Statement of Faith

THE BIBLE: The Bible is the word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that it has supreme and only authority in all matters of faith and conduct (1 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1;20-21).

THE TRINITY: There is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute providence and redemption (Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:10,11; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

GOD THE FATHER: God the Father is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in Holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer and that He saves from sin and death to all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:11, 6:9, 5:45, 11:25, 1 Peter 1:17; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:10).

JESUS CHRIST: Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teaching. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal visible return to earth (Matthew 1:18-25, 3:17; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:3, 5:5-10; 1 John 4:3; Revelation 1:5).

HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide (John 14 16, Romans 8:13, 26).

SALVATION: All of mankind are sinners by imputation, nature and by choice and are therefore under condemnation. Those who repent of their sins and trust only in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that salvation with its forgiveness of sins, its impartation of the new nature and its hope of eternal life, is only God’s grace and that we cannot earn it or contribute to it by moral living, acts of self-sacrifice, church membership, communion, baptism or any other good work (John 1:12-13; 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:3-10).

THE CHURCH: We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are its members. We firmly believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ baptized on a credible profession of faith and associated from worship, service and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of building up the body of Christ through the dual activities of evangelism and the edifying of those evangelized toward maturity in Christ. We believe that each local church has the right under Christ to decide and govern its own affairs (1 Corinthians 12:13; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Timothy 3:15; Acts 2:41-47; Ephesians 4:11-16; Matthew 28:19-20).

THE ORDINANCES: The Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These ordinances are to be observed by the Church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as means of salvation (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:37-39, 41; Mark 16:15-16; Romans 6:3, 4; Galatians 3:17) The Lord’s supper; 1 Corinthians 11:22-26; Luke 22:14-23; Mark 14:22-25).

LAST THINGS: We believe in the personal, premillennial, and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this "Blessed Hope" has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment (Acts 1:11; John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; James 5:8; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.51-53).