We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, composed of 66 books, are God-breathed as God communicated through men carried along by the Holy Spirit. The very words of Scripture are inspired, authoritative, without error in their original autographs, and sovereignly preserved by God. We believe the Bible is the supreme revelation of God’s will for humanity today, is sufficiently clear in its revelation of truth, and constitutes the only infallible guide for faith, life, and ministry.

Psalm 119:128; Matthew 5:18; 2 Peter 1:19-21; John 17:17; Revelation 22:18-19; John 10:34-35; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12

We believe in the one true God who is spirit, infinite, eternal, holy, loving, and the creator of all that exists. He is all-knowing, all-wise, ever present with his people, gracious, merciful, slow to anger, forgiving, and abundantly able to keep all his promises according to his faithfulness. He is good and completely sovereign over all that occurs but is not the author of evil and will justly punish all sin. Although completely distinct from his creation, he is immanently at work in the world preserving it and effecting his good pleasure.

This one God is three eternal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These persons are identical in essence, the same in substance, and co-equal in divinity, power, glory, and majesty. Each divine person is fully God, and none is before or greater than the others, each being co-eternal and not manifestations of God or parts comprising the whole. The unity and distinction of the divine persons is revealed in all the works of God including creation, providence, and redemption.

Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11-13; Exodus 20:2-3; Leviticus 11:44; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4 ; Psalm 19:1; 103:19; 139:1-6; Isaiah 46:9; Jeremiah 10:10; Habakkuk 1:12-13; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1-3; 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-5; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 1:8; James 1:13

We believe God the Father is truly God and co-equal with the Son and the Spirit. The Father has planned for his glory all that comes to pass. The Father sent the Son and with the Son sent the Spirit. In love and mercy, he purposed from before the foundations of the world to redeem a people for himself from every tongue, tribe, and nation. The Father chose us in Christ and draws all those who come to him through the Son. The Father adopts believers to be his children and become co-heirs with Christ. The Father disciplines us for our good. The Father, being well-pleased in the Son and his work, put all things under the Son and installed the Son at his own right hand.

Psalm 110:1 John 3:16; 6:44; 8:28-29, 42; 14:16-17, 26; Acts 1:7; 2:39; Romans 5:8; 8:14-16; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 15:20-28; Galatians 4:4-6;Ephesians 1:3-11; 4:3-6; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:5, 13; 5:6; 12:9-10

We believe Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man. Through Him, all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him, all things hold together by the word of His power. He is perfect in nature, teaching, and obedience and is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed His blood and died a vicarious death on the cross. By His death in our place, He revealed divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Redeeming us from sin, He rose bodily from the grave on the third day, victorious over death and the powers of darkness and performing many convincing proofs of His resurrection. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people and rules as Lord over all. He is the Head of His body, the Church, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by all.

John 1:1-2; John 1:14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:23-26; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 1:3; Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1; Colossians 1:15-20

We believe the Holy Spirit is truly God, co-equal with the Father and the Son. He is the promised Comforter sent by the Father and the Son, possessing full personhood. The Holy Spirit is the efficient agent in the application of redemption. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. No one can savingly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord apart from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent of the new birth, at which time he baptizes believers into the body of Christ. He seals, indwells, fills, sanctifies, convicts, gifts, and guides believers.

John 7:39; 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; 12:3, 8-13, 27-31; 13:8-12; Hebrews 2:1-4; 9:14; Acts 1:4-5; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:7-11

God made man in His own image, as the crown of creation so that man might glorify Him. Both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God – possessing the same moral dignity and value – and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. By creating us equal but distinct as male and female, by naming our race “man,” and by establishing a creation order before the Fall and calling it “very good,” God has both established a perpetual duality in human sexuality and has assigned men a humbling and unique authority in the home and in the church (which is the household of God). God’s highest glory and our deepest joy coincide when we wholeheartedly embrace the sex He has assigned to us and His intentions for our masculinity and femininity.

Tempted by Satan, man rebelled against God. Being estranged from his Maker yet responsible to Him, he became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive. It extends to his mind, will and affections. Unregenerate man lives under the dominion of sin and Satan. He is at enmity with God, hostile toward God and hateful of God. Fallen, sinful people, whatever their character or attainments, are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.

