We Must Know

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• The Scriptures - The Word of God was given through the inspiration of God, written by men of God, and remains fully authoritative in all areas, and without contradiction. The scriptures are constituted of 66 books and are given without error in the original languages.

• God And the Trinity - There is one God, Triune in nature, revealing Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and unparalleled. He alone deserves to be worshipped and praised. He is eternally present in these three persons:

  1. God the Father - God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is sovereign over all things, and has unlimited power over time, space, and matter. God’s desire is not only to be over all things, but to experience a divine relationship with his creation, particularly in His special creation-humanity. In His desire for a special relationship with humanity, God gifts mankind with the ability of freewill; thus, wanting perfection, but allowing imperfection from us. God alone is perfect, sinless, just, loving, and holy.

  2. God the Son, Christ Jesus - Jesus Christ came as the Messiah of mankind, virgin born, fully divine and fully human, lived a sinless life in this world, and through His death and resurrection provides salvation for the world. He is timeless, and always has existed as one with the Father, the great I AM. He now sits at the right hand of the Father and will judge the world as the worthy Lamb of God, finally returning to reclaim His own.

  3. God the Holy Ghost - Co-equal with the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit acts among believers as the convicting, interceding sanctifier of all Christians. The Spirit indwells the believer upon salvation and acts constantly in the life of the believer in bringing them closer to God. He also acts among non-believers by drawing them toward God and performing the transforming work of salvation upon those who do believe.

• Humanity - Mankind is a special creation of God, designed and purposed for a relationship with God. Humanity is created in the image of God, but in a uniquely human form, which includes the presence of an immortal soul in all human beings, as well as the intentional design of two genders within humanity. In the original design of this relationship, God bestowed freewill upon the first creations, Adam and Eve, who used that freedom of choice to sin in disobedience to God. Mankind has since been plagued with the curse of sin, and all humanity is depraved and in need of salvation.

• Salvation - God desires for all humanity to be included in salvation, and the gift of salvation is given to all who are willing to accept it, resulting in eternal life with God in Heaven. However, those who refuse the gift of God will spend eternity in Hell, a place of purging and punishment. Because of the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross, only He has the authority to forgive sin, bestowing grace on those who put their faith in Him.

• Marriage- God created a special and unique union for humanity that is to be celebrated and held in sacred honor. When fulfilled in a God-honoring way, marriage is of the highest form of worship. Thus, it is a sacred and serious commitment that Christians must hold in high regard and attempt to follow in holiness. God’s design for marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. All other designs are out of the will of God and are not compatible with righteous living.

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We Must Grow

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• Sanctification - The Spirit of God works constantly to encourage, exhort, convict, rebuke, and inspire the believers of God in a process of growth in Christ. God desires to see His followers separated and purified from the curse of sin, and upon salvation this process of sanctification begins. Nonetheless, sanctification happens based on the choices of the believer, who can choose whether to fulfill or resist the Spirit of God and His leading. A believer must choose to live a sanctified life and must do so continually. Growth can only be achieved in following Jesus.

• Spiritual Gifts - Growth also occurs as we love, encourage, and use our gifts in serving together.  The Church is not a monolith, but rather is constituted of diverse people combined into a beautiful union in Christ. All Christians have a purpose and need one another to build a faithful community of Christ. To this end, God blesses all Christians with gifts and talents needed to serve one another and the Lord Jesus Christ. These blessings are diverse, which allow for many different roles, opportunities, and talents to be used in service for God.

• The Church - Growth is nurtured as we faithfully meet for worship, the teaching of the Word of God, prayer, mutual encouragement, and service. The church triumphant and /universal is made up of believers across many nations and from various denominations. Those who place their faith in Christ and request His grace constitute the body of Christ. We the local church have the responsibility to minister and congregate in worship together, and to grow in the discipleship of Jesus Christ.

• Communion- We regularly participate in the Lord’s Supper, believing it to be ordained by God as a prescribed ritual for the New Testament believer. We believe the elements of bread and wine symbolize the sacrifice of Christ and empower us live transformed as a community of believers. Our practice is to hold an open communion, believing that any believer in Christ is welcome to participate in the Lord’s Supper.

• Baptism- We hold to the individual’s choice of baptism by any mode, as means of public pronouncement of faith in Jesus and a commitment of life to Him. We reserve the act of baptism for individuals who are self-aware in their decision to follow Christ.

• Anointing- We elect to use water or oil for the dedication of infants, the anointing of the sick, and the blessing over others, to identify and mark our prayers over them.

 

We Must Go

• Evangelism - We are privileged to go into our community to share the message of Christ’s love and salvation.  This calling is given to all Christians through the Great Commission of Christ, who has called us to go before all nations with the gospel. This calling is both a personal and communal calling, as we have the expectation to share Jesus Christ and His saving grace both as individuals, and as a church.

• Ecumenism – Through the various denominations and communities of God, we are not an island to ourselves. Rather we are stronger together when we partner with other local churches in our community in reaching the world around us for Christ. Nonetheless, we also find it important to be spiritual union with the other believers we enjoin with. We thus support ecumenical efforts to share the gospel and to minister to the world around us, in the unity of faith in Jesus Christ with those who share that same faith.

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