OUR FOUNDATIONAL BELIEFS
We believe Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him, all things were made. For man's redemption, He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two natures—God and man—in one person.
We believe The Bible is the Word of God.
We affirm that the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is the only infallible, inspired Word of God and that its authority is ultimate, final, and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction, and reproof. It contains all that is needed to guide godliness and practical Christian conduct.
We believe in the Trinity.
It is the testimony of both the Old and New Testaments and of the Christian Church that God is both One and Triune. The biblical revelation testifies that there is only one God and that He is eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe in the Person, gifts, and move of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature, and conforms us to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit, after conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Atonement
Christ's vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, but its benefits are only applicable to those who receive Jesus as their personal Savior. Healing—body, soul, and spirit—and all of God's provisions for His saints are provided for in the atonement, but these must be appropriated.
The Fall of Man
We believe that man, in his natural state, is a sinner- lost, undone, without hope, and without God. As God's most precious creation, God gave his very best for each human to ever be born, but it is up to each individual to receive Him.
Baptism of The Holy Spirit
The baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the primary evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, is for all believers as promised by John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter. The fulfillment of this promise was witnessed by early disciples of Christ and operates in many present-day disciples of Jesus Christ.
Salvation
The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is effected by personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification), and personal acceptance of Him into one's life as Lord and Savior (regeneration). The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the kingdom of God's beloved Son. Salvation is an act of free will in response to God's personal love for mankind. It is predestined only in the sense that God, through His omniscience, foreknew those who would choose Him. It is secure in the eternal, unchanging commitment of God, who does not lie and is forever the same. Salvation should produce an active lifestyle of loving obedience and service to Jesus Christ our Savior.
The Christian Life
We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the saint in this world to be one of balance between what is imputed to us as Christians and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. Hence, God's provision for His children is total, and the promises are final and forever. The shortcomings of the individual and of the Church are because of the still progressing sanctification of the saints. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests, and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.
The Church
The goal of the Church is to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) make disciples of all nations and to present the saints complete in Christ. The five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4 governs the Church, the offices of elder and deacon, as well as other offices mentioned in scripture. Church policy is a balance between congregation and eldership authority, emphasizing the final authority of the Church leadership. It is essential to the life of the Church that scriptural patterns of discipline are practiced and that oversight for Church discipline, individual and corporate, is exercised by the leadership of the Church.
Divine Healing
We believe God has used doctors, medicines, and other natural means as channels of healing; however, we also believe divine healing is provided for believers in the atonement made by Jesus' blood shed on the cross. We believe divine healing may be received by the laying on of hands by the elders, by the prayer of an anointed person gifted by the Holy Spirit for healing the sick, or by a direct act of receiving this provision by faith.
Baptism & Communion (Ordinances)
The Word of God enjoins on the Church two perpetual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first, baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual's life and is a testimony to all that the person now belongs to Jesus. It is identification with Jesus and is effected in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our participation in Him. Both institutions are restricted to those who are believers.
Eschatology
We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the millennium, and the final judgment. The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, based on their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We affirm the final state of the new heavens and the new earth.
Heaven & Hell
We believe Scripture clearly speaks on the doctrines of eternal punishment for the unsaved and eternal salvation and complete happiness for the saved — a literal hell for the unsaved and literal Heaven for the saved.
Marriage
Statement of Marriage. We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history ("Traditional Definition of Marriage"). God has ordained that marriage be between one man and one woman, as clearly conveyed in God's inerrant Scriptures, including for example in Matthew 19:4-6 where in speaking about marriage Jesus referred to the fact that "he which made them at the beginning made them male and female." the Church hereby creates this policy, which shall be known as the "Marriage Policy."