We believe in the one true, holy, and living God who is creator, sovereign and preserver of all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of all humanity to the glory of his name. We believe the one God reveals himself as the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.

God the Father

We believe the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1) and of all things therein. We believe the Father is the Law Giver (Exodus 20) providing for the well-being of his creation through humankind. That the Law of God is based on his love and care for his creation and his people; the spirit of which is discovered in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17). We believe the Father is the source of all time because he stands outside of human time (Revelation 1:8).

God the Son

We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the eternal Word who became incarnate; condescending by taking on flesh to live among us and is fully
God and fully human (John 1:14), conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin (Luke 1:34-35). Christ was sent by the Father to be the final atonement and reconciliation for humankind through his sacrifice on the cross. On the third day following his death, God raised him from the dead and in his resurrection believers are offered eternal life (John 11:25-26).

God the Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who comes from and is in one being with the Father and the Son. The Spirit convinces the world of sin and of righteousness and leads us through faithful response to the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2).

We believe that the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments (the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible), is the revealed Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. We believe the scriptures are “God breathed,” infallible for our guidance throughout time, proceeding from the Holy Spirit as the canon— the true rule and guide for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures is not to be made an article of our faith nor is to be taught as essential to salvation (Revelation 22:18-19).

We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:12:12). We believe in the one, holy, apostolic, and universal (catholic) church which is the body of Christ on earth continuing in the mission prescribed by Christ in the gospels (Matthew 28:19-20) (Galatians 3:28). The church is the redemptive fellowship in which the fellowship gathers regularly for worship, the Word of God is preached by those divinely called, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s ordinances. The mission of the church is to live into the gospel of Jesus Christ and exists for the edification of believers (Ephesians 4:29) and the redemption of the world (Acts 1:8).

Public Worship

We believe divine worship is the duty and privilege of believers who, in the presence of God, bow down in adoration, humility, and dedication (Philippians 2:10). We believe worship is the keystone to the life of the church (Psalm 118:22-23) and essential to the life of the church, and that the assembling of the people of God for such worship is necessary to Christian fellowship and spiritual growth. We believe that worship should be orderly but need not be the same at all times and places but be modified according to the circumstances and to meet the mission of the church. It should be throughout in a language and form understood by the people. (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).

The Lord’s Day

We believe the Lord’s Day is divinely ordained (Exodus 20:8). The Sabbath is meant for private and public worship and rest from unnecessary work (Mark 2:27). It is commemorative of our Lord’s resurrection and is an emblem of our eternal rest (1 Corinthians 15:4).

We believe the Sacraments were ordained by Christ as our outward sign of God’s grace working in us whereby confirming our faith in him. Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Baptism

We believe Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus and a mark of Christian discipleship (John 3:5). We believe children are under the atonement of Christ and as heirs of the Kingdom of God are acceptable subjects for Christian Baptism. Children of believing parents through Baptism become the special responsibility of the Church. They are to be nurtured and led to personal acceptance of Christ and by profession of faith confirm their Baptism (Acts 16:13-15, 30-33).

The Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion)

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a sign of God’s love in that he sacrificed himself for our salvation and is a means of grace that, by ordinance, we are to partake of this sacrament (Luke 22:19-20) often and regularly (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We believe we honor Christ’s command to eat the bread representing his bodily sacrifice by employing, as Christ himself did, the common form of bread. Through long-standing church tradition, we drink new (unfermented) wine representing his blood poured out for our sins. We believe that it is necessary, as established in Scripture, that both elements be present at The Table. We believe that in the consecration of the elements (Bread and Cup), Christ is present in the elements in Spirit and grace. Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord, cannot be proven by Scripture, overturns the nature of the Sacrament, and is superstitious in its nature. We believe that, as a means of God’s grace and that salvation through Jesus Christ is opened to all, The Table of the Lord’s Supper shall be an open table where all who love Jesus, truly repent of their sins, and wish to live in peace with one another are welcome.

Original Sin

We believe that original sin is the corruption of the very nature in humankind, that naturally is engendered in the offspring of Adam, and continues through all subsequent generations. That humans, of their own nature, are inclined to disobedience and evil (Romans 5:12). We believe that humans are fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of Jesus Christ, are destitute and relegated to eternal destruction. That only through the grace of God in Jesus Christ may we be born again and find eternal salvation (Ephesians 2:1-5). We believe that not every sin committed after justification is a sin against the Holy
Spirit and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of repentance is not denied to those who confess their sins before God. Whereby, the grace of God allows us to rise again and amend our lives through Christ’s sacrifice and forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9).

Salvation

We believe God was in Christ (John 1:1), reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ made on the cross, ordained by God (Acts 2:23), was the perfect and sufficient atonement for the sins of the world, so that no other satisfaction is required (Hebrews 10:12). We believe that we are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified by the grace of God, working in its many forms, and accounted righteous before God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). We believe that sanctification is the regeneration and growth of mankind through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us (1 Peter 1:1-2). It is by this new birth the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him and others in his name (John 3:3-8). We believe that, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from God’s grace and fall into sin. Yet we may even then, by God’s grace, be renewed in righteousness before God (1 John 1:9).

Human Life

We believe that life is a holy gift of God whose beginnings and endings are set by God, and that it is the particular duty of believers to protect those who may be powerless to protect themselves, including the unborn, those with disabilities or serious illness, and the aged (Genesis 2:7, Leviticus 19:32, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:41-44).

Human Sexuality

We believe marriage is an ordinance of the church and defined by scripture as being between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:5). We believe that sexual relations are a gift of God and are to be confined to marriage. Therefore, there should be celibacy in singleness (Matthew 19:11-12) and faithfulness in marriage (Mark 10:11-12). We believe that God has prescribed the natural order and practice for relationships in scripture and departure from them, as Christ proclaimed, represents “sexual immorality” (Matthew 5:32) and is contradictory of Christian living.

Good Works

We believe good works are the necessary fruits of the faith (John 15:16) and follow regeneration but, they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgement (John 15:5-8). We believe good works are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ and spring from a true and living faith, for through them and by them faith is made evident (James 2:14-26).

The Christian and Property

We believe that God is the owner and provider of all things that individuals hold as property, making the Christian steward of all God’s creation (Genesis 1:27-28). As trustees, the Christian is to use their property for the manifestation of Christian love and charity, and to support the Church’s mission in the world (Acts 4:32-35).

Civil Government

We believe civil government derives its power from God and as Christians we recognize the governments under whose protection we reside and believe such governments should be based on and responsible for the stewardship of human rights under God (Romans 13:1-5). We believe it is the responsibility of the church to make disciples for Jesus Christ and through that discipleship provide moral strength and purpose to government through righteous and godly living (Mark 12:17).