Doctrinal Statement

We believe all Scripture, the Holy Bible, was authored by God, written by holy men of old as inspired by the Holy Spirit, and therefore, is without error in the original writings. It is the only complete and final written revelation of the will of God to mankind, and is the only standard by which all individual conduct, creed and opinion will be tried and judged.

We believe in the one, only, living, and true Triune God; infinitely perfect in every way; Creator and Sustainer of all things; eternally existing in three equal Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, executing distinct but harmonious functions in the great work of redemption and life of the redeemed.

We believe that God is a Spirit, who is limitless, eternal, self-existent, unchangeable, all powerful, all knowing, everywhere, holy, righteous, loving, good, truthful, and sovereign. We believe God the Father, as the first person of the Trinity, orders and controls all things according to His own sovereign purpose and grace. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He is the Creator of all things and to Him is due all glory. As Creator, He is Father to all mankind, but He is a spiritual Father only to believers. He saves all who come to Him, and He becomes, upon adoption, spiritual Father.

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, was active in creation, is both fully God and fully man having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He grew and developed as a man without sin. He submitted to God the Father’s will, was crucified to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin, was buried, rose bodily from the grave on the third day and ascended to Heaven where, at the Father’s right hand, He prays for and defends His children. He will return and ultimately establish His Kingdom on earth.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is not an influence but the Third Person of the Trinity equal with God the Father and God the Son. He was active in creation, convicts of sin, bears witness to the truth of the Gospel, and He is the agent of sanctification in the believer as He empowers, guides, teaches, helps, comforts and indwells.

We believe that man, originally created in the image and the likeness of God, became alienated from God by eating the forbidden fruit. The consequence of his disobedience, the penalty of death, was then and there inflicted, so that his moral nature was not only grievously injured by the fall, but he lost all spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins.

We believe death, and total corruption of human nature, has been transmitted to the entire human race, the man Christ Jesus alone excepted. Hence, every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature that not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is essentially sinful, being enmity against God and incapable by any human means to reconcile himself with God.

We believe that because of universal depravity and death in sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless born again. No degree of reformation, no attainment in morality, no culture, no humanitarian or philanthropic deeds, no baptism or other ordinance, however administered, can help a sinner to take even one step toward heaven. Only a new nature imparted by the Holy Spirit through the Word is essential to salvation.

We believe that our redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was made to be sin and a curse for us, dying for us. We believe no human effort can add in the very least to the value of that precious blood or to the merit of that finished work which was accomplished for us by Christ on the cross.

We believe that the true believer is sealed unto the day of redemption, that God watches over their lives, and that they are kept by Him through faith unto eternal salvation.

We believe that Christ is received by faith alone, and at the moment we trust in Him as our Savior we are made spiritually alive, being justified from all sin. We are accepted by the Father according to the promises in Scripture and linked with Him in spiritual oneness forever.

We believe that we are called with a holy calling to not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit, and so to live in the Spirit, that we should not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. The flesh is still in us to the end of our earthly lives and needs to be constantly in subjection to Christ.

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person biologically as male or female, and that these two distinct complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. The male and female genders possess an inalienable dignity, which comes to them from God. We believe that gender is not a matter of one’s internal subjective sense. We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one man (biologically from birth) and one woman (biologically from birth), and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within that union.

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life, regardless of the conditions of conception, including rape or incest.

We believe that the universal church is comprised of all who believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ and fellowship together in the Holy Spirit. A local church body administers the ordinances, preaches the word, and practices church discipline in keeping with Biblical principles. The body operates in autonomy from denominational hierarchy. They function in the bond of peace, loving one another, and administering spiritual gifts.

We believe that the end of the world is approaching. Prior to His 1,000 year reign, Christ will descend from heaven. After the millennial reign, there is a final accounting before a Holy God. A solemn separation will take place as the wicked are condemned to endless punishment and the righteous bestowed with a heavenly reward.

We believe that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Believer’s baptism by immersion is symbolic of the beginning of the Christian life and is the holy and beautiful testimony of a believer affirming personal faith in the crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended Savior. Water baptism illustrates death to the old life in Adam and resurrection to a new life in Christ. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance committed to the church proclaiming the continual commemoration of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross until He comes. We also believe the Lord’s Supper should be preceded by worshipful self-examination and confession of sin.

We believe the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass into His presence immediately at death. They remain there until the resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul and body reunited will be with Him and all the redeemed forever. The souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until final judgment when they will be cast into the lake of fire to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord.