Beliefs

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and God the Holy Spirit, the “helper” who indwells and empowers believers. God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.

Jesus of Nazareth is fully God and fully Man. He is the Divine Word. As the Son, He was in the beginning before the world was made. He was sent by God the Father as the divine agent to redeem the world. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. As a human, He was subject to all bodily afflictions and spiritual temptations known to man. He lived a sinless life. Jesus was crucified, and His death paid for the sins of the world. Three days later He arose and defeated death. He ascended into Heaven where He now intercedes on behalf of every believer before the throne of God. He is head of the Church and will return one day to rule on earth.

In His wisdom, power, and love God created all things visible and invisible. There is nothing that exists that God did not create. He made and declared all things in His creation “very good.” God created mankind in His own image, gracing unto mankind divine attributes such as creativity, reason, freedom, morality, and love. God engendered mankind as male and female, appointing them to have dominion over creation and the responsibility to steward it in partnership with God. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin. When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, their sin caused them to fall out of harmony with God and fractured all of creation. All humanity is born with a sin nature.

God has revealed Himself to us, not only through Jesus and creation, but also through His holy Scriptures, which are trustworthy and true. The Bible is the complete and inerrant Word of God. It communicates His character, will, and story of redemption. It is the ultimate authority by which all human wisdom is measured and speaks truth to our current reality.

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God because we all have sinned. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the death penalty for our sins. God raised Jesus from the dead. Now, by grace, God offers the free gift of eternal life and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit to all who believe in His name as their Savior. This free gift of eternal life, once accepted, can never be lost. Redemption is found in Christ alone.

The church is the visible Body of Christ. It is made up of all believers who have trusted in Jesus, and Jesus Christ Himself is the Head. The Holy Spirit gifts, calls, and equips each believer to love God, love others, bring others to Christ and make disciples by teaching them to obey Jesus’ commands.

As believers in Christ, our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Though our earthly bodies will fail and return to dust, the spirit of everyone who believes in Him will never die. At the moment of a believer’s bodily death he is reunited and forever in the presence of God. Moreover, every believer will be given a new body and will dwell with God on a newly created earth, where there will be no more pain, death, or sorrow.