Genesis 1:27; 2:7-8, 18-23; Romans 3:23; 5:12-19; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:9-18; 5:12, 15-21; 6:17-18; 8:7-8; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

We believe God created man and woman as biologically unique persons. God’s design for the union of marriage is that a biological man and a biological woman covenant to be one flesh for life in a monogamous union that is spiritual, emotional, and physical. God’s design for sexual union is for its expression to be only within the bounds of this male and female marital union. We believe that a person’s true identity is found and fulfilled in Christ alone and in a relationship with him. Therefore, a Christian must not embrace identities, desires, or behaviors that are contrary to the express teaching of Scripture.

Genesis 1:27-28; 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:6-9; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9

We believe the gospel is the good news that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, sinful man can be saved by grace through faith. It is the grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation ordained by God and orchestrated through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel. His resurrection is the power of the gospel. His ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His mysterious love and reveals His amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men can be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have in glorifying God because of what He has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, church, and ministry to proceed from and be related to the gospel.

Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 3:1-6, 10.

We believe salvation is initiated by a loving God, wholly of his grace, and accomplished only through the mediating work of the Son of God and applied by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is granted only through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This message of salvation in Jesus Christ is the gospel. An individual must be born again, being regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit thereby becoming a new creation. The believer who has exercised personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is united to Christ, justified in Christ receiving the gift of imputed righteousness, and possesses a salvation which is eternally secure. God sanctifies those he saves so that their lives are marked by transformation of sinful desires, obedience to God, good works, and perseverance in the faith.

John 3:3-6, 16; 10:28-29; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; Titus 3:8; Acts 13:39; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-23; Romans 2:4; 4:2-9, 25; 5:1, 9; 8:16, 28-29; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; I Timothy 2:5-6; 2 Peter 1:4

We believe sanctification is the progressive work of God by which we are made partakers of His holiness. The Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification, seeking to produce His fruit in us. Our minds are renewed, and we are conformed to the image of Christ. Though indwelling sin remains a reality, the Spirit leads us to grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping His commandments, confessing and repenting of sin, and endeavoring to so live in the world that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith, knowing they will have to give an account to God for their every thought, word, and deed. The spiritual disciplines, especially Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and service, are a vital means of grace toward sanctification. Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate confidence to persevere is based in the sure promise of God to preserve His people until the certain end

Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Philippians 1:6; Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:12; John 17:17; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 5:10.

We believe God, by His Word and Spirit, creates the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race into the fellowship of Christ’s body. By the same Word and Spirit, He guides and preserves that newly redeemed humanity. The Church is not a building, religious institution, or denomination. Rather, the Church is made up of people who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will on earth. This service involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in the entire world. The ultimate mission of the Church is to bring glory to God by making disciples. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church in which they devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. All members of the Church are to be a vital and committed part of a local church. In this context, they are called to live out the implications of the gospel as the people of God and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom of God. The ascended Christ gave gift ministries through the Holy Spirit to the Church, including apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of Christ’s body so that it might mature and grow. In the context of the local church, God’s people submit themselves to the authority of the elders and care of the deacons as they steward their spiritual gifts for His glory and the good of the others.

Ephesians 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 5:4-13; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Matthew 28:18-20.

We believe God’s Word commands every true believer to be baptized and to observe the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of Christ’s death until He comes. Baptism is a public testimony of one’s identification with the body of Christ. The ordinances have no saving value.

Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 28:19-20.

We believe God created spirit beings called angels to worship and serve him. One of these angels became proud and rebelled against God. God judged this angel along with many other angels who followed his rebellion. Those who rebelled are demons, and their leader is Satan or the accuser. They seek continually to frustrate the purposes of God and to cause mankind to sin against him. Satan’s presence is finite, and his power is limited by our infinite, reigning God. Christ defeated Satan and demons on the cross and therefore, God exalted Christ to his own right hand in the heavenly places above all rule, authority, power, and dominion. Satan’s plans will ultimately fail, and God will condemn him with the other demons to the lake of fire which he prepared for them.

2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 1:20-21; 2:2; Revelation 12:9; Hebrews 1:14; 2:14; 12:22; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 2 Kings 6:16-17; Job 1:12; 2:6; Isaiah 14:12-17; Colossians 2:15; Revelation 20:10

We believe the consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment. The righteous, in glorified bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new.

Romans 8:20-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:1-6; Titus 2:11-13.