have covenanted together as a local church under identifiable church leaders gathering together regularly to celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They do this through worshiping and praying to God through Jesus Christ, teaching, studying, and obeying God’s Word, exercising spiritual gifts and service for the edification of the body of Christ, and observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Local churches scatter into the world for the purpose of making disciples of all nations.

Matt. 16:15-18; 28:18-20 • Mark 16:15 • John 17:18 • Acts 1:8; 2:41-47; 6:3-6; 14:23, 27 • Rom. 12:5, 9-13 • 1 Cor. 1:2; 12 • 2 Cor. 5:18-20 • Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 4:11-16 • Col. 1:18 • Heb. 10:24-25 • 1 Peter 2:9-10