What we Believe
God
—We
believe that there is one God who eternally exists in three persons:
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God exists independently
of the space and time of His creation, which He entered in the person
of Jesus Christ.Jesus
—We
believe that Jesus is the Son of God, was born of a virgin, was wholly
God and wholly man, lived a sinless life, died in our place as a
sacrifice for the sins of mankind, was buried, arose bodily from the
grave, and ascended into Heaven. Jesus Christ will literally return
to earth.Bible
—We
believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God without any error in
the original texts, which were accurately preserved for us, and is the
sole authority for life and faith.Holy Spirit
—We
believe that God the Holy Spirit is active in convincing unbelievers of
their need for salvation, and is the Comforter and Guide Who lives in
every believer.Man
—We
believe that humanity is a special creation of God, made in His image,
but that through the sin of the first man, Adam, humankind fell so that
all people are sinners and need salvation.Salvation
—We
believe that salvation is a gift received through repentance toward God
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is by grace
through faith alone, but the saved life will not be totally without
evidences bearing witness to its salvation.Assurance
—We
believe that every person who is truly saved is eternally secure in the
Lord Jesus Christ.Heaven
—We
believe Heaven to be the eternal dwelling place of all believers in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.Hell
—We
believe that Hell is a real place where those will spend eternity
separated from God who die without choosing, in life, to accept Christ
as Savior and Lord.Baptism
—Following
faith in Jesus Christ, we are commanded by the Word of God to be
baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Baptism is an outward expression of the inward
decision to follow Christ and his Lordship.Prayer
—We
believe that each believer has direct access to God, through the Lord
Jesus Christ, without dependence upon other intermediaries.Government
—We
believe in the separation of church and state, but not in separation of
God and government. Christians are to be (preserving) salt and bear
witness to the light of Truth to our world.Science and Faith
—We
believe that we live in a universe specially designed and created by
God and that our Faith need not be completely blind in these matters;
creation and its laws bear strong witness to these facts.
Science can be used as a tool to help achieve a greater understanding
of God and His laws but we must always remember that, because of the
sins of humanity, the universe is no longer the perfect creation that
God originally made it.Age of the Universe
—The
Bible is truth, but not written as a textbook on science.
There is no test of Christian orthodoxy related to the age of creation;
we believe that Christians may have legitimately differing views on this.
Also we believe, and there is general agreement among Christians, in the following:
1) There is a theistic God; 2) Who created the universe out of
nothing; 3) Including every living thing within it; 4) Adam and Eve were
a direct and special creation of God; 5) Regardless of when it occurred, the
Genesis account of creation is historical, not mythological.