What We Believe

There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal, co-eternal, and exist within a mutual indwelling called perichoresis. Each person of the Trinity fully indwells the other two persons; you cannot have one person of the Trinity without the other two, and each person in the Trinity is in full possession of the divine essence.

The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant and contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and living the Christian life.

Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. Salvation is available to any who would believe that Jesus is the Son of God and confess that He is Lord. Salvation is effected by personal repentance (changing our minds about sin), believing in Jesus (justification), and acceptance as Lord and Savior (regeneration).

Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead.

While Salvation secures our position with the Lord for eternity, Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God's Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ's character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

Given at Pentecost to the Church in fullness (though active in both the Old and New Testaments), the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the church for service and witness, cleansing man from the old nature and conforming us to the image of God. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters.

The church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' great commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The ordinance of baptism by immersion should be observed (as commanded in the Scriptures) by all that have repented of their sins and in their hearts have believed on Christ as their Savior and Lord. In doing so, they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they have also been released to walk with Him in newness of life.

The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements—bread and the fruit of the vine (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ)—is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of His suffering and death, and a prophecy of His second coming. Holy Communion should be taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross.

Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God/Heaven more than any other topic, often proclaiming, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” We affirm that Jesus brought access to the Kingdom of God to His people, and we are invited to participate in this Kingdom, enabling us to live in freedom from sin and death.

The Kingdom of God was inaugurated on earth at Christ’s resurrection, when Jesus won the final victory over death and Satan, and then ascended to reign at the right hand of the Father. We believe that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead and to usher the church into the eternal state (New Heavens and New Earth). Our hope is found in Jesus and His Kingdom, not on things that are temporary, therefore we place our focus on things that are eternal!