What We Believe
The Bible is God’s message to us, written by human authors who were guided by the Holy Spirit. It is 100% true, accurate, and completely trustworthy. It shows us how to be saved, teaches us how to live, and is our ultimate guide for what to believe and how to behave. Everything in the Bible ultimately points to Jesus.
The Word of God
The Triune God
There is only one true God, and He created and rules over everything. He is perfect, holy, and deeply personal. God exists as three distinct persons who are completely equal and unified: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.
The Father lovingly cares for the universe and directs human history according to His good plans.
Jesus Christ is God’s Son. He was born to a virgin, lived a completely sinless life, and died on the cross as our substitute to pay for our sins. He rose from the dead, went up to heaven, and is now our King and advocate.
The Holy Spirit draws people to God, convicts us of wrongdoing, gives us a new spiritual life, comforts us, gives us spiritual gifts to serve others, and guarantees our eternal security.
Humanity and Problem of Sin
God created people in His own image as the most special part of His creation. He created us male and female, and our biological gender is a good gift from Him. However, humanity rebelled against God (sinned). Because of this, every person is born with a natural tendency to sin. As soon as we are old enough to know right from wrong, we choose to break God's laws, which separates us from Him and places us under His judgment.
Salvation
We cannot fix our sin problem on our own; salvation is a completely free gift from God that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. When we turn away from sin and trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord, God completely forgives us, views us as righteous, and starts changing us from the inside out to make us more like Jesus. This salvation is permanent—God secures every true believer forever, and we will live with Him in eternity.
The Church and Its Practices
The church is a local, independent group of baptized believers who promise to follow Jesus together, share the Gospel globally, and take care of one another. Its biblical leaders are pastors, elders and deacons. While men and women are equally valuable and gifted for ministry, the Bible reserves the office of pastor/elder for qualified men. The church practices two symbolic acts of obedience:
Baptism: Immersion in water after someone decides to follow Jesus. It is a public picture of dying to our old life and being raised to a new life in Christ.
The Lord’s Supper (Communion): Eating bread and drinking juice together to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and look forward to His return.
Our Lifestyle and Mission
Sharing the Faith: Every Christian and local church has a responsibility to share the good news of Jesus and make disciples all over the world.
Generosity: Everything we have belongs to God. We are called to be good managers of our time, talents, and money by giving back to His work.
Helping Others: Christians should work to make society better by helping the poor, the sick, and the mistreated. We believe every human life is sacred and valuable from the moment of conception until natural death.
Freedom of Religion: Church and government should remain separate. The government should protect everyone's freedom to practice their faith without interference.
The Family
God designed the family as the building block of society. Marriage is a lifelong, sacred covenant between one man and one woman. Husbands and wives have equal worth before God. Husbands are called to love their wives sacrificially, just like Jesus loves the church, and wives are called to willingly support their husband's leadership. Children are a wonderful blessing from God starting at conception.
The End of Time
God will bring history to a close in His perfect timing. Jesus Christ will return visibly and powerfully to the earth. He will raise the dead and judge all humanity. Those who rejected Him will face eternal separation from God in Hell, while those who trusted Him will receive new, perfect bodies and live with God forever in Heaven.